Since our current Treasurer & Membership Representative—Jim Engelbrecht will be stepping back from his responsibilities September 30, 2026, NYSBS is seeking a replacement. Below you will find the main responsibilities of these positions.
NYSBS wants to take this opportunity to THANK Jim for his dedication to the society through his years of service.
Individuals interested in volunteering, please contact Sarah Hodder at or call 607-242-8807.
Treasurer and Membership Secretary Duties
Receipts:
Both of these positions rely on information that is entered into our QuickBooks program. When membership and donation checks are received in the mail (Box 883 in Rouses Point, NY), deposits are made in a nearby bank (Community Bank, N.A.), and these transactions are logged into QuickBooks. New memberships require a new account set-up, and existing memberships are extended by adding year(s) to their expiration date. Our membership year runs April 1st to March 31st.
Donation and Membership payments are also received online via PayPal. Entries are made for these on QuickBooks, with funds transferred to our Community Bank. A copy of all receipt transactions is maintained in date order.
Disbursements:
The Treasurer pays routine bills by issuing a QuickBooks check or online using our Community Bank debit card. Payments are evidenced by an invoice or a receipt, with a copy maintained in date order. Non-routine payments such as Research Grants and NABS Affiliate (True Blue) payments are made within approved budget amounts. All payments are recorded in QuickBooks.
Banking:
We have a checking account with Community Bank, N.A. that is used for operating income and expenses. We also have a brokerage account with Fidelity Investments that is used to generate investment income from a mutual fund (American Income Fund of America), CD’s and Fidelity Government Money Market. Our Bank account is reconciled monthly and our Fidelity account is updated and reconciled quarterly as statements are received.
Financial Reporting:
Both the Statement of Financial Position (AKA Balance Sheet) and the Income and Expense Report are generated as QuickBooks reports, and are found under the Memorized Report heading. There is no required reporting aside from producing them for Board meetings. In the past we have made copies of these available at our Annual Meetings/Conferences.
Inventory Entries and Adjustments:
In order to minimize inventory write-offs when compared to on-hand quantities, attention to detail is important. When new Bluebird Ambassadors are brought aboard and given a NYSBS hat and books (Stokes & Monitoring Guide), there needs to be an entry made to relieve inventory. Similarly, when nest boxes or kits are used on Rt 11 or Rt 20 trails, inventory for these items needs to be reduced on QuickBooks. All sales of merchandise need to be recorded at the sales amount with a corresponding entry relieving inventory at the inventory value of the items. Inventory comparisons to physical quantities should be made every year or two, with the adjustments made to the QuickBooks inventory. Looking at past entries will provide guidance on which accounts to use.
Sales Tax Reporting and Payment:
The transaction period for sales tax reporting is March 1 to Feb 28, with a sales tax report (ST101) and payment made to the state of New York on March 20th. The report and payment are sent electronically. It is a good idea to post reminders of this tight deadline on the Treasurer’s calendar. The report figures are derived by producing an appropriately dated income report in QuickBooks and then accessing the details needed to determine where the sales occurred, as that determines the NYS County and associated sales tax rate to use. Reviewing prior reports will show what is involved.
In order to be in compliance and submit reports electronically, one must have a valid NYS Dept of Taxation and Finance Certificate of Authority. To do this, a DTF-95 Business Tax Account Update form must be submitted to the Department of Taxation and Finance. According to regulations, this form should be submitted within 20 days of a change of Treasurer. The prior DTF-95 form is on file for reference.
Form 990-N:
Form 990-N, also known as an e-Postcard, is filed with the Federal Government yearly to maintain our tax-exempt status. This report is due no later than 4 ½ months after the close of our fiscal year; thereby making it due by Feb 15th. The 990-N for our latest tax year, 10/1/2024 – 9/30/2025, is due on Feb 15th, 2026. Instructions for registering and filing this form are available at the IRS website. Our EIN (Employee Identification Number) is 14-1779068. Prior submissions are on file.
Budget Preparation:
A yearly budget is prepared based on a look back on receipts and spending over the last few years, and knowledge of any unusual events/circumstances on the horizon for the calendar year in question. This budget is then discussed and approved at a Board of Directors meeting.
Newsletter Responsibility:
The physical copy of the “Bluebird News” (BB News) newsletter file is sent by Cherie Layton to a UPS store in Poughkeepsie for printing. The Membership Secretary sends address label files, tray label files, and an Acceptance Bar Code to the printer in Poughkeepsie. These documents are produced by going into a United States Postal System program at gateway.usps.com, where the NYSBS maintains a deposit account used for payment on our newsletter mailings. Using address information contained in QuickBooks, the USPS Postal Wizard program guides one in producing the needed PDF files that are then emailed to the printer. Please note that the member’s expiry date is printed just after the member’s name on printed newsletters. There are detailed instructions on file for the Postal Wizard program.
At times, the post office will send back a printed newsletter to our NYSBS PO Box, saying that the address on the newsletter is not valid. Sometimes they supply a forwarding address, whereupon the Membership Secretary will contact the member and, having verified this new address, will relabel the newsletter and return it to the post office for free mailing. If the returned newsletter has no forwarding address, the Membership Secretary will attempt to contact the member for new address information. As a last resort, obituary information is researched online using the member’s name and last known residence. Membership records are updated when new information is obtained.
The digital BB News file is sent by Cherie Layton to the Co-Membership Secretary, who then forwards the newsletter electronically to our digital members. These are sent in batches by membership expiry dates, with the cover email specifying the expiry date. Please note these emails are sent as BBCs in order to maintain member privacy. The Co-Membership Secretary informs the Membership Secretary of any invalid emails that kick out during the sending of the newsletters.
The printer in Poughkeepsie sends the Treasurer an invoice for payment.
Membership Retention:
In February, the Membership Secretary produces a heads-up (alert) letter which is mailed to all members with March 31 expiry dates that year. The Membership Secretary also produces Board Membership reports that compare membership levels against prior periods. Sometime in the spring, the Membership Secretary researches recently expired members and provides the Board with contact information on long-term members who did not renew their memberships. The Board Members then volunteer to call or email those individuals – in hopes they may yet renew.
New to the Flock Reporting:
This regular section of the “Bluebird News” newsletter is sent directly to the BB News Editor by the Co-Membership Secretary based on information provided by the Membership Secretary.
The QuickBooks memorized report (under the accountant category) – Transaction Listing with Memo is used to produce a listing of activity between newsletter dates. This report is then scrubbed of extraneous information and, with an added column for County, is sent by the Membership Secretary to the Co-Membership Secretary for their use in producing the “New to the Flock” reporting. A distinction is made between Donations and New Memberships.
The last “In Memory” portion of this report deals with members who have recently passed away. This is typically discovered by “in memory of” donations received by the Treasurer. This information is passed on by the Treasurer to the Co-Membership Secretary. If there are multiple “In Memory” donations, the Membership Secretary does an obituary search and passes the findings on to the Co-Membership Secretary and “Bluebird News” Editor for a possible separate article in the newsletter.