Membership fee receipt template
Membership fee receipt for a club, association or neighbourhood group: annual fee, joining fee and trip or event fee, with the member and the period it covers.
Templates by industry
- Annual membership fee
- Joining fee
- Trip and event fee
How to write a receipt for membership fees
Example workflow
Fill in the fee
Start with "Annual membership fee": the year it covers, the amount set at the general meeting and the member who paid it.
Add the other payments
Add the joining fee and the event lines down to "Trip and event fee", each with its own amount, and leave out lines the member did not pay.
Hand it over and record it
Give the member the receipt, keep the copy, and enter the payment in the group’s cash book under the receipt number.
Treasurers of clubs, residents’ associations and parents’ groups write this receipt at a meeting, at the door or after a transfer, often for members paying at different rates. The membership list is the reference: every receipt should match a name on it and every copy goes into the cash book. The money belongs to the group, not to the treasurer, and a clear trail of receipts is what lets the next treasurer take over the books without questions.
Fields to prepare
- Deliverables and line items
- Annual membership fee, Joining fee, Trip and event fee: put the annual fee, a one-off joining fee and any trip or event fee on separate lines, so a member can see what each amount paid for.
- Annual membership fee
- If members pay different rates, such as a reduced fee for students or seniors, name the rate on the line.
- Joining fee
- Charge it once, on a new member’s first receipt, and leave it off the renewal receipts that follow.
- Trip and event fee
- Name the trip or event and its date; if it is cancelled, the line shows whom to refund and how much.
- Group and treasurer
- Give the name of the group as its members know it, the address or contact used for its affairs, and the name of the treasurer or officer who received the money.
- Member and period
- Write the member’s name as it appears on the membership list, the year or months the fee covers, and the household or children it covers where the fee is per family.
- Scope to agree
- Name the member, the year or period the fee covers, the group and the treasurer who received it, and keep donations and event fees on lines apart from the fee.
Before sending
- Does “Annual membership fee” match the line on the invoice this payment settles?
- Has the money for “Joining fee” actually arrived, in full or in part?
- Is “Trip and event fee” shown at the amount received, with any balance still owed noted?
Show 3 more
- Number the receipts in one sequence for the whole year, and keep the copy or the counterfoil with the cash book.
- Keep donations, event fees and the membership fee on separate lines, because the group usually reports them separately to its members.
- Check the amount against the membership list before you hand the receipt over, and note any member who has paid only part of the fee.
Worked example: a year’s membership
The figures are an example, in dollars. A new member joins the club in April and pays the annual fee, the joining fee and the summer trip in one payment.
- Lines: the annual fee, the joining fee and the trip fee, one line each.
- Payment: the member paid the full $96.00 in cash at the April meeting.
- Balance: nothing is left to pay for the year, so the balance is $0.00.
| Item | Quantity × unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Annual membership fee | 1 × $36.00 | $36.00 |
| Joining fee | 1 × $10.00 | $10.00 |
| Trip and event fee | 1 × $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Invoice total | $96.00 | |
| Received | $96.00 | |
| Still owed | $0.00 | |
The three lines add up to $96.00. The member paid $96.00, so the balance is $0.00. File the copy under its receipt number with the cash book.
- Write the year the fee covers, not only the date you received it: a fee paid in March may be for the year that starts in April.
- If the group collects fees door to door, give each collector a numbered pad, so every receipt can be traced to the person who wrote it.
- If a member leaves during the year, write on the receipt whether the fee is refundable, as the group’s rules say.
Common mistakes on a membership fee receipt
- Writing only "fees" without the year, so the member cannot show which year they paid.
- Putting donations, trip money and the fee in one amount.
- Leaving out the name of the person who received the money.
- Starting a new numbering on each collector’s pad, which leaves two receipts with the same number.
- Not keeping a copy, so the cash book has nothing to back it.
What the document must show
These details make a receipt easier to approve and to file.
- Your business name and address, and your tax number if you are registered
- Receipt number and issue date (the date the payment arrived)
- Who paid
- How they paid: bank transfer, card or cash
- What the payment is for, and the number of the invoice it settles
- The amount received, with any tax it includes shown separately
- For a part payment, the balance still owed
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending.
Official rate reference: US government: state and local taxes
Frequently asked questions
Membership fee receipt template: what should it include?
Start with the lines the template carries (Annual membership fee, Joining fee, Trip and event fee) and change them to the fees your group collects. Then add the group’s name, the member, the period and a receipt number you have not used before.
Who signs the receipt?
The person who received the money, usually the treasurer or another officer of the group. Write their name and role under the group’s name, so a member knows who to ask later.
Can one receipt cover a whole family?
Yes, if the fee is charged per household. Name the household or each member it covers, and list any fee charged per person on its own line.
A member pays in instalments. What do I write?
Issue a receipt for each payment you receive, with the amount received and what is still owed for the year, and do not mark the fee as paid until the last instalment arrives.
Can I keep the receipts on a computer?
Yes. Save each receipt as a PDF from the print dialog and keep the files under their receipt numbers, next to the group’s cash book.
What if a member asks for a receipt for a donation?
Put the donation on a line of its own, named as a donation, apart from the fee. Whether a donation brings the donor any tax relief depends on the group and the country, so do not promise it on the receipt.
Read next
Reading for the Membership fee receipt template: What a receipt must show (and receipt vs invoice) and Quote, proforma, invoice, receipt, credit note: which to use. To add tax or check a total, use the VAT and GST calculator.