Managing your association: a complete guide and software to ensure (and grow) your association's success.

Even if association management is simpler than that of a company, organization, rigor and even legal compliance are essential.
The credibility and longevity of your organization depend on it.

Are you the president, secretary, treasurer or an employee managing an association?

Accounting, taxation, administration and association life, follow our comprehensive guide to :

• discover the basics of association management training,
• set up and manage your association properly over the long term,
• focus on your missions!

As a bonus, we present a selection of tools to help you find the online association software best suited to your needs.

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Setting up an association under the 1901 law: administrative formalities

Good management starts with good foundations, right from the creation of the association, the drafting of its articles of association and the election of its representatives.

Drafting the articles of association

Although there are no compulsory forms or contents, it is advisable for the founders of the association to draw them up, indicating :

• the name of the association,
• the purpose of the association (its raison d'être),
• its duration, if defined,
• its registered office,
• organizational and operating rules (general meetings, etc.),
• the powers assigned to the members in charge of its management,
• the conditions :
  • election of the Board of Directors and/or Executive Committee,
  • admission and expulsion of members,
  • modification of the articles of association,
  • dissolution of the association.

Election of representatives to manage the association

The members of an association are often represented by volunteer members elected in the form of :

• a Board of Directors (BOD):
  • its members are elected by all members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM);
  • They meet several times a year to ensure the smooth running of the association;
    
    
• a restricted executive committee:
  • its members are drawn from the Board;
  • They meet more frequently, to ensure more regular monitoring of the association's activities.

These bodies are optional, but compulsory if they are included in the articles of association, or in the case of associations of public utility, for example.

At the head of the Board of Directors, and of the Executive Committee where applicable, are the people responsible for managing the association:

• the president: although his or her powers depend on the articles of association, he or she is generally assigned the role of representative and legal manager of the association;
• the secretary-general: this member is responsible for general administrative management;
• Treasurer: manages the fiscal and financial aspects of the organization.

☝️ As an association grows in size, it can hire employees to take on roles in administration, accounting, development and communications.

The various administrative tasks

Administrative tasks include

• association correspondence,
• management of membership files,
• publication of the official journal and amendments to the articles of association,
• keeping registers and archives,
• drafting internal regulations,
• organizing general meetings, etc.

General meetings

☝️ General meetings are not mandatory under the French 1901 law, unless provided for in the association's articles of association.

There are two types of general meeting

• Ordinary General Meetings (AGMs): more concerned with day-to-day management, these meetings are held on a predefined basis, once a year for example, to
  validate accounts, elect new officers and generally discuss the life of the association;
  
• Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs ): these are convened on an exceptional basis, in the event of a particular event or obligation: modification of purpose, change of registered office, dissolution or merger of the association, etc.

The association's executive committee is faced with a number of formalities in organizing and conducting these meetings:

1. before the general meeting: issue invitations and send them by post, e-mail or SMS. To ensure that all members are aware of the date, please send them at least 10 days in advance;
   
2. during the general meeting: draw up the attendance sheet to ensure that the quorum is respected, i.e. the minimum number of people required to validate deliberations;
   
3. after the meeting: write up the minutes, a document specifying the various elements of the meeting such as quorum, agenda, decisions taken, etc. These minutes are then sent to all members of the association.

How do I manage an association's accounts?

An association's accounting obligations

Although a large proportion of associations are small, keeping accounts is essential, even if the law of 1901 does not specify any legal obligation in this respect.

It enables you to :

• compare results from one year to the next and obtain subsidies (economic purpose),
• render accounts to the treasurer and then to the general meeting of members, in full transparency (democratic purpose),
• present evidence in the event of a request from the public authorities (legal purpose).

Accounting management is also essential for drawing up a provisional budget and applying for public subsidies!

On the other hand, compulsory status may result from :

• specific rules set out in the association's articles of association, or at the request of the general meeting,
• the monitoring of associations recognized as being of general interest or public utility, whose budgetary management is scrupulously supervised,
• an application for approval or subsidy from a public authority,
• secondary or ancillary commercial activities, whether taxable or not,
• the hiring of salaried staff.

What are the two types of accounting?

Depending on the size of the association, two types of accounting are possible:

• cash accounting: keeping and monitoring a register of expenses and receipts,
• commitment accounting: preparation of annual financial statements, generally including a balance sheet, income statement and notes.

Setting up a bank account

When an association is set up, the question often arises as to whether it should open a dedicated bank account. And for once, the law of 1901 allows a great deal of freedom.

However, the use of a dedicated bank account is still recommended:

• it greatly simplifies financial management,
• it provides a means of payment (bank card or cheque book),
• it facilitates payment of membership fees.

Tax obligations of an association

By its very nature, an association must be non-profit.

Nevertheless, in the face of growing financial needs, it is possible for an association to carry out an ancillary commercial activity to finance its main activity.

However, surplus income must not be redistributed among members.

☝️ If the association exceeds the annual threshold of €72,000 in revenue from an ancillary commercial activity, it becomes liable for commercial taxes (VAT, corporation tax).

Tax receipts

Finally, donors can request a tax receipt from the association.

This receipt can be used to claim a tax deduction (up to 66% of the amount donated, subject to a limit of 20% of total income).

Please note that only the following associations are entitled to issue tax receipts:

• associations of general interest,
• associations recognized as being in the public interest.

Day-to-day management of associations

Managing members

The life of an association is governed by its members, so it's important to manage :

• memberships and subscriptions
• renewals
• subscriptions and preferences,
• newsletter subscriptions, etc.

Managing activities and events

Last but not least, the life of an association depends to a large extent on the organization of events, to :

• present the association
• promote it,
• attract new members,
• obtain funding, etc.

In certain cases (reception of the public, occupation of a public place, paid event, sale of drinks, lottery, etc.), it is compulsory to :

• declare the event to the town hall or prefecture,
• arrange for a security service for large-scale events,
• find out about the rules for displaying posters and distributing flyers,
• set up a ticket office,
• comply with hygiene and licensing regulations, etc.

As you can imagine, running an association is a complex business. The good news is that there are software packages specifically designed to meet the specific needs of associations.

What software should you use to manage your association?

Even if it's tempting to opt for free association management software, Excel can sometimes be a relative bargain compared to the time spent on it.

Why not try out a software package that's tailored to your activity and budget?

And while open source association management software is available for the more seasoned users, we'd like to suggest a selection of online software in SaaS mode, which is more intuitive and easier to learn.

Comparative table of association management software :

Assoconnect, for global management and communication

👉 Assoconnect, with over 50 functions, provides real support to all members of the office for :

• follow-up with members to collect their dues,
• create and manage donation campaigns,
• facilitate communication with your members by sending emails synchronized with your database,
• create and maintain your association's website, in your own image, etc.

💰 Rates :

• Liberté package - 100% free
• Formule Sérénité - From €24 / month
• Formule Professionnelle - From 99€ / month

Jamespot Associations, collaborative management of your association projects

👉 Jamespot Associations is an intranet, a social network helping association members to streamline your processes and communicate internally thanks to:

• task distribution,
• collaborative working on the same project,
• interact and share comments,
• event planning.

💰 Price: 3€ / month / user

Joinly, for managing your contributions

👉 Joinly (formerly E-Cotiz) saves you precious time at the beginning of the year, when you collect all your members' subscriptions, thanks to :

• online registration or re-registration of your members,
• the possibility for your members to pay in instalments, and to register at any time,
• secure payment and data,
• payment management for all your other events or sources of income (courses, online store, etc.).

💰 Rates:

• Training offer: 100% free
• Performance package: €180 / year

OHME, for managing your associative communities

👉 OHME is a scalable CRM solution, suitable for all types of association, allowing connection to your emailing tool and payment solution, and including :

• management of contacts, including members and donors, and updating of their personal data,
• categorization and segmentation through the creation of labels, to personalize your interactions,
• manage payments and tax receipts,
• statistics to monitor loyalty and community involvement.

💰 Rates:

• Discovery offer: free
• Customized offer: from €20 / month

Pep's Up, managing your association from A to Z

👉 Pep's Up is THE all-in-one software that helps over 8,500 associations manage all their day-to-day missions via a collaborative, secure interface, and accessible via computer, smartphone or mobile from anywhere:

• online management of membership applications and files, including receipt of payments and automatic integration into the membership database;
• accounting processing with automatic entry of accounting entries, cheque cashing alerts, accounting document editing and financial status monitoring in a dashboard;
• quickly create a website in your association's colors, which you can update regularly to communicate with your members;
• event organization made easy by inviting members, tracking participation and reminding non-respondents, and promoting on your social networks in just one click.

💰 Rates:

• Basic offer: €10/month
• Pro package: €25/month
• Premium package: €35/month
• Serenity package: on quotation

Yapla, simplifying your accounting

👉 With Yapla software, you can save time on low-value-added tasks and concentrate more on meaningful missions, thanks to :

• online membership management,
• setting up and collecting donation campaigns,
• automated invoice creation and dispatch,
• management of multiple charts of accounts,
• accounting dashboards and reports.

💰 Rates:

• Décollage offer: free
• Envol offer: 19€ / month / user
• Orbit offer: €49 / month / user
• Galaxie package: 99€ / month / user

Find the right management software for your association with this quiz:

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Good management means success for your association

Don't hesitate to turn to specific software.

Specially developed to meet the needs of all types of association, they will provide you with the framework you need to get your message across.

So, are you ready to make your association rhyme with solid management?