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First-time setup checklist

Use this checklist after you start the organization. Do the steps in order, before you charge the season's fees or invite every family. Plan on about 30 minutes if your roster spreadsheet is ready. Setting up card payments can take longer, because the card-payment company has to review your bank details.

1. Check the organization details

On the organization page, open Settings.

  1. Under Organization Profile, check the Organization Name, the EIN (your group's federal tax ID number, optional), and Fiscal Year Starts In.
  2. Click Save Changes.
  3. Under Accounting Workflow, check where your official books are kept:
    • Official books kept elsewhere: MusterSheet tracks student fees, payments, fundraiser credits, balances, and parent statements. You keep income and expenses in your own bookkeeping system.
    • Integrated Accounting: MusterSheet also keeps your income and expenses, categories, budgets, reimbursements, receipts, and treasurer reports.
  4. Back on the organization page, check that the Program Year or Fiscal Year card shows the dates your board expects.

You can switch the workflow later in Settings. Your old records are kept.

Started the organization as a booster officer?

Settings also shows a Band Link card with a code for your band director. You do not need to wait for the link. Do every step below now. See Link the band.

2. Add the officer team

Under Settings → Staff, add the president, treasurer, and assistants. Use the email each person will sign in with. Read Staff roles & permissions before you give anyone access.

3. Build the student roster

On the organization page, open Student Roster.

  • For a few students, use Add a Student.
  • For the whole band, use Import from CSV. (CSV is a spreadsheet file type that Excel and Google Sheets can save.) Check the Import Preview, then click Confirm Import.

Make sure names, grades, and sections are right before you invite families. Full steps: Build the roster & connect parents.

4. Set up the books (Integrated Accounting only)

Skip this step if your workflow is Official books kept elsewhere.

  1. Open Ledger. On the Starting Balance card, click Edit… and enter the bank balance on the first day of your fiscal year.
  2. Open Categories. Rename, add, or archive categories to match the board's reports.
  3. Open Budgets and enter this year's amount for each category, if the board has approved a budget.

The starting balance is not income. It is the money you already had when the year began.

5. Create and charge student fees

Open Fees.

  1. Under Create a Fee, enter the name and total. Choose Paid at once for one due date, or Paid in installments for up to six payments. Click Create Fee.
  2. Under Assess To, choose who gets charged: all active students, one grade, or one section. Click Review & Assess….
  3. Read the summary. For example: "You're about to assess $250.00 to all active students — 41 students."
  4. Click Confirm — Assess Fee, or Cancel to back out.

Charging the same fee twice is safe. Students who already have it are skipped, and the summary tells you how many. If someone adds a student to that group while the summary is open, MusterSheet stops and asks you to review again.

6. Connect families

  • Families request their own link: if your roster has parent emails, send parents to mustersheet.com/boosters/join. They type their email and get a private link for their students. No approval is needed.
  • You invite a parent: on Invites & Parents, choose the student, enter the parent's email, and send the invite.

Other ways to connect families (in-person codes and printed flyers) are in Build the roster & connect parents.

7. Decide on online payments

Parents can pay by card only after you connect your bank account. MusterSheet uses Stripe, a card-payment company, to take the cards and send the money to your bank.

  1. Open Settings and find Online Parent Payments.
  2. Click Set Up Payouts with Stripe and answer the questions on Stripe's page.
  3. Come back to MusterSheet. If setup is not finished, click Check Status.
  4. Check that the Card Fee Rate matches the card fee rate Stripe gave you.

Parents see Pay Online once Stripe turns on payments. You can always record cash and checks without Stripe. Full steps: Trial, billing & online payments.

8. Test with one student

Before you invite everyone, try it with one student, such as an officer's own child:

  1. Open the statement as that student's parent.
  2. Check the charges and due dates.
  3. Record a small cash or check payment, or pay online if it is set up.
  4. Check that the student's balance changed.
  5. With Integrated Accounting, check that the payment shows on the Ledger and in the Treasurer's Report.
  6. Open the Balances Report.

If everything looks right, invite the rest of the families.