![]() ![]() They are precise and inexpensive, and can free up a lot of time particularly when it comes to quarterly and year-end payroll tax filing. You are doing the bookkeeping on a voluntary basis, and if they have handled payroll manually in the past, you might want to try and implement an automated payroll system (ADP, Paychex and Intuit Online Payroll are some possible providers). ![]() A small church may not have any employees at all, but a large one can have many. It’s actually an independent function, but it is often assigned to the person in charge of bookkeeping. Ask if there are any salaried employees.Įmployees can be a complication when you’re handling bookkeeping for a church. You may find you have a better way to handle the situation, or you may determine that there is no alternative to the way it’s been done in the past. Even if there are aspects of it that you do not understand or necessarily agree with, they may have been put in place because the church is trying to deal with a complication.īefore making any changes, you should first be sure that you fully understand the complexities of the church’s books. Whenever you pick up a set of books, it’s always best to begin by using the existing system. Initially, stay with the system that is already in place. What you want to do is to determine who you will be answering to with the bookkeeping, as well as who you can go to whenever you need input or questions answered. In a larger church, that function may be handled by a minister, a manager, or even a combination of several people in the organization. In a small church, that might be the pastor or even the pastor’s wife. One of the first orders of business will be to determine who the decision-makers are when it comes to all things financial. Determine who the decision makers are.Įvery organization – including churches – have a chain of command. But if that person has left, see if you can contact them and try to arrange a meeting or two to actually go over the books together. BEST FINANCIAL SOFTWARE FOR A SMALL CHURCH PLUSIf that person is still on staff, that will be a plus – they can help you to learn the system. You should interview anyone who is been connected with keeping the books at the church. Interview current and former staff members. But otherwise, try to avoid any radical changes. If the church’s books are in poor condition, or if there are significant cash flows that are not being properly accounted for, you may have to improvise the existing system a bit. There will be time to make changes later. Ideally, what you want to do is to establish a continuation of the existing system. The first order of business will be to observe and study how they have handled the books in the past. Take a close look at how things have been done so far. I don’t know that this is the case at the church in question, but it’s best to be prepared for this possibility. Since bookkeeping is a certified ‘back office’ function in a church, their books and records aren’t usually the most orderly. How involved the work will be will depend largely on the size of the church and the degree of order the books have been kept in up to this point. From an accounting and bookkeeping standpoint, churches are in a category all their own. There are certain aspects of ‘keeping the books’ that are common to any entity, and others that are unique to churches. Could you maybe address some tips or suggestions on the best way to do this?”įirst of all, God bless you – that’s a ministry unto itself! There will be challenges, but it’s a very necessary function that I’m certain your church appreciates you stepping up to handle. “I have volunteered to do the financial books for my church. A reader recently requested that we provide an article that addresses the following question: ![]()
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