Fraud within a church shakes a congregation. The speculation of fraud can do just as much damage as actual fraud, causing people to turn against one another. Just as preventing fraud should be a priority for churches, protecting those who serve in the capacity of a church’s bookkeeper should also be a priority.
Good Friday. The day, 2000 years ago, where all hope seemed to be lost. Jesus, the Messiah; the Savior; the Healer; the Miracle-Worker; the Friend, was dead. His disciples, His family, and His friends all mourned deeply as they received news of His death. Even with Jesus’ promise of His resurrection, those closest to Him felt true despair in the face of the unknown. No one had any idea what the future would hold.
We are certainly living in unprecedented times, however, as Isaiah 26:3 tells us, when we trust in the Lord we are able to be kept by God in His perfect peace. We are living in unknown times, yet we serve a God who does know and is equipping His people to continue expanding His Kingdom. Amid the continued spread of COVID-19 in the United States, individuals, places of work, and government are navigating how to both survive and care for those around them.
Are you concerned about your cash flow? How deep are you going to have to make spending cuts? How far are your cash reserves going to be able to carry you? Wisdom Over Wealth is providing a free cash forecasting spreadsheet to all American Christian churches. Accompanying the spreadsheet, Wisdom will host a free webinar demonstration.
Working from home has plenty of challenges. For the church staff member in charge of paying bills it may seem impossible to work from home and keep on top of paying the church expenses. While trying to maintain healthy distance, what used to be an easy job could easily become overwhelming in between trips back and forth to the church office, processing bills, figuring out who needs to sign and approve the checks, how to have people sign and approve checks, and getting the checks sent out.
Our church community faces unprecedented events. For some churches, the current crisis falls at the start of a new fiscal year and for others, it’s right in the middle. How, as a church, do we reassess our finances and budget to face this precarious time?
If we know nothing else about the crisis around this virus, we know there will be some impact to financials – coming in and going out! Taking the time to update your budget will ensure that decisions are thought through, intentional, and appropriate for your situation.
Across the country and the world we have entered a season where we are not able to meet as local churches in the same way we have been accustomed to. As churches, each of you are making decisions and judgments on how to navigate through this season of ministry and administration. Wisdom seeks to be a resource for you as you navigate this changed season well.
As of early Sunday evening, the CDC has ordered that gatherings be limited to 50 individuals for the next 8 weeks. Many state governors, including Washington state’s Jay Inslee and Massachusetts Charles Baker, have now ordered gatherings to be limited to under 25 individuals for a period of at least three weeks, if not more. Prior to and with these announcements many churches are emphasizing online services and online giving.
Do you have restricted contributions coming into your church? Does your board or council designate funds for specific ministries? Are you unsure what you have to do with restricted or designated funds?
Restricted contributions bring with them the requirement of additional accounting needs. Fund accounting ensures that both restricted contributions and funds designated by leadership are used for the correct corresponding expenses, allowing the church to steward all monies collected for specific uses intended by the giver.
Funds can be considered special projects outside the normal operations of the church. Churches track these projects using fund accounting practices to keep everything separate. The income coming in, both the restricted giving and leadership designated funds, and the expenses used for the project are separate from the operating activity of the church.
There are many types of funds churches use to set aside specific money. Examples of the most popular funds in church accounting are often: Building Fund, Missions Fund, and Benevolence Fund. Although these funds can be found in many churches, your church may have these same funds, more funds, or fewer funds depending on your specific needs.
Wisdom Over Wealth recommends using either Quick Books Online, our preferred software solution, or Aplos for fund accounting. Both systems use different means to accomplish the goal of true fund accounting, keeping funds separate from the church operating budget.
If your leadership team is looking to Get Started with fund accounting or are interested in implementing this, give us a call or send us an email! We’d love to partner with you! with fund accounting or are interested in implementing this, give us a call or send us an email! We’d love to partner with you!
