What are appropriate budget percentages for our church? This is a common question that arises every time a church budget is created. Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut answer. What one church spends on personnel costs shouldn’t dictate what another church can…

Q: Some of our staff use personal credit cards to make approved purchases for the church. When reimbursing the employee for the purchase, is the credit card statement adequate support? A: Credit cards are certainly a convenient way to make business purchases. But…

Whether your leadership position is senior pastor, board member, or department leader, one common task you all share is the need to effectively manage and oversee financial resources. While the depth of interaction with financial statements may differ between ministry…

Whatever size church you lead, you can manage your finances effectively without sacrificing your mission. And managing your budget is one of the keys to balancing finances and mission. When it comes to church finances, people are usually concerned about the same…

Churches receive charitable contributions every week. For the most part, donors make contributions to the church without designating how the funds should be spent. However, sometimes donors place stipulations or restrictions on their donations. These designated funds…

Churches rely on financial stewardship to support ministry, outreach, and operations. A well-organized counting program ensures offerings are handled with transparency and care. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining an existing process, this guide will walk…

Every day, church leaders face decisions that affect the health of their church. When these decisions relate to financial operations, these choices can have lasting impact. Making the right choices, adopting proper procedures and implementing adequate financial…

An Interview with Richard Hahn The role of church treasurer is a multifaceted endeavor. Whether your title is bookkeeper, treasurer, accountant, administrative assistant, or secretary, if you are responsible for counting, reporting, or managing church finances, you…

When it comes to the matter of a church budget there may be some that say “Who needs a budget? The Lord will provide our needs. Budgets just put restrictions on the work of the Holy Spirit.” To those people, budgets are often viewed as negative and…

More and more, America is becoming a cashless society. Noncash transactions, in the form of checks, credit cards, debit cards, and other electronic transactions, like ACH and wire transfers, continue to increase year over year. According to a recent study by the…

Signing a blank check is a fast and convenient way to allow an employee to make a purchase. However, signed, blank checks can be easily abused. Not only can the checks be written for more than the approved amounts, the checks can be used for entirely different…

In accounting circles, there is a lot of discussion about segregation of duties. This phrase may sound complex or technical, but segregating duties is simply the process of having more than one person involved in a task or process. We often talk about segregating…