I get a lot of calls from church treasurers. A relatively small percentage of those treasurers are frustrated with their pastor. Of those that are frustrated, it’s almost always around the subject of ARP and accountable reimbursements. So…the primary reason I teach new clergy on accountable reimbursements is to prevent the pastor from being secretly hated by their treasurer.
Here’s the source of the strife: pastors expect timely reimbursements for all their expenses, and treasurers expect timely receipts for all the pastor’s expenses. Expectations are premeditated resentments…especially when these expectations aren’t plainly expressed. Here is what I go over in this training video:
- Commuting vs Business Miles: I have an actual diagram to clearly show which miles are reimbursable or not.
- Ownership Issues: Who ones the stuff purchased through ARP and when this actually matters.
- Receipt Systems: Keeping track of those receipts is an issue for so many people. I give a few ideas on how to make this easier.
- The Road Warrior: There are some pastors that regularly travel 200+ miles a week for work. Part of the mileage reimbursement is to cover the wear and tear on the vehicle so how can you manage the reimbursement to fund your next vehicle purchase.