For nearly 15 years, I’ve been speaking out against dividing the church budget by 12 and using that for your Year-to-Date Budget. Everyone always agrees with me, but it’s easier said than done…especially when it comes to the income side. Some months have more Sunday than others. If only there was a fancy spreadsheet….
The Income Statement (aka Statement of Activities or Profit & Loss) seems like a pretty simple financial report. It shows income. It shows expenses. It shows the bottom line. Sometimes churches can complicate this simple statement, but that can be fixed.
The Balance Sheet is an important tool if you want to understand your church’s financial strength and potential. Sadly, it’s also one of the most neglected. In this week’s offering, I give an overview of the Balance Sheet as well as five key questions you should be asking.
Most of the time, treasurers just want to make sure the leaders and committees we serve have all the information they need to make good decisions. I think we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. By giving so much information, the important numbers seem to be getting lost. Here’s how we can bring them to the spotlight.
If you’re reading this, chances are you are a treasurer or rely on a treasurer. What is the biggest mistake treasurers are most prone to making? Is it tax related? Is it investing? What about journal entries? Well, it’s none of those, but the mistake is likely making ministry much more difficult than it needs to be.
Do you have Student Loans? If you do, you’ve likely seen the blurbs on the news and social media about President Biden declaring that $10,000 will be forgiven. Is this too good to be true? I explore eligibility requirements and how to apply in this post and video.
As an accountant, I started out loving Red Tape. I liked being able to navigate all the tax rules and forms. I knew that people would need me to guide them through the process.
20 years later, I’m not as big of a fan. Red Tape makes ordinary work more complicated. So…which denomination is making more work for their churches through Red Tape?