I’m not trying to dissuade you from having a tax professional prepare your W-2’s, but, if you are up to the challenge, here’s how to do it. This is mainly aimed at clergy in the Dakotas UMC, but I bet you could translate this into Lutheran or Presbyterian or Baptist or even Non-Denominational. Here’s the…
Category: 10-Minute Treasurer
Learning to say “Thank you” with the IRS in mind
What’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t keep the IRS in mind when issuing Giving Statements or something to acknowledge gifts? Well…the IRS could disallow the donors charitable tax deduction which would lead them to have to pay more taxes. This would probably lead to a ticked off donor who will likely…
Housing Allowance vs Housing Exclusion
This is always a difficult thing to explain…and keep straight after it’s been explained. The Designated Housing Exclusion is basically a tax loophole. It allows pastors to reduce their tax bill by having a part of their salary designated for housing. It doesn’t cost the church anything. If it’s not done, it will cost your…
QuickBooks Sub-Accounts are Awesome!
Finishing up my 30-day free trial of QuickBooks Online. This is the last tip I wanted to throw out. If you’re not using Sub-Accounts in QuickBooks, your reporting is lacking. The only way I know how to get robust reporting for a church is to use Sub-Accounts. Sub-Accounts let you better organize your accounts. They…
Preaching on giving IS NOT like Peeing on an Electric Fence
I decided that every tenth post/video would be on Stewardship Education. I realize that the title of this post and the picture probably don’t make you think, “I bet this an educational video.” One thing I run into over and over again is pastors and church leaders being afraid of preaching on money, giving, and…
Charting your church’s success (or failure) with the Chart of Accounts
I am a believer that many churches’ future is determined by their chart of accounts. The chart of accounts shape the church leaderships view of their finances and affect their decisions. A confusing chart of accounts leads to confused decisions. I know there are many exceptions, but the chart of accounts is one of the…
How can you handle donor-restricted funds in QuickBooks?
I’m still working in my 30-day free trial of Non-Profit QuickBooks Online. One of the first challenges I’ve helped churches work through is how you handle all those church funds. I’ve seen two good solutions: 1)Track it all in the Equity section or 2)Track it in Equity AND Other Income. I show you this in…