More than ever, religious and faith-based organisations need the guidance and expertise of a Certified Public Accountant.
If you're unsure whether to label a worker an employee or an independent contractor, then go ahead and assign and pay your worker an employee classification!
This will prevent you from making an error in your church bookkeeping. Make sure to carefully review every individual paying for a particular service. Use the IRS guidelines (link at the Misclassification article), to determine whether or not they should be classified with the proper payroll tax and matching.
You might need more functionality than QuickBooks Premier Plus provides as your church grows. Your church's growing needs will include the ability to manage volunteers, events, allow online giving and run email campaigns.
Your church will be able manage the accounting tasks that are associated with programs such as preschools and fundraising. This will ensure these programs and your ministry are a success.
It is inevitable that church bookkeeping errors will occur. But, there are steps you can take to stop them.
Our experienced not-for-profit tax advisers have many years of experience working with churches, synagogues, church schools and other faith-based organizations to help minimized their taxes and protect their tax exempt status.
Here is a quick breakdown of some of the most common tasks you will need to accomplish when doing your church bookkeeping.
Enter Income And Expenses. ...
Track Contributions And Prepare Bank Deposits. ...
Pay Bills. ...
Journal Entries. ...
Complete A Bank Reconciliation.
Bookkeepers maintain the financial records of the church that includes income and expense records. They are supposed to keep records of the dates and amount of every transaction of the church.
All organizations should follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), using an accrual basis to record income and expenses when they are earned and incurred. However, many churches use a cash basis—recording income and expenses when they are received and paid—or a combination of both approaches.