Churches are under most of the same labor and employment laws that "for-profit" organizations are under. This includes the guidelines for classifying your workers as employees or independent contractors.
Even if someone in your congregation is a bookkeeper or accountant for nonprofits, hiring a specialist will be a substantial investment. We urge you to make this a priority. It can bring benefits to your church three ways
This is a great way to avoid this mistake in church bookkeeping. Take the time to review each person that you are paying for a church service and use the IRS guidelines link in the Misclassification article to determine if they should classified as an employee, with proper payroll tax matching and withholding.
Our experts will make sure that all information is included and accounted. Let us handle the hassle so you can be focused on your mission.
In order to be able to manage the finances of a church, the bookkeeper may also need to act as an accountant or treasurer. They are responsible for all financial aspects of the church. These are their responsibilities, but not only.
The church's administrative and leadership staff can focus on its mission rather than on bookkeeping.
The problem is that neither the Pastor nor the good hearted volunteer may know how to set up and maintain a proper accounting system, so you end up with an ineffective church bookkeeping system...and may not even realize it...until you have bills not being paid, or doubled paid...or financial records that nobody can make sense of...or make proper financial decisions with.
Working in church accounting, you share the same responsibilities as an accountant in any other organization. You record expenses, track contributions made by the congregation, and monitor spending on various programs. Your duties center around bookkeeping, documenting and controlling finances for a church.
81% of church revenue came from individual donations. 34% of congregations have endowments, which constituted on average 4% of their revenue. Only 2% of churches received revenue from government grants; 12% received finance from non-government grants.
Common Church Budget Categories
Personnel (salaries, benefits, etc.)
Administration (operating expenses)
Facilities and Equipment (utilities, insurance on property, maintenance)
Outreach (missions, evangelism, social events, etc.)