05 Essential Church Bookkeeping Tips Every Pastor Should Know

As a leader of any church is a matter of great pride for any person. When you are in a leading position like a pastor, you are also entitled to a lot of responsibilities. One of the important responsibilities here is the proper handling of the bookkeeping and accounting activities of the church. People have a lot of belief in you and it is a general expectation that you follow Church Accounting Best Practices properly. Whatever transactions happen in the church, it is important to have a proper recording in the bookkeeping. If you follow proper Church Bookkeeping Tips, you can always have efficiency in the overall accounting of the organization.

How are Bookkeeping and Accounting for the Churches Different?

Church Bookkeeping and accounting are a little different from profit accounting practices.

Some of the Important Difference Between The Church and For-profit Organizations are:

– The funds in the churches mainly come from the generosity of the supporters.

– Very selective restrictions must be considered on the contributions made here.

– As churches do not sell any goods or services, a different approach is important.

– A slight variation is there in showing the financial health of the churches.

Although these are some main points of difference, there are a few other points to that must be considered in accounting here.

What are Church Accounting Best Practices?

If you want to achieve a better accounting system in the church then you need to follow proper practices.

Here are Few Church Bookkeeping and Accounting Tips That Can Help You Bring Efficiency:

1. Use Multiple Ledgers

As your church does not sell any goods or services, a single ledger cannot work here. A series of ledgers is essential to show the different uses of money. This is an important Church Bookkeeping Tips, where these ledgers can help to keep all the transactions and accounts in organized way.

2. Prepare Bank Deposits & Track Contributions

Whatever contributions you are getting for the church, you need to track it properly. Here, you also need to track those contributions that are tax-deductible. You must always prepare a bank deposit slip to ensure transparency and efficiency in accounting.

3. Keep A Dedicated Person For Signing Checks

Proper tracking of the bills and their corresponding due date must be done. All these bill payments must be done by a dedicated person. It will help to avoid any hassles when done with multiple people and improve the cash flow efficiency.

4. Proper Bank Reconciliation

Bank reconciliation is one of the important aspects of having better internal control of your organization. Although proper accounting software can do this task much more easily, you need an expert person for it. They can eliminate errors and bring efficiency to the church account balances.

5. Make Proper Financial Documents

Financial documents are very important for the church. It must show all the financial activities of the organization in a proper way. Generally, a slight variation is necessary to show the financial documents of the church.

These are some important Church Accounting Best Practices that can help maintain a proper accounting system. If you are unable to bring accounting efficiency in church then you can outsource it to experts.

Meru Accounting outsources Church Bookkeeping and accounting services. They have worked on the accounting for various churches with proper coordination with pastors. Well-equipped with accounting software, they can help bring expert accounting. Meru Accounting is a well-known accounting services providing agency across the globe.