Articles on Finance
Offerings. Tithes. Stewardship. Generosity. Giving. Sacrifice. Finance. There are many words that we use to describe the money that is received by the church for ministry use. There are also many facets to the Finance Department as they aid ministries by organizing the necessary funds.
Outsourcing Financials Roles
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Hey Fletch … We are considering outsourcing our financial roles. Any insight on this? Pros / Cons? DRF—I answered a related question on August 29, 2018 in “Would We Save Money [...]
Receipts for Purchases Are So Late, Part 2
Friday, November 2, 2018 Hey Fletch … I read the question about receipts being turned in to the church within sixty days of the expense. We also have a staff member who is turning in [...]
Attorney’s Perspective on Designated Funds
Thursday, November 1, 2018 Hey Fletch … I’ve been reading about designated funds and I’m still confused. Do you have a tax expert or attorney who can also comment on the issue? DRF—We have done [...]
New Tax Court Case Says “Gifts” to Pastor Are Taxable
In a recently issued Tax Court case, Judge Mark Holmes rendered a decision that may be the most thorough judicial analysis of the law surrounding “love gifts” for pastors that has ever been published. [...]
Mandatory Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Update
California has recently updated the requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. Your state may have similar regulations. The bottom line---train all staff. Tiffany Henning at HR Ministry Solutions, XPastor's go-to resource for HR information, [...]
Qualitative Liquidity and Availability Disclosure Considerations for Churches in ASU 2016-14, Part 2 of 2
Among the many nonprofit financial reporting standards changes in Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-14, one of particular importance to churches is the new liquidity and availability disclosure. The ASU [...]
Liquidity and Availability Disclosure Considerations for Churches in ASU 2016-14, Part 1 of 2
All churches that issue external financial statements (complete with footnote disclosures) for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 (calendar year 2018 and fiscal years ending in 2019) are subject to the new nonprofit [...]
Poll of Church Health Insurance Benefits
Monday, October 22, 2018 Hey Fletch … I promised to send you the results of our poll of 18 churches. Here is the file with what we found. What do you glean from the findings? [...]
Renting Office Space to a Marriage Counselor
Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Hey Fletch … A licensed professional marriage counselor who attends our church wants to rent a room so he can see clients in a location that is on the opposite side [...]
Receipts for Purchases Are So, So Late
Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Hey Fletch … Our church staff can purchase items from their own funds and then be reimbursed. This happens a lot with youth trips and out-of-town ministry. We have a [...]
More on Designated Funds
Monday, October 1, 2018 Hey Fletch … Thanks for your answer to my designated funds question. Let me submit another question. Someone brought an article today with the ideas of “restricted” and “designated” funds. The [...]
Special Offering for a Woman with Cancer
Thursday, September 20, 2018 Hey Fletch … Our church wants to take up a special offering for a woman who has cancer. Can we ask people to give money through the church for her? [...]
What Are Designated Funds?
Thursday, September 13, 2018 Hey Fletch … Can you educate me about “preferred ministry” rather than “designated” funds which are restricted. We are a church of 165 and struggling to make budget. As a [...]
Can an Auto Allowance Be Tax-Free?
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 Hey Fletch … I believe I'm clear on the minister's housing allowance designation. What about a car allowance? We have a new employee who says ministers can claim a car allowance [...]
Health Insurance Going Up 123%
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 Hey Fletch … I am looking for some advice on health insurance for my team. We provide a high deductible plan for our employees and have contributed a percentage of the [...]
How Your Ministry Can Help Prevent Child Abuse Through a Safety System
In past months, scores of allegations of child sexual abuse have come to light, many for the first time. On the heels of these revelations, churches and ministries have begun to better understand that [...]
Sexual Abuse Risk and Record Retention
Every child-serving organization is responsible for the protection of children in its care. To discharge that responsibility, the organization should take reasonable steps to create an effective safety system that prevents child sexual abuse. [...]
Financial Health in a Church of 100
Saturday, September 1, 2018 Hey Fletch … I am involved with trying to get our church’s financial situation back on track and healthy again. Would any of your reports contain information on a church that [...]
Ministerial Housing Allowance
Friday, August 31, 2018 Hey Fletch … I am a full time associate pastor and am applying for an apartment that is part of the SMART Housing program, a kind of government assisted, affordable housing [...]
What about Online Giving Options?
Monday, August 27, 2018 Hey Fletch … We are looking at beginning to allow online giving. We are looking at three different providers: pushpay.com, gyve.io and tithe.ly. We are evaluating each platform and like what [...]
What Should I Look for in Online Giving?
Monday, August 20, 2018 Hey Fletch … Our church is considering starting online giving. What are the kinds of things that we should be looking for? DRF—From a user’s perspective, the number one thing for [...]
Health Cost-Sharing Ministries
Tuesday, July 31, 2018 Hey Fletch … I have a question about rising medical costs for employers. There are several Christian-based health cost-sharing ministries, such as MediShare, Christian Healthcare Ministries, and Samaritan Ministries. On [...]
Scam Artist Wants Refund of Donation
Wednesday, July 18, 2018 Hey Fletch … Have you heard about this scam? According to police in Troy, Michigan, a church received a $4,500 donation for hurricane victims. Later that day, police say the [...]
Church Musicians: Employees or Independent Contractors?
Are the musicians your church pays to perform for worship services and other church events employees or independent contractors? Contrary to what some churches may believe, whether a musician paid by a church to [...]