Even if you have a church member who is a certified accountant or bookkeeper, hiring a specialist for your church's bookkeeping needs will likely be a large investment. We recommend that you make this an important priority. Three ways that investing in your church will benefit you are:
Outsourcing is a good option. A bookkeeper outsourced can be a great option for smaller churches to medium-sized ones. It will increase the expertise and accuracy of your bookkeeper, as well as lower costs. Let's take a closer look at each of these:
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.
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Atlanta Church Bookkeeping LLC assists clients with complex tax, payroll, and human resource issues. Our tax experts will keep clients up-to-date on the latest developments and trends in tax.
An area of high risk for churches is the lack of internal controls. External auditors can reconcile bank accounts and track deposits and check them. This increases the safety of your congregation's finances.
It is not possible to keep a church's books in order by maintaining a check registry.
Diocesan Canons state that treasurers and other officers of a church parish, mission or other institution be “bonded” according to Episcopal Church Canons. Episcopal Church Canons require that treasurers be “adequately bonded.”
seven years
Financial Records are traditionally kept for seven years. This relates to the laws of tax audits and the number of years back the IRS is allowed to look when determining an organization's tax liability.
The IRS may begin a church tax inquiry only if an appropriate high-level Treasury official reasonably believes, based on a written statement of the facts and circumstances, that the organization: (a) may not qualify for the exemption; or (b) may not be paying tax on unrelated business or other taxable activity.