Finance Issues
There are so many financial issues for a church!
Finance 101 in Brief: A Quick Dive into Key Topics
Join Fletch and Mike Lee as they break down the key essentials every XP needs to know about internal financial reporting, managing financial health, debt considerations, and data security practices. [...]
IRS Issues Employee Retention Credit Disallowance Letters and Releases More Warning Signs
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a fully refundable payroll tax credit designed to assist employers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide a significant refund for eligible employers. In September 2023, the [...]
Internal Controls: Practical Steps for Churches to Implement
Effective internal controls are vital to helping your church safeguard your resources, ensure financial integrity, and foster trust. We’ll share the latest research on how organizations are affected by fraud and discuss [...]
The Employee Retention Credit—The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) started out as a lesser-known relief provision contained in the CARES Act passed into law at the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020. Over the [...]
How to Activate Your Church Buildings for Greater Community Impact
Has your church considered ways you could use your buildings for greater community impact during the week? Join us for a look at how to do this in a financially sustainable way. [...]
Effective Benchmarking: Thinking Outside The Box
Comparing key data points against known metrics is a tried-and-true method for assessing financial health for any organization. In this webinar, we will discuss how to answer key financial health questions in [...]
Designing an Effective Chart of Accounts for Churches
There are four basic principles of effective chart of accounts design and they are most prominently applied to reporting elements like travel, supplies, and meals. You can redesign your general ledger accounts to create [...]
Assessing Church Financial Health Made Easy
Assessing Church Financial Health Made Easy—Even if you are not financially inclined So … you’re an XP (or equivalent) and you’re in charge of (among other things) the financial health and operations [...]
5 Building Blocks of Church Financial Integrity
Michael Martin and Fletch examine a vital topic of how to ensure your church has financial integrity. When you have a problem in this area, your donors get nervous and may stop [...]
Numbers Based on Operating Budget or Total Revenue
Hey Fletch … Do you have benchmark data that documents total compensation as a percent of total revenue (restricted and unrestricted), not just of the operating budget? I know over the years I have seen [...]
Seven Common Mistakes Churches Make When Performing a Ratio Analysis
Church board members are eager to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility and watch over the long-term economic health of the church. However, most are not used to reading nonprofit financial statements. This can make it [...]
Supporting Missions Work
Wednesday, April 3, 2019 Hey Fletch … Our church provides direct support to several international missionaries. What are the issues we should look at to provide this support with the utmost integrity? DRF—There are [...]
Mileage Reimbursements
Hey Fletch … Some of my fellow XPs have a variety of polices regarding mileage reimbursement for staff. I am wondering about best practices regarding this issue. Any help? DRF—Check the current IRS mileage reimbursement rate [...]
Giving to a Short-Term Missions Team
Monday, March 25, 2019 Fletch is back from his research break, writing Predators in the Church Hey Fletch … I’ve been tracking with Dan Busby’s comments in the Hey Fletch column. I know gifts [...]
Gifts for a Needy Person
Tuesday, February 26, 2019 Hey Fletch… We have a widow in our church that is going through serious medical challenges. She has exhausted her financial resources. Several wealthy members of the congregation want to [...]
Supreme Court Decision Continues for Nonprofits That Sell Items
As we originally reported in our June 21, 2018 Special Alert℠, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., et al., that states can, in some circumstances, require a seller [...]
Mileage Reimbursement for Missionaries
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 Hey Fletch! First off, thank you so much for bringing such an informative and fun workshop to Hawaii. It was such a pleasure to see you and we look forward [...]
Obligations with Donor Designations?
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 Hey Fletch … What are our obligations in handling donor designations? These come either verbally during a church service, on our website, or by text. They can also be formally [...]
Benevolence: The Right Help Given the Right Way
Churches are in the charity business. They are commanded by God to help the poor, the sick and the wounded. But the church also must abide by tax rules designed to prevent abuse. This [...]
Donor Designated Gifts
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 Hey Fletch … I heard that if a donor designates a gift made to our church, we cannot provide the donor with a receipt under the theory that designated gifts [...]
Pay for a Wedding
Friday, January 11, 2019 Hey Fletch … If a pastor performs a funeral or wedding and is paid directly, the pastor gives the check to our church finance office. I then add it to [...]
Tax on a Church Parking Lot?
Saturday, January 5, 2019 Hey Fletch … Do I need to pay unrelated business income tax on my parking lot? I heard a lot of noise about this last fall but what was the [...]
Policies on Appropriate Spending
Friday, January 4, 2019 Hey Fletch … Do you have any policies or procedures which outline appropriate spending? Our SP has a credit card but we haven’t ever put limits on spending. We are [...]
Renting Church Rooms to the School District
Wednesday, December 12, 2018 Hey Fletch … We are in an unusual place. Many times new churches rent or lease space from public school systems. Our county school system is seeking to lease classroom space from us [...]