The Zondervan 2010 Church and Nonprofit Tax and Financial Guide is the most accessible, complete, and easy-to-follow tax and financial guide of its kind, explaining complex tax concerns in plain language.

Description:
The Zondervan 2010 Church and Nonprofit Tax and Financial Guide annual reference guide continues to be one of the few resources offering tax and financial advice to churches and nonprofit organizations. Issues of financial accountability, receiving and maintaining tax-exempt status, accounting for charitable gifts, and other crucial topics receive careful and full discussion.

The 2010 edition also contains a thorough description of tax laws affecting churches and other nonprofit organizations, ensuring compliance with all regulations. The book includes expert advice on handling charitable gifts, sample policies and procedures, easy techniques for simplifying financial policies and procedures, insights on medical expense reimbursements, key steps in sound compensation planning, and examples of required IRS filings.

Page Count: 224

Paper Edge Description: Plain
Size: 7.3 wide x 9.1 high x 0.6 deep in. | 185 wide x 231 high x deep 15 mm
Weight: 0.735 lb | 333 gms

Available: February 2010
World
Strategic Alliance: N/A
Publisher: Zondervan

Author of Zondervan 2010 Church and Nonprofit Tax and Financial Guide
Dan Busby, CPA
Dan Busby is a certified public accountant with a Masters degree in business from Emporia State University.

He has worked as controller of a university medical center, partner-founder of a CPA firm, and chief financial officer for a religious denomination.

He currently serves as the president with the … Click for more information about Dan Busby, CPA

I recently spent some time with Kevin Penry from LifeChurch.tv where he was serving as a coach/consultant for eight multi-site churches participating in Leadership Network’s Multi-site JumpStart InnovationLab. During one of the breaks I asked Kevin to tell me about the greatest challenge for him as the multi-site ministry at LifeChurch.tv had grown over the last several years. In this video, he shares how he and the central team stay engaged “on-the-ground” as they serve campuses literally around the world.

If your church has launched your first multi-site campus in the last six to eight months, you may be intereInnovation-Lab-logo_LOWsted in applying to be a part of the next Multi-site JumpStart InnovationLab. Applications can be requested from julia.burk@leadnet.org or downloaded at Multi-site JumpStart InnovationLab.

Greg Ligon

Leadership Network

twitter – gregligon

email – greg.ligon@leadnet.org

Posted by Greg Ligon on January 27, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) ShareThis
Releasing for Reproduction Followup

I recently posted a video interview with Dave Ferguson regarding what they have done to ‘”get unstuck” in releasing campuses to add campuses. I am reposting the video here.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of the “one page document” he references in the video, shoot me an email at greg.ligon@leadnet.org.

Greg Ligon

Leadership Network

Vice President and Publisher

twitter – @gregligon

Posted by Greg Ligon on December 17, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) ShareThis
Multi-Site Church Blogger’s Tour

A little over a year ago, Warren Bird, Geoff Surratt and I took a “road tcover-thumbrip” as we connected with 15 plus of the leading innovative churches in the multi-site movement. At each stop we learned about one of the latest innovations in the way multi-site that is being executed in the United States and literally around the world. We reported on our exploration in our book A Multi-site Church Road Trip.

On December 15, we will be taking a different kind of tour – a tour of 15 or more blogs where we will answer the questions of the following bloggers:

ben arment Story in the Making Ben Arment http://www.benarment.com

todd Rhoades Monday Morning Insight Todd Rhoades http://mondaymorninginsight.com/

eric bryant Mosaic Eric Bryant http://ericbryant.org/

mike bonem Leading from the Second Chair Mike Bonem http://www.secondchair.blogspot.com/

bill easum Observations Bill Easum www.billeasum.com

Tom Bandy Guiding Christian Leaders Tom Bandy http://tgbandy.com/

George Bullard BullardJournal George Bullard http://www.bullardjournal.org/

Bill Tenny-Brittian Consulting, Coaching and Chatter Bill Tenny-Brittian http://www.billtennybrittian.com/

Sherry Surratt Women Who Lead Sherry Surratt http://www.sherrysurratt.com

scott williams LifeChurch.tv (NW OKC Campus) Scott Williams http://bigisthenewsmall.com/

jeff bell Granger Community Church (Elkhart Campus) Jeff Bell http://livewellleadwell.com

don graffam Eagle Brook Church (White Bear Lake Canpus) Don Graffam http://wblbehindthescenes.wordpress.com/

Tim Boucher South Bend campus of Grace Community Church Tim Boucher http://bouchersblog.blogspot.com/

Bil Cornelius Bay Area Fellowship Bil Cornelius http://www.bilcornelius.com/blog

chad estes Captain’s Blog Chad Estes http://chadestes.com

Please join us on these blogs and here on the Multi-Site Church Road Trip Blog and feel free to ask a question of your own. Rumor has it that there will be a free copy of the book given to anyone who can stump Geoff Surratt!

Head Shots 011 @GregLigon – greg.ligon@leadnet.org

geoff surratt @GeoffSurratt – GeoffSurratt@seacoast.org

warren bird @WarrenBird – warren.bird@leadnet.org

Posted by Greg Ligon on December 14, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) ShareThis
Releasing for Reproduction

6a00d83451e1f069e200e550096f0d8834-150wi I recently spent a little time with Dave Ferguson from Community Christian Church in Naperville. If you know Dave and you know Community Christian, you know that they are all about reproduction – leaders, artists, campuses, church plants and networks. At a recent planning session, they realized that with reference to reproducing campuses, they were stuck. Check out this video to hear how they got unstuck and the amazing results.

Posted by Greg Ligon on December 03, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) ShareThis
Multi-site Innovation Lab – 2 spots left!

clip_image002Leadership Network offers a new experience – the Innovation Lab

Is your church looking for the chance to explore new ideas and discover a new path? Do you sometimes feel caught between ideas and action? You’re not alone. That’s why Leadership Network has developed The Innovation Lab, a unique environment designed to help you overcome the common obstacles to innovative thinking and problem solving in developing a ministry area.

JumpStart Innovation Labs are designed to give you a quick start in a ministry area, based on the proven results of others. We are launching the two new multi-site jumpstart labs described below in 2010. We have one spot available for each lab. If you are interested or know of someone that might be, give me a shout today at greg.ligon@leadnet.org.

Multi-Site Multipliers – Churches have already launched one or more campuses/venues and have a vision to accelerate the launch on multiple campuses.

First meeting is January 19-20, 2010 in Dallas and two online meetings from your office on July 13, 2010 and January 18, 2011.

Multi-Site Runway – Churches with a plan in place for a new campus and a launch date sometime between now and early 2010.

First meeting is March 23-24, 2010 in Dallas and two online meetings from your office on October 21, 2010 and April 21, 2011.

For more information on the Innovation Lab process and an application, go to http://innovationlab.leadnet.org.

At the same website, you can find information about six other innovation lab topics we will be tackling in 2010.

Greg Ligon

Vice President and Publisher

Leadership Network

twitter – gregligon and #leadnet

By: Jason Nilsson

Are your administrative tasks manageable right now but seem to be taking up more and more of your time? When you sit down to think about who was in attendance on Sunday, are you hoping you aren’t forgetting anyone? Do you feel like you’re spending more and more time managing the ministry instead of doing ministry?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to consider what software tools are available and how they can help you manage your ministry.

If you are new to the world of church software, an initial inquiry can be overwhelming. When you see the wide variety of available church software solutions, a cursory glance would lead you to believe they all do about the same thing.

At this point, many of us would start having second thoughts about church management software and say something like, “Well, we’re not that big yet, and I can get by with what I am doing now. I’ll just wait till we grow a little more.”

This is, of course, an option; however, it doesn’t do anything to solve the problems that originally caused you to begin your search. In fact, putting this off to a later time might make the process more difficult, and, at that point, you may be completely overwhelmed.

When I was a kid, I had a job cleaning a bakery. My boss told me that if I wiped the surfaces every day, even if they didn’t look dirty, I would save time in the long run and avoid more work later. When applied to church management, if you have the proper tools, such as a great software program, to maintain your ministry every day, you will not get overwhelmed.

When it comes to church management, it is much easier to get organized when the job is manageable and your work is light. Ask anyone who has had to input a backlog of names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, anniversaries, notes, e-mails, classes, and groups; needless to say, it’s not fun. Now, if you are saying to yourself, “I have all that information, it’s organized, and I keep up with it,” I would ask you to consider your definition of organized.

I submit that true organization involves two things: knowledge and efficiency. You not only need to know where something is, but it needs to be accessible. When you’re flipping through spreadsheets and fingering down pages, you will probably admit is not an efficient use of time. Also, having to add or update the same information in more than one place is, well, less than ideal.

The simple fact is that the sooner you choose to organize your information in a comprehensive, user-friendly, and accessible church management program, the less time and frustration you will experience in the long run. It’s just that simple. Although the time savings and organizational benefits alone make church software valuable, there are other reasons that might be more important.

Another reason to implement software sooner rather than later is because of the relational benefits. The right application can be an indispensable tool as you strive to connect with and communicate to the people in your care.

Technology has enabled us to be markedly more productive with our time, and because of this we can be more available in our relationships. The communication tools a good program provides will greatly enhance your ability to follow up with absentees, reach out to visitors, keep your members informed about ministry opportunities and events, and, in general, keep other communication flowing.

The fact is, if you are not using a comprehensive church program as a key part of your administrative, communicative, and organizational structure, you are vastly limiting your potential effect on your members and community.

In a world that often seems to be getting less and less personal, your ability to maintain relationships and communicate with people is becoming more and more important.

So, what is the big deal? Well, if you were to study the churches making the most impact in their communities, you would find, among other things, leaders making the most of the tools and resources at their disposal.

Making the most of every opportunity is what we are all instructed to do. Don’t limit your effectiveness by not taking advantage of time-saving technology simply because the search seems daunting, the price appears to be too high, or you think that your church is too small.

If making the most of your time, expanding your communications, and streamlining your administrative tasks are part of your plan, church management software will be a welcome addition for you and your ministerial staff.

Jason Nilsson is a director of sales for 13 states for Servant Keeper Church Management Software, which has helped more than 20,000 churches find church management software solutions that match their budget and needs, www.servantkeeper.com.

Sidebar
Using Software to Reduce Your Exposure to Fraud and Embezzlement
By Mary Lou Turnbull

In these hard times, even churches and not-for-profit organizations are not immune to fraud and embezzlement. Just because someone belongs to or is employed by a church or non-profit doesn’t necessarily mean they are trustworthy.

Much of the time, embezzlement is done by a faithful employee or volunteer who sincerely intends to pay back the funds “one day” but has encountered a financial crisis. Anyone presented with the opportunity and a perceived need for cash can succumb to temptation.

Possible Scenarios
Here are a few situations that we have heard from our clients:

* Petty cash monies get pocketed.
* Contribution checks get entered into the system, but cash disappears.
* Having only one person who knows the financial workings.
* The same person who approves expenditures also cuts and signs the checks.

Safeguards and Practices
Several common sense “rules-of-thumb” and internal controls come to mind:

Always have more than one person count the incoming money, fill out the deposit slip, and take it to the bank. These people should be different from those responsible for paying bills.

Require a rotation of duties at least once a year. Vacation times are the best time to do this. Be wary of someone who never takes a vacation!

Use a computer program with mandatory double entry practices and an audit trail that is verifiable. Make sure that it does not allow random changes to numbers. (Many home or small business programs let you just change anything at any time.) The best software has multi-level passwords and a log that tells who did what when.

Use the “smell test.” If something seems “fishy,” it probably is!

Detection
It is important to note that no software, no matter how security-conscious and integration-compatible, can substitute for the human factor of checks and balances. Internal audits, knowledgeable board members, and church policies are essential in eliminating these potential threats.

If fraud or embezzlement has been discovered or is even suspected, legal counsel should be contacted immediately. Legal advisors can let you know if they think a forensic accountant should be contacted and/or whether the person suspected of committing the fraud should be prosecuted or terminated.

Claims of libel and/or slander can compound the problem. In some cases, counsel may advise that a mutual agreement between the organization and the person in which they agree to repay the damages in lieu of arrests and court cases can be the best route for all involved. Only the attorneys and the governing body of the organization can make this decision. It might be a good idea to get a second legal opinion.

The best way to manage fraud is prevention! Internal controls, sound accounting practices, and a good software program can be your best combination for success.

Mary Lou Turnbull is a senior trainer at Computer Helper Publishing, www.churchwindows.com. She received her FCBA certification with the National Association of Church Business Administration in 1998. She travels across the United States training Church Windows customers on all aspects of their church management program.

Product Roundup

Church Helpmate
Church Helpmate is the church management system that’s simply powerful – and powerfully simple. It’s a complete church membership management system that is designed to help your church save time and money, build unity, make better disciples, increase ministry participation, and simplify your life. Church Helpmate is easy enough for your entire team to learn and use, yet packed with enough power and flexibility to satisfy the most demanding church office. The new 2010 version is now available.
www.helpmate.com

ministrEspace from Cool Solutions Group
ministrEspace is a low-cost, Web-based software solution for your ministry space scheduling needs. It requires minimal start-up instruction, has no setup fee, and operates in an Outlook-style calendar. In a few simple clicks, the straightforward interface makes quick work of all your scheduling demands, and functionality allows quick calendar access from your website. ministrEspace is subscriber based, with no long-term contracts or software to purchase. ministrEspace is as easy as click, schedule, save.
www.ministrEspace.com

PowerChurch Plus
PowerChurch Plus is an all-in-one software program that helps organize Membership, Contributions, Accounting, and Event scheduling. Version 11 is the latest release, with many changes that make it easier to navigate and maintain. Also, the PowerChurch Check In system works in conjunction with your PowerChurch Plus data to provide child security, attendance tracking, and reporting. PowerChurch Plus can be installed locally on your computer or network, or installed on remotely hosted servers where you connect and run PowerChurch Plus from any computer with access to the Internet.
www.powerchurch.com

Nspire Software
Spend less time managing and more time ministering. Nspire Software makes this possible by giving you a robust set of user-friendly software tools enabling you to manage information better. Nspire includes: People Management, Volunteer Tracking, Built-in TXT Messaging, Bulk E-mail, Automated Barcode Attendance, Fingerprint Attendance Tracking, Child Security through Check-in/out, Contributions, Pledge Drives, QuickBooks Compatibility, Automated Online Backup, Event Financial Tracking, Assimilation Tools, Photo Directories, Integrated Calendar and more.
www.nspiresoftware.com

ConnectionPower
ConnectionPower offers fully scalable Web-based church growth and truly enterprise level church management software, for churches of every size. ConnectionPower has the lessons learned and best practices from 25 years of working with thousands of churches to successfully increase visitor retention and member assimilation. They embed proven and flexible ministry processes that help you to double and even triple your power to connect newcomers, which is 100 percent of your church’s growth potential.
www.connectionpower.com

Five Talent Church
Five Talent Church Web-based church management software has all the items necessary, plus a lot more, for managing your church’s people, activities, communications, and financials. Aside from the mainstream features, Five Talent Church also offers Web site integration and a new visitation and volunteer management module that will really boost your church’s outreach efforts. Not only does it have everything you need, it is also extremely easy to use. It is free to get started and easy to convert your data from other programs.
www.FiveTalentSoftware.com

01/25/2010
Maintenance Release for Version 11 The following issues were addressed in a Maintenance Release dated 01/25/2010:

- Contribution check number on the Maintain Personal Profiles screen shows first 6 digits of check number, instead of last 6 digits

- Contribution check number on the View Posted Contributions screen shows first 6 digits of check number, instead of last 6 digits

- Check number field on Contribution Detail screen (click the Details button on the View Posted Contributions screen) is not wide enough to show a full 20 digit check number

- Posted Contributions report truncates the last digit off the date on certain printers (HP 6MP)

- Contribution Statements reports do not “refresh” the Report Options properly.

- Canadian Tax Receipts, when middle name is included, space missing between middle name and last name

- Exclusive file access is required when posting Contributions. This does not need to be the case. Only when modifying existing data do you need exclusive file access.

- Google Calendar sync in Events gives “File does not exist” error

- Accounts Payable – Repeating manual checks always release as negative check amount
01/21/2010
Maintenance Release for Version 11 A new maintenance release dated 01/21/2010 is available for version 11.

The following items were fixed in this release:

-An error can occur in the Google Calendar Sync process if you have a valid Google login, but no calendar

-Links from within the program to external exe files, such as Google sync and Netsetup are looking in the local program directory, rather than the network program directory on network installs

-Certain installs that occur from inside the program (reports, bar codes, etc) are not running properly

-Certain menus have incorrect hot keys (ALT+…) assigned

-Tab order is incorrect on Annual Budget Worksheet report options screen

-Cash Management report does not include unposted Payroll figures

-Errors can occur when running the 941 assistant

-Housing Allowance does not show correctly on 941 and W2 for Social Security and Medicare wages

-In certain instances, pastor salary does not show properly in state wages on W2

-Possible to have negative dollar amounts showing on the W2 form

-Maintain Tax Tables screen doesn’t open the appropriate help document when pressing F1

-Receipt number not printing properly on new Canadian Tax Receipt layout

-Possible that Contribution Statements show check number as “…”

-Contribution Statements sorted by zip code ignores alternate address zip code

-Possible error when e-mailing contribution statements

-Middle initial added to Canadian Tax Receipt

-Bank Deposit Slip report not grouping checks properly

-Possible error message in converting custom reports (”Variable MB_OK not found”)

-Add New Code causes an error when adding a new Event

-When sending bulk e-mails, if a person does not have an e-mail address, an error could occur
01/06/2010
Maintenance Release for Version 11 The following changes were made in the 1/6/2010 Maintenance Release for version 11:

- When posting from Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Contributions, and Payroll, if posting to your current month, the Accounting Month validation process will return that the month is already closed.

- The “Use this activity in Events” option box on the Maintain Activity/Skill Descriptions screen can sometimes be disabled.

- Inconsistent Help menu operations in network install. Clicking the “Contents” option successfully opens the help document. Clicking the “Search for help on” option is stopped by Windows security settings and shows “navigation canceled” message.

Role of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee represents the interests of the membership of the church, as well as those of the clergy, the church governing body, and even those of the regional or national church body. The Audit Committee is entrusted to perform a task that none of these individuals or groups can perform, primarily because they do not have access to the financial information and transactions of the church on a daily basis. The members and other interested parties are not in a position to judge the accuracy and fairness of any summarized financial reports which the church produces.

The Audit Committee has the task of attempting to verify the truth and accuracy of the information contained in the church’s financial reports, and by expressing an opinion on such information, make them more believable and acceptable to all interested parties. Such credibility can be achieved only if the Committee itself is believable. It is often said that the cornerstone of any audit is independence, meaning that the auditors must be unbiased and impartial regarding the material which is the subject of their audit. Only then can they offer a fair opinion on what they have examined. Perception can be just as important as reality in meeting this test, for an
individual may be the most honest and objective person alive, but if the membership of the church perceives that person to be biased or to have a vested interest in the subject matter of the audit, any report they might give will not be credible. Thus it is not appropriate for a church’s treasurer or financial secretary to serve on the Audit Committee. Certainly these individuals will play a central role in the audit, and they must be readily available to the Committee. The audit and the audit report, however, must be produced by individuals who are not now, and have not been, involved in the accounting or record keeping for the church during the year under audit.

The church and its leadership have a stewardship responsibility to see that the resources made available are used in the service of Christ and in the manner designated by the church leadership and the membership. This responsibility also extends to managing special gifts which may be restricted by the donor, and thus are available only for a specific purpose. A properly functioning Audit Committee will help the church to fulfill it stewardship responsibility by helping to assure that resources have been used in the proper fashion.

The church Audit Committee has a uniquely challenging task because of the environment in which it must operate. Churches are typically, and appropriately, characterized by a high degree of trust among the staff and employees. Nonetheless, prudence dictates that the church leadership must remain ever vigilant in order to fulfill the responsibilities given to it. No individual is above temptation. Jesus Himself was tempted by Satan. And yet who among mortals has the strength of Christ to withstand all such assaults? The Audit Committee is sometimes perceived as superfluous or unnecessary because of the trust placed in the church’s treasurer and/or financial secretary. In the vast majority of cases that trust is well deserved. In other cases, the Committee is viewed by those whose work comes under scrutiny as an attempt to discredit or devalue their work. Indeed, the treasurer or financial secretary should not view the Audit Committee as a vehicle by which the church is expressing distrust or suspicion. On the contrary, the Audit Committee in a church should celebrate the good work of the treasurer and financial secretary and hold it up high for all the membership to see!

The Committee’s Objectives
The objectives of the church Audit Committee are somewhat narrower than those of a public accountant auditing financial statements of a business. Most businesses must conform to a set of required accounting principles when presenting financial statements to the public, and auditors therefore gear their work toward reporting on whether the business’ statements are in conformity with such acceptable accounting principles.

For many churches, especially smaller ones, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are usually a non-issue. Compliance with such principles would only become important if the church had a need to publish its financial statements to outside parties, such as a lending institution, and was therefore required to have the statements audited by an independent outside auditing firm. Statements prepared for internal use by the church and its members need not conform to generally accepted accounting principles, although they certainly can be so prepared if the church wishes. It is usually much simpler for the church to prepare just those statements and schedules which it finds most useful, however.

Since most churches find that the information they need most often revolves around cash receipts and cash payments, the reports they have developed focus on these aspects of the church’s operations. Accordingly, the principal objectives of the church Audit Committee will also concentrate on these areas. In general terms, the Committee must be able to satisfy itself that all cash received by the church has been recorded properly and deposited into a bank account where access is limited. Similarly, it should be satisfied that all cash payments have been properly authorized by the appropriate body within the church, properly documented and recorded.

Finally, the Committee must be satisfied that all of these receipts and payments are correctly summarized and reported in the annual financial reports of the church, and that the information contained therein agrees with the underlying records of the church. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities will extend to other areas as well. For example, if the church has investments in securities such as stocks and bonds, the Committee will seek to assure itself that any purchase or sale transactions during the year have been properly authorized and recorded, and that the list of investments in the year-end financial reports is complete and accurate, properly representing what the church owns at year-end. On the other hand, if the church has any outstanding debts such as mortgages or loans, the Committee will want to assure itself that all required payments have been made during the year, and that the balances reported in the church’s financial statements are accurate as of the date of the statements.

There are other areas which should get the Committee’s attention too. These include the payroll area where the Committee will want to make sure that all employees and staff are being paid at the rate approved by the church governing body. Additionally, the Committee should satisfy itself that the church has adequate insurance coverage for all of its property and potential liabilities. Also, the Committee may wish to conduct a periodic inventory of the church’s property such as office equipment, audiovisual equipment, furniture, and similar items, comparing results with previous inventories to make certain that no assets have become missing.

One final area which should be of concern to the Audit Committee is often overlooked in the rush to “crunch the numbers” in the church’s annual financial reports. This area is the daily, weekly, and monthly accounting practices and procedures employed in the church, and it is vital to the accuracy of the ultimate financial reports. If the procedures and practices used on an ongoing basis are not sound, there may be errors which will be beyond the ability of the Audit Committee to discover. Items may be overlooked and never recorded, or they may be lost. It is the validity of the ongoing practices and procedures that will provide some assurance that all events get recorded and nothing is lost along the way. The Audit Committee can be helpful here by reviewing the practices and procedures in use and making constructive suggestions when necessary. To assist in this function, the section of this handbook on practices and procedures contains a questionnaire which will help the Committee to identify potential weaknesses in the church’s accounting practices and procedures.

Throughout the process, the Audit Committee should document its work. All good auditors do this in the form of audit schedules or work papers which for m the basis and provide the evidence for the auditor’s conclusions. Church auditors should be no different in this regard.

You are ultimately going to issue a report on the soundness of the annual financial reports, so you should have a well documented basis for doing so.

Church Financing & School Financing
FINANCING FOR HIGHER PURPOSES.

Whether you need to expand existing facilities, refinance existing debt, acquire land or finance new construction, Ziegler can customize a solution that’s just right for you. In fact, our church financing or school financing can give your church or school a conservative way to borrow a large sum of money, while providing great flexibility. Simply, church financing and school financing.

Since our founding in 1902, we have become a recognized leader in providing church mortgages, church loans and school financings, as well as financing for non-profit organizations. We are privileged to serve some of America’s largest ministries as well as many schools, colleges and universities.

Crossroads Church of Denver - Wheat Ridge (Denver), CO

Foundations Academy, Inc.- Meridian (Boise), ID

MORE LINKS

>> Read More Church Financing and School Financing Case Studies

>> Read More Church Financing and School Financing Articles

>> Read More Church Financing and School Financing Publications

>> Church Bonds?

>> Church Loans?

>> Invest in Your Church

>> Ziegler Church Financing in the News

>> Contact Ziegler’s Church Financing and School Financing Team

Insights

* Pinon Hills Community Church, Farmington, New Mexico
06/1/2009 The church dates back to 1957 as the Tabernacle Baptist Church. For many years the church functioned as an independent, Baptist church. In 1995 the church called John Morgan to become the senior pastor.
* Ziegler presents at 2009 WFX Conference
05/14/2009 – Long Beach, CaliforniaScott Rolfs, Managing Director and Head of Church & School Finance presented, Tight Credit Markets: Getting Your Project Financed at this year’s WFX conference. WFX is the leading event for church executive, facilities and technology teams. To receive a copy of this presentation click the link above.
* Collin County Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Inc., Prosper, Texas
04/1/2009 Collin County Lighthouse Christian Fellowship (Lighthouse) opened in the fall of 2001 as a church plant of Sojourn Church in nearby Carrollton, Texas. The average weekly attendance was approximately 75 and has since grown to more than 750.
* Bella Vista Assembly of God, Bella Vista, Arkansas
03/1/2009 Bella Vista Assembly of God is located in Bella Vista, Arkansas, near the Arkansas and Missouri state lines. The church was founded in 1976 and built its current worship facility in 1986.

You have many choices when it comes to fulfilling your tax preparation, payroll, accounting, audit, IRS compliance review, and financial consulting needs. Thank you for considering the services presented on this site. You have come to a place where your business will always be valued.

While based in Texas, Schnaufer & Walker, Certified Public Accounts, prepares tax returns for clients in all parts of the U.S. We will do whatever is necessary to deliver quality CPA services to you, wherever you are located! While only an email, phone call, or overnight delivery away, if the project requires it (e.g. audits and IRS compliance reviews), we will travel to your office.

THE MISSION TO YOU

It is a delight and a privilege to serve you and your organization with honor, excellence, and efficiency, the goals of TheNonprofitCPA.org. The aim is also to deliver the highest possible value at the lowest possible cost!

Schnaufer & Walker wants to be a benefit to you by performing excellent tax and accounting services for you as a support function for your nonprofit organization, household, or business (corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or LLC).

David Schnaufer, CPA

David has the experience you seek. A 1995 graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington, his services to nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations (charitable, religious, and educational) began in 1997. Since then, he has prepared returns for hundreds of charities, pastors, and ministries around the country.

He also prepares returns for C Corporations, S Corporations, Partnerships, & LLC’s. His areas of practice extends to tax reduction strategies for home based businesses and sole proprietors.

In addition, David is a licensed minister with another degree from Dallas Christian College. He served as a bus ministry pastor for 6 years and has been doing 1-on-1 soulwinning weekly since 2002. What does this mean to you? It means that David understands the heart of the ministry or charity, why it exists, and what they purpose to accomplish. It also means he strives to do all work with a servant mentality.

Harlan R. Walker, CPA

Harlan obtained his undergraduate degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois and his Master’s in Business Administration from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He has Big Four accounting firm experience and has been working with churches, ministries, religious and charitable organizations, and other nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations since 1994. Harlan specializes in financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations. He also performs IRS compliance reviews.

Read our Church Management Software reviewsUsing software is now a common way of successfully managing the diverse roles within the church office
- make an informed choice for your office

There’s a wide variety of solutions available, from simple accounting packages, to comprehensive solutions that manage every area of the church.

Power Church
Designed for easy church management.
Membership – record useful information about the people in your congregation, so that you can serve them even better.
Accounting – keep your church finances in order with an accounting system that is specifically designed for church use.
Contributions – use the contributions system to record donations and track pledges or faith promises.
Record Keeping – from your education library to equipment inventory, keep your records up-
to-date.

Choosing the Right Software Solution for your Church

If you are part of a denomination or family of churches – ask other leaders and administrators what they are using.

You may be surprised to find that they are still using labour-intensive methods such as Excel spreadsheets to manage rotas and finances. Alternatively, they may have found the perfect software with great helpdesk backup that they can recommend to you.

Do consider your needs as you grow – can you add modules, is there a massive price increase if you increase above your current level of membership ?

Ask about support and back up – some great software systems can be let down if there’s a long wait to speak to someone on a helpdesk or when the user manual may as well be written in Chinese .

Try it for free before you buy – or buy with a money back guarantee. With limited budgets, this can be a good security in case you realise that you have made the wrong choice.

Powerchurch.com gets 3,646 visits every month. This information, when compared to other sites on the web, makes this website be ranked 376,757 out of the top 1,000,000 websites.

An executive pastor suggests a different analysis of expenses.
by Matt Branaugh

Paul Clark, one of Your Church’s contributing editors, wrote an interesting post this week on his blog. Paul is an executive pastor who at one time spent several years in a managerial role with General Electric. His business background gives him an interesting perspective on how churches operate.

This week, Paul challenges three common questions often asked among church administrators: What percentage of a church’s budget should go toward personnel expenses? Facilities? Ministries?

He writes:

“Those are great questions, but they are a bit narrow in their scope. The reality is that a church budget is a reflection of the overall strategy and focus of the church in a given calendar year. That focus can change from year to year and consequently, the budget percentages will change accordingly.”

Paul then illustrates what he means, making the case for projecting expenses further into the future to truly understand overall budget ramifications.

Earlier this year, Your Church did a comprehensive survey with church leaders regarding church budget priorities.

The average breakdown in expenses for church operating budgets, based on responses from 1,168 church leaders:

- 38% toward salaries and wages
- 12% toward buildings/facilities
- 8% toward utilities
- 7% toward ministries and support

Our survey participants mostly hail from small- to mid-sized churches; organizations like NACBA and Leadership Network, both of which typically survey larger churches, report salaries and wages, on average, take up 45% to 50% of church operating budgets.

Like Paul asks, how does your church assess these expenses, and how those expenses reflect–or don’t reflect–the church’s direction now and in the future? Is an analysis like Paul proposes more instructive for current and future church budget planning?