Church Finance Insights

Church Finance Insights

What Financial Reports Should a Church Finance Committee Receive Each Month?

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights, Financial Stewardship / By

Most finance committees inherit their monthly financial packet rather than design it. A treasurer or bookkeeper prints the reports that have always been printed, adds a bank balance or budget comparison, and sends the packet to the committee. The reports may all be useful. The harder question is whether, taken together, they answer the financial

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Month-end reports on a table.

What Belongs in a Church Month-End Close?

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights, Financial Stewardship / By

The bookkeeper has entered the month’s deposits, bills, checks, electronic payments, and payroll. The accounting software can generate a statement of activities and a statement of financial position, so the reports appear ready for the finance committee. A few things remain unfinished. The bank account has not been reconciled. One online-giving deposit does not match

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Church office desk with a Building Fund financial folder, board minutes, resolution, donor records, and campaign materials arranged for review.

Restricted or Designated? Why the Difference Matters Before Your Church Spends the Money

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights / By

The finance committee has $42,000 showing in a Building Fund. A major HVAC replacement is now needed, and someone asks what appears to be a straightforward question: Can the church use the Building Fund to pay for it? The accounting system confirms the balance, but no one currently serving remembers exactly how the fund began.

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Warm church-office desk with a bank statement, accounting ledger, financial report, and calculator, illustrating that cash is only one part of a church’s financial picture.

Beyond the Bank Balance: What Cash Can—and Cannot—Tell You About Your Church’s Financial Health

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights / By

What Cash Can—and Cannot—Tell You About Your Church’s Financial Health A church can know exactly how much money is sitting in its checking and savings accounts. That information matters. Leaders need to know whether the church has cash available to pay employees, vendors, utilities, insurance, and the ordinary expenses of ministry. The difficulty begins when

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