I hear it all the time, "Sunday comes with amazing regularity, every 7 days." As an executive pastor, I would say that financial planning comes with amazing regularity. Knowing that many of you are now working on your church's 2022 budget, I thought I would post a list of Executive Pastor Online resources that will help you get it done. Take a look ... Developing An Income Model Creating A Chart Of … [Read more...]
Creating A Chart Of Accounts
Creating The "Backbone" Of The Church's Financial Infrastructure
A fundamental first step in completing a financial plan is the creation of a Chart Of Accounts. I've had more than a few conversations with church leaders on this topic. In my experience, the primary thing to consider when creating a Chart Of Accounts is reporting. I've run into more than a few financial types who want to break everything down into its category and subcategory, to the point of uselessness. Those … [Read more...]
Creating The Annual Budget
The Annual Process Of Developing The Budget, Along With A Few Pointers
In my role as Executive Pastor, one of the things I can never avoid is doing the budget for the church each year. The budget is due to the eldership in early December, and it takes a bunch of work to get it together. I usually start working on it in mid to late September. I wanted to share the process I go through each year, along with a few pointers. I’ll assume your church uses QuickBooks or some other … [Read more...]
How Much Is Enough When It Comes To Cash Reserves?
Determining The Amount Of Reserve Cash To Keep On Hand In The Church
I've been asked more than once over the years ... "How much does your church keep in reserve?" My answer? "It depends." I haven’t come across a “standard” for cash reserves that works for everyone. As church leaders, we know that having a reserve is good, but we’re not in the money-saving business. We’re in the money spending business (for the good of the Kingdom, of course). We have to spend money to accomplish … [Read more...]