I hear it all the time, "Sunday comes with amazing regularity, every 7 days." As an executive pastor, I would say that budgeting comes with amazing regularity, every year. Knowing that many of you are now working on your church's 2021 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 Developing A Chart Of … [Read more...]
Developing 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. The … [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 August. 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 application … [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” as it relates to cash reserves, at least that works for everyone. As church leaders, we know having a reserve is a good thing, 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 … [Read more...]