Church Accounting: The How-To Guide for Small & Growing Churches
Accounting for churches is not the same as accounting for businesses. A church bookkeeper must be aware of the special tax codes that govern the church’s unique tax standing. But it is often hard for overworked or volunteer administrators to know every aspect of tax code that affects their church’s ability to accept donations, oversee a benevolence fund, file church payroll, and offer a compensation package for their minister.
Benefit and Payroll Support
Support Designed for Churches – One-Year Subscription
Researching clergy issues on your own takes time and can leave you wondering if you’ve got the right answer. Turn to Clergy Financial Resources to save time while getting the correct answers. When you need an answer, our support staff is ready to find the right answers quickly with our annual support service. Through Benefit and Payroll Support, you’ll have access to unlimited phone and electronic support provided by a dedicated team of professional advisors with years of experience.
Pro Advisor | Payroll Support
Pro Advisor Enrollment
Researching a payroll issue on your own takes time and can leave you wondering if you’ve got the right answer. Turn to Clergy Financial Resources to save time, get the correct answers.
Our professional advisors can sort out the complexity of church payroll. We will research and answer your questions and do all the tedious work that eats up your valuable time.
Most callers want answers to specific questions. Some already know the answer and just want verification, while others want guidance on where to look for clarification on what they are reading. We can provide just what you’re looking for.Â
Please select one of the following support services, standard or premium support.Â
Our standard support is designed for individuals looking for a quick answer via telephone. This standard service is available at a rate of $75.00 per 30-minute session.Â
Our premium support is designed for individuals looking for a detailed email answer. This premium service is available at a rate of $185.00 per 1-hour session.Â
Schedule Appointment
After submitting your enrollment, please schedule a phone appointment using the link below or feel free to contact us. The meeting scheduler will display an up-to-date calendar and let you pick a convenient time. We will contact you at the scheduled time with the phone number provided.
Premium Church Support
Annual Support – Unlimited Support
Researching clergy issues on your own takes time and can leave you wondering if you’ve got the right answer. Turn to Clergy Financial Resources to save time while getting the correct answers. When you need an answer, our support staff is ready to find the right answers quickly with our annual support service. This support service includes tax, payroll, and HR Support. You’ll have access to unlimited phone and electronic support provided by a dedicated team of professional advisors with years of experience.
HR keeps getting more complex, and frankly, overwhelming. But ignoring HR can lead to costly penalties. Our certified HR Advisors give straightforward answers and guidance on questions from basic compliance to complex workplace issues.
Stop searching online for HR answers and sample HR documents. Our HR Support Center is loaded with actionable, easy-to-use custom templates, tools, a laws library, training, a custom handbook builder, and more.
We can help you with any compliance challenges that arise. We’ll free up the time needed for you to focus on your ministry.
Premium Church Support does not provide legal advice. For legal advice, please consult with your legal counsel regarding any federal, state or local jurisdictional issues.
Church Compensation: From Strategic Plan to Compliance
Just how do you fit together the many pieces of employee compensation so you’re in compliance with government guidelines and your ministry staff is properly cared for? Elaine Sommerville, CPA, who has worked with dozens of churches, guides you through the steps in easy-to-understand language and based on years of experience with real church leaders dealing with actual concerns about the unique aspects of compensation within a church setting. “In creating this guide I focused on the questions I repeatedly answer in my practice,” explains Elaine. Her authentic approach, combined with her honest desire to help church leaders thrive, makes Church Compensation: From Strategic Plan to Compliance a one-of-a-kind reference book. In this guide you’ll find:
How to create policies governing areas of compensation.
Accurate guidance for pastors who face numerous unique rules such as a housing allowance.
Ways to evaluate and determine benefit plans for all staff members.
Help understanding all government regulations related to payroll.
Confidence in how to interpret and apply the rules for deposits, reporting, and withholding.
Insightful direction on the tax and legal nuances related to church workers.
Piecing the compensation puzzle together correctly is critical to every church. It shows respect for those who have dedicated their careers to ministry and maintains the integrity between the church and accreditation agencies.
Church Business Preparations for Year’s End
Church Business Preparations for Year’s End Like other corporate entities, churches encounter business activities that must be completed just before, or soon after, the end of the calendar year. Now is the time to make plans for these various tasks. The questions that follow can be used as a checklist for church leaders. Have clergy…
4 Reasons to Donate Stock to Church
If you’ve ever donated to a nonprofit, you’re probably familiar with cash giving — you write a check or make a credit card payment, and your money is put to work supporting the causes you love. But did you know that cash isn’t the only thing you can donate to charity? Many donors are choosing…
Are Church Musicians Employees?
Are Church Musicians Employees? If your church pays musicians to perform during services or other events, you’ll need to determine if they are employees or independent contractors. The biggest distinction between W-2 employees and 1099 workers is the amount of control you have over them. With a W-2 employee, you have the right to direct the…
Church Benevolence Payments
Church Benevolence Payments Churches often designate certain funds to give to those in their community experiencing financial needs. The needs may arise from issues such as unemployment, disability, natural disasters, or illness. These funds can be given to those outside the local congregation, within the local congregation, and even to those employed by the local…
Ongoing COVID Legal Issues for Churches
Ongoing COVID Legal Issues for Churches The COVID-19 pandemic has caused churches to make challenging programming and financial decisions for the past year and half. Early on during the pandemic churches were forced to pivot much of their programming and meetings online to protect people from gathering in person. Although live gatherings and meetings have…