6 Benefits of Hiring a Bookkeeper

By Kevin Camon

Any organization that deals with money, whether it is registered as a for-profit, nonprofit, church, or ministry, should consider hiring a bookkeeper. Regardless of what the organization does with its money, it all needs to be counted, spent, and managed responsibly. 

Having a bookkeeper on staff to maintain your financial records, including records of the dates and amount of every transaction, tax planning, financial planning, consulting services, and more, will open the door for a less stressful approach when it comes to leading your congregation.

Although there are many benefits to using a bookkeeping service, this article will discuss six important reasons why your organization can benefit from it.

The top six benefits of using a bookkeeping service: 

1. Unbiased financial opinion
2. Compliance benefits 
3. Accurate financial statements 
4. Curb tax liabilities 
5. Protecting your financial assets 
6. Loan qualification 

The benefits of outsourcing your bookkeeping

With StartCHURCH bookkeeping, You will have the power of a ministry-focused bookkeeper that knows you, your ministry, and your vision. Sharing your vision with your assigned bookkeeper will help him or her handle all of your accounting needs from understanding basic accounting to the preparation of your monthly and yearly financial statement preparation. 

These six benefits will have you on the right track to having peace about your organization’s finances.

1. Unbiased financial opinion 

Having an external bookkeeper can do wonders for your ministry. Internal bookkeepers often get emotionally involved in the church or ministry. By hiring an outsourced bookkeeper, like the ones at StartCHURCH, you can receive crucial insight into your church's financial situation. It may be positive or negative insight, but either way, it is valuable information you'll need to make necessary adjustments and make decisions that will help your ministry grow.

2. Compliance benefits 

Good records will help you monitor the progress of your church, prepare your financial statements, identify sources of income, keep track of deductible expenses, keep track of your basis in property, prepare your tax returns, and support items reported on your tax returns. Compliance with nonprofit tax laws is a must. When it comes to paying income taxes, payroll taxes, workers' compensation, and the like, your bookkeeper will prepare the right documentation and provide the forms needed to ensure that your organization is in perfect IRS compliance. You will have less stress about your bookkeeping records if you find yourself facing an IRS audit.

(Recommended reading: “IRS Increases 2019 Audit Focus”)

3. Accurate financial statements 

Your bookkeeper understands accounting and knows how to prepare your financial reports. These documents contain information you need to record in your books. The reports include all purchases, sales, payroll, assets, liabilities, and any other transactions you have in your church. Financial statements are recommended for every church, but since the format and frequency will vary based on the size of your church, an experienced bookkeeper can prepare your financials using generally accepted accounting principles, otherwise known as GAAP.

4. Curb tax liabilities

Without the proper training and experience, it’s easy to improperly file federal tax returns, which can prove a costly tax liability for your church. The good news here is that with your 501c3 status, your church is exempt from paying federal income taxes; however, other taxes may apply. From payroll taxes to excess benefit transactions, to failure to report taxable benefits, to reasonable compensation, to housing allowances and more, tax laws are complex and require experience to make tax compliance a priority. Bookkeepers know what to look for regarding your ministry or church's tax liabilities.

5. Protecting your financial assets

Your church’s bookkeeper is responsible and accountable for all finances, reducing mistakes, oversights, and even fraud as any misappropriation of church money will be immediately recognized.

6. Loan qualification

Whether you're expanding a new church ministry or planning for a church building, we all know that big dreams come with big price tags. Having a bookkeeper not only helps you maintain accountability but may also help you secure a loan or grant. In order to present a clear picture of your church’s financial status and to ensure the loaner can see exponential growth in your organization, your professionally prepared financial statements can look impressive to any lender considering your loan.

Choose StartCHURCH bookkeeping

Many pastors confess that the time they spend working through church finances steals their passion for their ministry. They feel drained from working on their budget and ask themselves, "How can I be doing what I really enjoy?" 

At StartCHURCH, we understand your time as a minister is precious. We affirm with you that God has called you to lead a ministry, not handle your ministry’s books. At StartCHURCH, our bookkeepers will help you manage your church’s finances. By hiring one of our bookkeepers, you can focus on ministering to the people that God has brought through your doors.

Our bookkeeping service not only provides you with an experienced bookkeeper, but you also get ministry-focused tools that help eases the stress of staying on top of all donor activity and resources readily available that gives you access to ministry-focused documents, forms, and templates.

Our cloud-based software Kingdom Steward is included as a complimentary software with your bookkeeping service. This advanced software program enables you to create donor profiles, track contributions, pledges, and attendance. It lets you print deposit slips, weekly, monthly, and yearly giving reports, and more. You have full control! It’s your church, your books, and your data. Kingdom Steward offers a one-stop snapshot on the giving of your church, and all this information is available to you anytime, anywhere. 

The Secretary’s Suite software is also included as a complementary software. This administrator’s toolkit is packed with resources that will help you save time while being able to minister with confidence. Secretary Suite has the tools that will empower you to handle your ministry’s corporate records accordingly, from taking proper board meeting minutes, keeping track of church assets to running a legal benevolence program. The Secretary's Suite has everything needed to ensure clarity in all of your church documentation.

Get peace about your finances

Let’s face it: keeping track of your church finances is stressful. Precision and accuracy do matter when it comes to your numbers. Your ministry depends on it, and we know that it can be a heavy burden to carry. It’s time to calm the number-crunching chaos and pass your books off to an expert so you can get back to doing what you do best: leading your ministry.

If you’ve been hemming-and-hawing about how to properly manage your church’s finances, whether it’s because of budgetary restrictions or because of your can-do-everything approach to church leadership, consider starting 2020 off on the right financial foot by hiring a StartCHURCH bookkeeper. Let your ministry-focused bookkeeper shoulder the financial burdens of your church so you can get back to what matters most: your people.

Give us a call today at 877-494-4655 to learn about all the advantages StartCHURCH bookkeeping has to offer your ministry! You can also click the button below to schedule a call and have a specialist call you at your convenience. 

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