Don’t let finances get in the way of spreading the word with these 7 imperative church budgeting tips your church can’t afford to miss.
Proverbs 22 warns us that the borrower is the slave of the lender. This means that it’s very important to have sound financial management as a church to avoid drowning in debt.
Poor money management takes the focus of serving the congregation and serving your lenders instead. Check out these 7 essential church budgeting tips to keep your finances on track.
1. Set Realistic Goals
The church always hopes to be in the full flow of God’s blessings. But having faith and being a good steward of your money doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Plan for success, but avoid basing your spending on what might happen in the future. Your budget goals should reflect recent income and expenses.
Create a separate wish list for items you want to afford once your congregation grows down the road.
2. Don’t Count the First Quarter
Your first quarter budget will be wrong. There’s no getting around it.
First-quarter is the testing ground for how your numbers work in real life. Every organization struggles with the trial and error of creating a budget plan that actually works.
3. Faith Without Works
Actively look for solutions to any deficits in the budget. The change that you’re waiting for is likely you matching your walk with your talk.
Remember that faith without works is dead. Look for every possible way to get out of the red if your church is currently struggling financially.
4. Limit Volunteer Help
The church is a place of service which means many members of the congregation will want to give back to you. But guard against allowing members to help with finances unless they have the backgrounds to support the tasks needed.
Small mistakes in accounting can lead to big problems down the road. Enlist the help of professionals like https://www.iconcmo.com/blog/fund-accounting-definition/ to get the work done.
5. Think Like a Business
Remember important filing deadlines to keep your organization compliant. The rules don’t relax because you’re operating a church.
Be diligent in getting your documents in early each year to avoid penalties.
6. Be Flexible
Keep an open mind about how you approach your budget numbers. What works for your old church might not work with the increase in staff or expenses you have now.
Be flexible in rewriting your budget as often as you need to keep your finances on track.
7. Avoid Naysayers
There are people who won’t be able to adapt to change. The idea of the church growing quickly might intimidate them.
Avoid the comments of naysayers in your finance department who want to keep all your financial goals the same year after year.
Church Budgeting Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful
Church budgeting doesn’t have to come with mental hurdles on a daily basis. You might have difficult quarters here and there, but if you are modest with your goals, tracking your goals won’t be a burden.
Enlist the help of accounting professionals to track weekly income and expenses so you don’t make expensive mistakes. For more information and tips visit our blog for updates.
