Smaller Ministries and WEBrec   0105-06  ZZall

                                                                                   - - - Rejoice in the Lord always ... again I say Rejoice !!! - - -

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                              TO:  Interested Ministries                                                                                                          FROM: Jim Bramer, Retired Auditor-CPA
                                                                                                                                                                                        FILE:  0105-06/all

                               RE:  Small Ministries and WEBrec                                                                                          UPTD: November 11, 2008                                      

          Below is a hypothetical Online Email thread (THRD) between  Jim@bcidot.org   and one of the these Ministry MFTeam members: PAT (Ministry Executive), LEE (Ministry Volunteer Treasurer), and FRAN (Ministry Computer Bookkeeper).    Click here and go to List of FAQs at www.bcidot.org

A L E R T:

         After July 2008,   please note what Brad shares when he and Alex dialog re the  FINFAX system when you  Go Here   and   Here.

From:  Fran - 
      Jim, I have just read  0165  where you share about the WEBrec system.  We are a small Ministry and I am a volunteer Computer Bookkeeper  using an older version of   Quickbooks.
       Let me recap in my own words what I understand I can do via the WEBrec system 

  •   Some Banks allow me to access my Ministry bank transactions via the Internet.  Or I can, in essence, know at any time what information will appear on my monthly bank statement.
  •   This means that I can print out this data at any time and do my bank reconciliation (you call it BREC) -- thereby knowing what released checks have   NOT yet been charged to my bank account.  Sometimes it will be important to know what deposits have NOT yet been credited to my bank account.
  •    Or I can use the WEBrec system as outlined within 0165 to do a periodic Bank Reconciliation or I can do it at any time before the end of the month.  As you explain within 0165, this will allow me to Float Manage as you explain in detail within  0006.  But frankly we are so small that this is not an issue with us.

          From:   Jim@bcidot.org  
                   Sounds to me like you have a good grasp of what I was trying to make known. The  www.bcidot.org  emphasis is to smaller ministries,  so I appreciate your perspective.  I trust you also find the information in our new web site helpful when you  Click Here -- especially if you are overall comfortable using the Internet to handle finances.

From: Fran --
        My desire is to potentially use these resources so that I can reduce my bookkeeping chores.

From: Jim
       Let me run the following by you and see if this makes sense.
       Using the EC*Web system provided by the  ECCU  Credit Union,  it captures all of the recorded bank transactions so that the you can electronically post this data directly to either Quicken or QuickBooks.  Since you use QuickBooks, we will concentrate on QuickBooks here, but an individual or a small Ministry might effectively use Quicken

From: Fran
        That sounds of interest to me, but the WEBrec system would have no way of knowing what of my accounts within my Chart of Accounts are affected by my deposits or my checks, or other charges to my bank account. How do I fix that?

From: Jim
          How true. The electronic posting primarily populates the QuickBooks Bank Account showing individual deposits and check or equivalents; and the amounts are distributed to one/two generic accounts within your Chart of Accounts.  This electronic posting does  NOT show payee or deposit source information, but it does show the check number. 
          Therefore, it is necessary for you to manually access your  QuickBooks Bank Account register and insert deposit and the check payee info ...  plus distribute all activity to the respective accounts within your unique Chart of Accounts.

From: Fran
    Ok that means I would  NOT  have to manually post any deposits or checks into QuickBooks, but I would have to manually input details that you describe above.  So how does that make my job easier?    

From: Jim
    When you think about it, you'll realize that you do  NOT  have to do any month end Bank Reconciliation  (BREC) -- you have mirrored the bank transactions during the month by having them electronically posted to your QuickBooks;  this means that your QuickBooks bank balance is always the same as the bank statement, or equivalent.
     Below is further analysis of this process

P L U S E S:

>>  The bank balance per our QuickBooks set of books will always agree with the balance at the Bank.
>>  No need to manually post bank statement transactions into your books.
>>  No need to monthly bank reconcile what you manually posted into your books.

M I N U S E S:

>> The need to go back into the  QuickBooks and do some bank account activity updating/reclassifying, etc, as we have just discussed above..
>> Your books do not reflect any written checks or deposits that have not yet arrived at the Bank; or your books would not be current for accurate daily finance decision making, etc.
>> The QuickBooks user would have limited use of Intuit Payroll or Online Banking features.

From: Fran
    Most of the above  MINUSES  are not that meaningful to us.

            From: Jim
                  Then perhaps this WEBrec system could make your job easier.  I wish you well; let me know how it goes.  

      The bulk of this Publication originated in February 2002.

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      (1) An Online Document, or WRIT (Writing), may be applicable to all Ministries, or it may be designed for just groups like: Evangelical Church, School, Missionary Agency or Organization, Christian Camp / Conference, or other named group.
     (2) WRIT formats include the perspective of   Jim@bcidot.org   via IOMs (Inter-Office Memos) to the Ministry Finance Team (MFTeam); THRDs, or a hypothetical Online conversation (thread) with members of a MFTeam; FWIW; A periodic editorial (For What it is Worth); TRUISM, or believed Ministry Finance principles; or via a FAQ, or a response to Frequently Asked Questions.