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                                 TO:   All Interested Church Onliners                                                                    FROM: Jim Bramer. Retired CPA-Auditor
                                                                                                                                                                        FILE:  0912-03/fwi

                                  RE:  Weekly Church Accounting System                                                          Originated in August 2001

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    Today's "Ax to Grind" topic has to do with a Church having an overall Weekly Accounting System for financial reporting.  

    Fact:  A Church has a weekly, or Sunday, "Income" emphasis but it usually has a monthly "Expense" emphasis. 
    Thrust:  A Church should have a weekly accounting emphasis for both "Income" and "Expense." 
    Why:   These two important Church Finance measurement features are now more compatible. Your financial reports would, therefore, be more meaningful because you are weekly comparing "Apples with Apples", not "Apples with Grapes"  etc.

       Please look at the financial statement below in a  Church Expense Component Analysis  worksheet format.  Please note how we have placed each of the proposed July to June 2xxx "Expenses"   into one of the following expense timing categories: "When Needed", "Monthly Only" and "Maybe Weekly".  The "Maybe Weekly" items mean that they could be changed to occur each week.  Or almost Two Thirds of the total Expenses could be changed to Weekly transactions. 
       Salaries and Benefits make up 47% of the total Expenses. The staff could receive their Salaries each Wednesday, or weekly, rather than on the present 15th and last day of a month.  Of course, there would be more payroll transaction processing, but not likely too much of a problem since 90% of the staff is salary and paid Online.  The Church, of course, would double their Online Payroll processing costs. 
      This would also mean that the Church would have a fiscal year with a weekly emphasis ..... not monthly, like at present.  It is my understanding that the Grocery Store business has a weekly financial accounting emphasis.  My thinking is that the weekly cycle for a Church would be from Thursday through the next Wednesday.  This way all of the week end activity (offering counted and recorded, bills incurred and checks reflected) would be consistently updated Monday through Wednesday, etc.  Or the Church fiscal year for these three years would be as of a weekly Wednesday, or June 28, 2000, June 27, 2001 and June 26, 2002 - and not at a June 30th month end per se. Years would have 52 weeks with an occasional 53 week year.   
        Let me know your thoughts at  Jim@bcidot.org on this topic after you go to  0706  and see a sample of a Church's Actual to Budget periodic report (under this weekly system it would be produced each Thursday, etc.) flowing via the QuickBooks system.  
 

Church Expense Component Analysis (1)

				Total(5)	July-June 2xxx (2)	When Needed(3)	Only Monthly	Maybe Weekly
		5000 · Sal/Benefits
			5501 · Salaries & Wages		$ 482,572			$ 482,572
			5509 · Benefits		$ 48,662		$ 25,223	$ 23,439
			5515 · Workman's Comp		$ 3,450		$ 3,450
		Total 5000 · Sal/Benefits		47%	$ 534,684
		6000 · Office & Admin
			6621 · Communications		$ 12,250		$ 12,250
			6622 · Printing Supplies		$ 5,950	$ 5,950
			6623 · Office supp/exp		$ 23,000	$ 23,000
			6624 · Postage		$ 5,600	$ 5,600
			6625 · Postage Meter		$ 3,000	$ 3,000
			6626 · Rep/Maintenance		$ 500	$ 500
			6627 · Software		$ 1,500	$ 1,500
			6628 · Equipt Lease		$ 6,000		$ 6,000
			6629 · Prof Services		$ 8,500	$ 8,500
			6668 · Advertising		$ 500	$ 500
			6670 · Staff Develop		$ 3,300	$ 3,300
			6672 · Liability Insurance		$ 7,600		$ 7,600
			6908 · Office Equipment		$ 13,000	$ 13,000
		6000 Off & Adm 7%			$ 90,700
		6500 · Property Expenses
			6541 · Services Rendered		$ 900		$ 900
			6542 · Bldg  Maint		$ 14,500		$ 14,500
			6543 · Property Lease		$ 5,272		$ 5,272
			6544 · Custodial		$ 3,080	$ 3,080
			6545 · Custodial Svcs		$ 35,640			$ 35,640
			6546 · Grounds Maint		$ 9,000	$ 9,000
			6548 · Htg/Air Condition		$ 6,000	$ 6,000
			6550 · Property Tax		$ 214	$ 214
			6551 · Special Supplies		$ 264	$ 264
			6552 · Security		$ 2,500		$ 2,500
			6553 · Maint Exp		$ 800	$ 800
			6555 · Utilities		$ 53,400		$ 53,400
			6561 · AllElse exp		$ 350	$ 350