Edition of "JIMs  JRNL"
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         TO:  Interested Onliners                                                                                                           FROM: Jim Bramer, Retired Auditor-CPA     
                                   
         RE: For the month of June 2007                                                                                               FILE:  0206-07/jrnl   

Purpose:  To help your  Ministry Finance Team  be more effective plus assist Christians to control their spending
INTERNET RESOURCES:  1st Website and 2nd Website

 01 – “Auditor (External or Internal)”  and/or a possible “Assuror” 

        Please go to  0003  and learn about External Auditors and the various services these outside CPA firms offer as they are “Outsiders Looking In “.  Often there is value in some  Ministries  having  Internal  Auditors, or an Internal Auditing Committee of the Board of Leadership as this group functions as “Insiders Looking In.”  Often such a group complements the outside CPA firm per info shared  at  0038.   Another External or  Internal  helper could be the  ASSUROR  mentioned  at  0676 .  
        Of course, the overall objective is of any of these efforts is to add fiscal credibility to your Ministry.

 02 - Management of "To Do" Lists/Tasks  

   I know, I know -- this does not have anything directly to do with Ministry Finance  or  Righteous Personal Finance  per se, but all of us need to manage "Daily Tasks" , or TO DO items  ---  and maybe this will help us do it even better.  Let me share with you a quote I uncovered recently:

       "If your  'Todo'  lists  contain no due dates, then you are dealing in dreams. Dreams and aims hint at directions you would like to go, but they are deficient in time and measurement. If you haven't set deadlines or organized your tasks using language that identify them clearly to all concerned, then your lists contains aims, not goals.  If you want to accomplish goals, then your list should have due dates and deal in reality"

        I realize that management of 'Todo' tasks conform to your specific style, but the following might be of practical help to you.
        Some of us write down a task, which can be done at one time, on a single sheet of paper;  I prefer the same size, or 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 size - or you cut the normal size piece of paper in half. The upper right hand corner contains the group identifier  (like "Name of Onliner" in my case) and the body of the sheet describes the specific tasks. Then you sort these sheets of paper in priority order throughout both the day and the week.  I find that a single "Todo Laundry List" containing many groups and due dates on one sheet of paper discourages priority arrangements;  separate pieces of paper can be readily sorted and resorted in priority order as often as necessary.         
        Some of us even do something similar using folders (task groups) and files (task description) on our computer desktop.

M E S S A G E ---- Use   'TODO'   Task Lists effectively!

                Please also link to  0906  for some 'Follow-up' management thoughts.

03a - "His" and "Hers" Monies -- Dialog

            You might find the following dialog content of interest on the topic of “His” and “Her” monies.

  FR: Mary:       I have talked with some of our married friends who have "HIS", "HERS" and “THEIRS" separate Checking accounts or they divide up the money that comes in and place it into these separate Bank accounts.  Some have personal Savings accounts (some with a HIS",  "HERS" and "THEIRS  emphasis)  that they prefer to not normally touch.

           FR:  Jim B.   I know of a few married couples that have successfully done this, but I generally do NOT recommend such a system for these reasons:

·            It is essential that married couples have a united approach in all personal finance matters within a marriage relationship.   In my view, such a structure/system could contribute to them not functioning as a team resulting in unnecessary stress in the marriage relationship.

·            A common/agreed approach to Righteous Personal Finances  for a family could be difficult when HIS and HERS money are a part of their life style.

·           More bank accounts add to the needed personal bookkeeping challenge.

·           If really needed, you could assign HIS and HERS money to spend within respective Envelopes and probably accomplish the needed objective.  Please notice the two sides of the dollar approach  (Side A - Available Resources and Side 1 - Committed Areas) in the sample shown when you Click Here.

  FR: Mary:   Right --- my husband and I do NOT want to have any more opportunities to "fight over money" that such a set up might allow.  Especially, if I understand what you say about the virtual Envelope system above, that our money can be in a common Checking Accounts and still be, if really needed, be assigned to HIS  or HER  areas. 

FR:  Jim B.   That is the overall value of the virtual Envelope (or QBuxBox) system.  It is interesting that some folks prefer to NOT even include Savings Accounts within their Envelope computer system, or they restrict their bookkeeping effort to only their Checking Account involved in their needed everyday life style SPENDING CONTROL experiences, etc. 
      Please be aware of the resources found at  this  www.qbuxbox.org  website: 

 04 - Internet Friendly (or Internet Centric) and related Accounting Systems

            When I use the Internet Friendly (or Internet Centric) term I mean Christian folk (not just our young people) who usually use their Lap top Computer (any Computer for that matter) with a fast connection as they go to the Internet minimally once a day to at least receive and send Email.  They at any time (24/7) also go to the Internet (Online) and view their current Bank and Credit Card Statements.  Plus some people have their receipts electronically deposited to their Bank Account.  Examples are:  Net pay by employers or retirement income by providers. etc. They also are very comfortable using such software as old versions of QuickBooks whereby, after recording all of their expenditures and making a deposit, they weekly know if they have money to spend the following week.  A system for Christians folk to do this is what we call the QBuxBox  system (or the  Quite Virtual Envelope - QVE ).    
            We are also convinced that a beginning Small Ministry should place their money,  when received,  into pre-defined QBuxBoxes, or prioritized Spending Control areas of their Ministry.  This system enables them to know (at least weekly by the balance within the applicable QBuxBox) if they have money to spend until next week, etc.   Please go to  0002  where you will find (we reference the QBuxBoxes within 0002-99 as BuxBoxes) more detailed information about this system that includes weekly report samples.   Please also go to  www.QBuxBox.org  ,  ATF and FinFax for most resources along these lines.

 05 – Business Administration Tasks -  dialog

   From:  Onliner  -   Jim, I too am learning much by participating in  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/churchadmin/ , or the Church Administration Yahoo Group.      

      From:  Jim Bramer  via  Jim@bcidot.org Glad to hear about that.  What do you think about the overall idea of a Ministry using these   0923  resources for a Ministry Business Administration Self Examination per Ministry Finance roles and details set forth within that resource?

  From: Onliner  -  Well,  that is what I want to dialog with you about, Jim.  I think what you have shared is 'right on'.   However, what about arranging the same content in a manner so we can assign each of the topics that you list to applicable entities or people.    For example, I am impressed with what you have done via  0074,  where you first list all of the Ministry Finance roles/tasks and then we can be sure all has been assigned to somebody, etc.   Please use that approach below.

     From: Jim -  OK -- here goes in a slightly different manner.  Please note below that I have provided six columns so that any Ministry can follow this approach and personalize the role and task to the responsible entity, or person, in their specific setting. 

		Entity A	Entity B	Entity C	Person 1	Person 2	Person 3
>> Building/Equipment -- Facility Management
	Policy and Procedures in writing
	Scheduling --- Use thereof
	Maintenance and/or Upkeep
	Vehicle supervision and mgt
	Equipment accountability; Inventory
	Keys Management
	Grounds - gardening/lawn/snow/roads-streets
	Personal use of Equipment and Facilities
	Kitchen use expectations
	Construction matters, when applicable
	Please ID_________________________________
>> Personnel Management
	Policy Manual and Employee Handbooks etc
	Clergy tax matters
	Earnings reporting and Payroll tax accounting
	Human Resources -- Fed/State Gov't compliance
	Forms and background checks
	Medical Insurance
	Pension/Retirement Issues
	Performance review for non pastoral staff
	Keeping of Personnel records and retention, etc.
	Please ID _____________________________________
>> Finance Management
	Written Policies and Procedures ---  x5041
	Purchasing and Credit Card Issues --  0114
	Fund Accounting - Budget and reporting -- 0041