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
	Computer Accounting systems  -- 0601
	Fiscal Internal Controls -- 0039
	Audits - internal and external -- 0003
	Donation and/or Pledge accountings/records etc
	Record Retention Issues
	Personal Finance Helps --  4011
	Please ID __________________________
>> Management of Risks/Exposure
	Appropriate Insurance/protection
	Bonds coverage
	Insurance record keeping
	Personal injury lawsuits
	Mgt and Board member exposure
	Please ID ___________________________
>> Management of Computer Resources
	Policies and Procedures in Writing
	Security and/or Backups, etc.
	Hardware/Software and overall tools
	Email - internal and external
	Word Processing
	Database Management
	Spreadsheets
	Internal Drives Issues
	Web Site for this Ministry
	Please ID _____________________________

  From: Onliner  --  This and the content of  0074  is very helpful, Jim.  Anything else you would like to share along these lines?

     From: Jim -- Yes.  You might want to send me an Email at Jim@bcidot.org  and obtain these  xxxx  publications in either an Excel doc or Word doc format. This might help you to personalize the majority of this material to your unique situation, etc.     

 06 –  Ministry (not Payors) in charge of the Receipt timing

      Ministries often enter into some type of monthly agreement with a Donor whereby a repetitive donation (perhaps some type of pledge, etc.) is to come into a Ministry at a specific time of the month.  Plus Schools, of course, also make arrangements for Parents to make monthly installments as they pay off Tuition/Fees obligations.
      My thrust is to righteously arrange it so that such payments come at the initiative of the Ministry/School.  Or this money comes in per the recipient's timing and not per the timing of the one making the payment.  WHY  --  The person making the payment is relieved of taking any action.  As a good steward, the Ministry/School is in charge of such things and can depend on money coming in at the agreed time.  HOW  --  Of course, the Ministry or School notifies the person as they do this via the following methods:

                                                                                    Ministry Receipts via "DRAFTS":

      At the time of the monthly agreement, the person is given a financial incentive to write post dated checks  (Drafts)  that are processed by the Ministry/School at a later date. Go to 7006  for more specifics in a School setting where this can be tried for a short period of time and if all are satisfied then do so for a longer period of time. etc.  At any time the Drafts can be voided. We recommend that the Drafts be entered into the system now as per their future date. This practice contributes to safety plus reminder and automatic processing at that future date.   Click here for more Drafts info.                                            

                                                              Ministry Receipts via "AUTOMATIC ONLINE PAYMENT" Process:

      Like Online Payments described when you go to   0926  you arrange for the monthly amount (the agreed pledge amount or the unpaid balance due the School)   to either be automatically charged at the agreed monthly time to Payer's Bank Account or to their Credit Card.  Of course, this shows up as an automatic Ministry deposit directly to the Ministry's Bank Account from that specific source.

 07 – QuickBooks (QBs) Information found within JIMs JRNL Editions  

    Listed below are links since the year 2003 at to some comments/Info about QuickBooks (QBs) found within JIMs JRNL BLOG like editions found at:   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JIMsJRNL/  

            0203-07   "Yes" I'm an Onliner, but "No" I'm not a good "Money Record Keeper”
            0211-06   Building Project at a Church  - Note the "Actual to Budget" Format
            0210-06   Financial Internal Controls and the QBs system
            0209-06   Edited Onliner Dialogs (EODs) that pertain to the use of QBs at Ministries        
            0207-06   Accounting for "Self Funded Events"  at a Church via QBs
            0207-06   "Expected Receipts" re Church Events via QBs
            0205-06   Complete and timely reporting of Ministry Operating Expenses
            0203-06   Issues re viewing Jim B's Desktop
            0201-06   Use of QBs to do Endowment and/or Trust Fund Accounting
            0210-06   Coaching Ministries as to their use of QBs      
            0212-05   BuxBox -- Spending control alternative to the usual Budget system
            0212-05   Computers - Quote from a Non-Accountant Business Man
            0211-05   Financial Internal Controls within QBs and Journal Entry transactions
            0210-05   Fund Accounting - Unique Aspect of Ministry Finances
            0209-05   Whole Dollar Accounting - at least for Personal Finance 
            0209-05   New Microsoft product called "Small Business Accounting"
            0207-05   Spending Controls at a Ministry
            0207-05   Weekly Payment to your Credit Card Company
            0207-05   Potential Missionary Funding Process
            0202-05   How to help new users of QBs at a Ministry. 
            0210-04   HOMER  helps via Penny Smith.
            0207-04   Dona>tions Mail>ing (DonaMail) information.
            0204-04   QBs Online Edition (QBOE) Info.
            0208-03   Mom at Home information
            0207-03   New Church Treasurer Dialog  

08a - Comments from a well known Church Finance Consultant

            A well known Church Finance Consultant has shared the following with me based on their experiences.  Let me know if you want to know who this is.  I trust readers from Churches benefit by it.