35-JIM's JRNL for the month of July 2005 -- 0207-05 ZZjrnl

- - And the Lord direct your heart in the love of God as you continue to faithfully serve Him - -

Links on the www.bcidot.org Web Site include:      HOME  |  ABOUT  US   |    OUR PURPOSE   |   SITEMAP   |  COMPUTER FUND ACCTG  |  HELPS

         TO:  Interested Onliners                                                                                                                 FROM: Jim Bramer, Retired Auditor-CPA
                                                                                                                                                                        
    
         RE: J I Ms  J R N L for the month of July 2005                                                                                 FILE:  0207-05/jrnl        
                (Click Here for "Blogger like" perspective/rationale)      

           Moola and Minors: (3)  

    Please take the time to read my entire "Ax to Grind"  2001 editorial on the topic of Moola Matters and Kids when you go  to  0908. This is directed to Dad/Moms, Grandparents and Teenager-Kids.  This editorial contains info such as the following:  ......

  1.   The Lord provides our real needs and a good share of our wants.

  2.   Moola  comes by earnings or by gifts - of course, never by stealing.

  3.   We will deal with  Moola  matters all of our born days so we need to handle  Moola  with care, or it can control or consume us when we are a slave to it.

  4.   Jesus , Others and You (JOY) is a good  Moola approach. A YOJ approach can be a tool of Satan to cause us to be discouraged, dishonest and disobedient. 

  5.   Moola  generosity should be a part of our lives.

  6.   How we handle  Moola  is a reflection of where we place the Lord in our lives. Remember all 'things' belong to the Lord and we are temporarily in charge, or a steward-caretakers.  Making Church donations is a must.

  7.   Plan ahead for known needs. Do the appropriate record keeping. 

  8.   When/if you prudently borrow  Moola  then you repay it as agreed.

  9.   Our friends can mislead us about  Moola,  but the Bible does not. 

   Please  Click Here  and access our August 2004 JIMs JRNL where we also discuss in depth needed bookkeeping re Righteous Personal Finance.

          Potential Missionary Funding Process (4):

FACT PATTERN

>> A person, or family, (let's say the Smiths) join a Ministry or Mission Organization (ABC) with the understanding that they must "raise their own financial" support -- some call this a "Deputizing" effort.
>> None of their financial support is underwritten or guaranteed by ABC itself.  Only the amount that actually comes in (be it $5.00 or $5,000.00) is available and then goes electronically to the Smith's personal bank accounts located at Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU).
>> ABC's Board has approved a Smith  Project or money can be raised for a project directly related to their ministry effort (we'll call it:  Project)
>> An approximate 10% of each support dollar is deducted in order to cover ABC's necessary general overhead expenses.
>> See more details about such activity by Mission Organizations when you go to  8016 and/or  8888

SCENARIO

>> Husband/Wife Jason/Rebecca agree to contribute $75.00 a month to the ministry of the Smiths at ABC and  $25.00 to the above Project.
>> They further agree that ABC can automatically write this $100.00 check to ABC on Jason/Rebecca's personal bank account. Jason/Rebecca decided to do this rather than allow ABC to automatically charge their Credit Card even though such an option would reward them with "Frequent Flyer Miles," etc. This process also allows Jason/Rebecca to NOT have to remember to do this every month.
>> The Smiths produce a monthly News letter that is distributed by Email to their supporters.
>> ABC takes the above News letter and includes it in an Email  (it could include a ABC web site link to the Smiths latest News letter, etc.) that goes to financial supporters like Jason/Rebecca.  This Email accomplishes at least the following:

  •    Reminds Jason/Rebecca to reduce their bank balance for this $100.00 automatic check payment
  •    Acknowledges and thanks them for this contribution; this also includes some general ABC happenings or news with links to ABC's web site for more details.
  •    Brings them up to date with the Smith's  ministry via the content of their latest News letter, etc. They are not included within their periodic News letter distribution by Email mentioned above..

>> ABC adds this $75.00 to the Smiths "Deputize Account" balance, but reduces it to $72.00 because of the $3.00 assessment to cover ABC's operating expenses. Of course, $25.00, less $1.00 assessment, goes to the Project Fund.  This assessment happens for each donation -- under this plan, ABC does NOT wait until a certain monthly point in time for this periodic assessment process, etc.
>> Please also note that it is not the usual total tithe ($10.00) amount -- or the Project and Smith's assessment is less because of this efficient electronic process.
>> ABC determines and makes the applicable monthly payroll and retirement deductions from the Smith's s "Deputize Account."
>> The Smiths go to the Internet and see the details and available balance of their "Deputize Account" and their "Project Account" as maintained by ABC's accounting system utilizing the software product known as QuickBooks.
>> Their "Deputize Account" balance is emptied at a time of the Smith's choosing - ABC does not have a set time for this happening. The Smiths utilize the Online Banking system available at ECCU to electronically place their Deputize Account balance into any of the Smith's personal bank accounts at ECCU.  The Project expenses would be paid along with other mission expenditures of ABC.
>> The Smiths are located in a part of the world where they can obtain needed cash from these ECCU accounts via a local ATM.

WEEKLY PAYMENT TO YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY (7)

    Are you either a struggling Small Ministry or a Christian family who are paying interest to your Credit Card Company because you have  NOT paid off your Credit Card balance each month? If so, please seriously consider the following weekly process as part of your "Spending Control" system.

  • You do NOT have to stop the use of Credit Cards; you continue to buy via Credit Cards so you --
    -- Do NOT have the inconvenience of having to pay for each purchase via cash or by having to write a check to each vendor
    -- Continue to get the benefits of Credit Card rewards, like "Frequent Flyer Miles."
  • You weekly use the Internet to access your Credit Card account details/balance. This enables you to --
    -- Monitor your account activity and see if there is any improper charges to your account due to identity fraud, etc. .
    -- Know of all purchases, since it is so easy for those small Credit Card purchase slips to get unrecorded, etc.
    -- Plus provide assurance of purchases by appropriate personnel.
  • You write a weekly check for the weekly total amount due to the Credit Card Company as you accomplish at least the following:
    -- You do not have to book each Credit Card purchase per known available paperwork, etc.
    -- You timely charge all weekly purchases to respective 'Spending Control' areas of your system so you know, via your weekly report, if you have any money left to spend, etc.
  •   If in earlier months you have NOT paid off your Credit Card balance, such a weekly process would facilitate getting this old debt paid off since you can readily include this obligation within a 'Spending Control' area.
  • Weekly "Spending Control reports" could include --

      1st Report which answers the question:
            As of this date, how much money do I have to spend in my area of responsibility?  See next topic below in this JIMs JRNL edition for Sample weekly report via QuickBooks .  Also see more info about paying weekly when you  Click Here.
      2nd Report which answers such questions as:
            In this area of my responsibility, and for this period of time, how much money did I start with and what did I end up with; was I given anything to spend; plus who did I buy from/why?  Click here for access to a sample.

        Spending Controls at a Ministry:  (5)

    Do you have Ministry Finance responsibilities? If so, a primary objective of yours is to control spending. That's right ..... you only spend money when you have it.  Sounds pretty basic, right -- except such info is not always that easy to come by since your Ministry must have the means to timely provide decision makers with such vital financial facts at least each Monday.  See the sample QuickBooks weekly report below ---  
QBooks Types: Assets:      
Bank     Checking- Savings     $ 16,787 
         Total Assets       $16,787 
Liabilities:      
Acct Pay         Payables       $  1,689 
Fund Balances - Bux Boxes:      
SPFunds      
Equity    Approved donor preferences  $       700    
Equity    Building Fund  $    4,000    
Equity    SetASide by the Board  $  15,774    
            Total SPFund    $ 20,474  
GPFunds      
Equity (Deficit) from earlier years  $   (6,362)    
Available for this Years Operations:      
Equity   Church Staff Costs  $      562    
Equity   Missions Costs  $      234    
Equity   Mortgage & Facility Operating Costs  $        56    
Equity   Program #1 Costs  $        34    
Equity   Program #2 Costs  $      100    
      Total GPFund (Deficit)         (5,376) 
        $15,098 
             Total Liab and Fund Bal       $16,787 

   As you obtain info above, please consider:

  • That you immediately assign each dollar received into "spending control" areas, or
  • You carefully manage GPFund  "discretionary money."
  • As you know, you must timely pay from such sources certain fixed operational expenditures  - like staff costs (that includes applicable withheld payroll taxes)  .....plus other obligations, like rent or mortgage.
  • Using this "assigned dollar" information, you then prudently assign the remaining "spending control" dollars so you can buy other variable expenditures that are inherent to your ministry, etc.

   Comments with respect to the above report:  1>  The $6,362 deficit could only exist because the Ministry has voluntarily "Setaside" over $15,774,  2> Preferably, their assignment of discretionary funds should include paying off this deficit, 3>  Appropriately, the ministry is on the accrual basis of accounting and immediately assigns the $1,689 in payables to the respective Funds or BuxBoxes.
    This same concept, obviously, is applicable to our personal finances. You can only spend money for life style expenditures when you have it.  Please go to  0400  for a link list on the topic of using the Envelope system.
    Let me know at JimRetCPA@bcidot.org  if any of this "scratches where you itch."

See topical link content below:

Found within our QuickBooks article:   0601-06
Dollar Accountability Group (DAG) BuxBox Info:   0002-99
More BuxBox info:  0002-08
BuxBox info found within JIMs JRNL:0206-05#4
Quite Virtual Envelopes within JIMs JRNL  0206-04#5
More BuxBox info found within JIMs JRNL  0212-04#5

Please Grade Yourself,  Ministry Finance Team !!!!  : (6)

    The following can be viewed as your   Ministry Finance Team's   TEN COMMANDMENTS.  Per the opinion of each of your Ministry Finance Teammates,  please independently grade yourself, on the basis of A-F grades,  the extent to which your Ministry ......

     GRADE

1>

  Is fiscally accountable with integrity

and righteousness - no deceptive secrets from those who should know.

_______

2>

  Is a good steward of financial and

physical resources.

_______

3>

  Lives within income and/or

budget constraints.

 ______

4>

  Uses debt prudently; pays bills

on time; manages money well.

_______

5>

  Has good internal communication

of fiscal status and operations;

represented by timely and understood-

financial reports.

_______

6>

  Establishes and maintains written financial policies;  monitors adherence thereto.

  

_______

7>

  Is financially credible

_______
8>

  Properly handles restricted monies.

_______

9>

  Has a good finance system that includes

needed financial internal controls.

_______

10>

  Is auditable by applicable entities.

_______

Of course, you will want to remedy poor grades.

          Ministry Finance Forms:   (8)

    Please go to   http://www.bcidot.org/forms/MinFin   and view our folder contents for a list of samples of what one Church uses for Finance Forms in the Word Doc and/or PDF formats.  We suggest that you save, or move, each Word Doc to your desktop and personalize from there.  We further recommend that each of your forms have its unique paper color and you include it's number and implementation date in the lower right hand corner.

          Click below for Potentially Helpful Online Links for JIMs JRNL Readers: (1)

                Article as to the grow of Online Giving     http://nonprofit.about.com/b/a/181520.htm
                Designed to facilitate Christ-Centered Estate Planning and Giving:   http://www.thefoundations.org/ccf_main.html
                How one Church denomination emphasizes Estate Planning and related issues:   http://www.episfoundation.org/heritage.htm
                ECCU Bank Account management in/around a Construction project:   http://www.eccu.org/churches/storehousefund.php
                Subscription free Christian Computer Online Magazine   http://ccmag.gospelcom.net/0705/0705ccmag.pdf
                Ministry Administration Resources      http://www.friezeconsulting.com/
                Records Management        http://www.elca.org/secretary/RecordsManagement/
                Charitable Contributions - IRS Publication 1771      http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf
                Latest re Car Donations - IRS Publication 4302      http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/pub4302.pdf

           This month's chosen "Ministry Finance" Truism: (2)

        Below is one of my Ministry Finance precepts/beliefs/principles, or  "rules of thumb".  Please go to  0069  for our complete TRUISMS list.

    SPENDING - income for most Ministries is very volatile, so regardless of any authorized budget, spending is limited to what comes in - period!

             Prayerful Thots:

   Lord,  thank you for recently bringing to my attention such a truth that if "You bring me to it, You will bring me through it," plus such times as the following:

        >> During happy moments, praise You
        >> During difficult moments, seek You
        >> During quiet moments, worship You
        >> During painful moments, trust You
        >> During every moment, thank You.

         Help me, Lord --- in thy precious name, Amen.

     This "Blogger" like monthly endeavor (99) allows me to share some personal comments/thoughts as to Ministry Finance issues plus matters concerning Righteous Personal Finance for Christian people.  Please go to  0200  for further explanation and links to earlier JIM's JRNLs.  The four digit links  xxxx  herein come from www.bcidot.org sources. 
    If you would like to receive the next monthly JIM's JRNL during the first week of the subsequent month,  please join the following Yahoo Group:   ---- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JIMsJRNL/.    Caution --- the non  www.bcidot.org  web links that I reference herein do NOT necessarily imply my endorsement.  Further, if any of these links do not work, let us know which one at LINK@bcidot.org.  Lists of our  www.bcidot.org  articles (or Web Docs), can be found at 9712.  9716  and  9705.  

 Probable "Ministry Finance Lingo", or "Frequently Used Vocational Terms" used herein, appear below:

            BLVR =  Someone who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, CBA = Church Business Administrator, CBAer;  CMS = Church Management Software/System;  CPA = Certified Public Accountant;  GAAP = Generally Accepted Accounting Principles/Practices;  GPFund or GPF = General Purpose Fund; MFTeam or MFT= Ministry Finance Team;  QBOE = QuickBooks Online Edition;  QBooks or QB = Quickbooks; RPFin  = Righteous Personal Finance , SPFunds or SPFs = Special Purpose Funds

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Click Here and go to a list of earlier JIM's JRNLs - Contact JimRetCPA@bcidot.org

This document was updated last on:  May 24, 2007