It’s that time again…

Time to assess last quarter’s accounting, find areas for improvement, and begin next quarter’s predictions.

While we know this is on every nonprofit’s to-do list, bookkeeping is a task that is easily cast aside and thrown into a well-known category: well, technology can do it.

Nonprofit accounting entails so much more than jotting down numbers and tracking data points such as member and business donations. When do you spend, and when do you not? What is considered an emergency, and what isn’t? How will this year’s expenses affect the next? How much money should you set aside for upcoming, unexpected expenses? 

Budgeting and forecasting require time and the ability to analyze data. You must strategically plan for your ministry’s future profit and loss. If you don’t have the time, resources, or understanding to tackle this job on your own, an outsourced bookkeeper can be an easy solution. Let’s debunk a few myths before you decide:

For a small business or nonprofit, it is common to think that year-round outsourced bookkeeping is unnecessary. 

“We’re not at that level yet.” 

“It’s too expensive for what you get.”

But what level do you need to reach before you’re already in the middle of a growth spurt and still don’t have a virtual accountant? At what point do you decide it is necessary regardless of the price?

First, you’ve already reached that level. Your nonprofit is growing every day. This means more complex financing, more donations, more ministry expenses. So, who will evolve in their current job role and take on daily accounting as well?

Second, outsourced bookkeeping does not have to be expensive. For example, we work with you on your needs, wants, and budget because we think nonprofit organizations should have access to good, professional accounting services. Period.

A church accountant’s role includes setting up accounting software, entering data, organizing financial information, keeping financials up-to-date, providing financial statements, developing reports, and more.

A common misconception when it comes to accounting is to stop at software because it handles it all. Actually, all the extremely important accounting tasks come after software set up and data entry.

That’s right. It’s what you do after that matters. How do you analyze your data? How do you make predictions? How do you get all of this done as one person when all of these tasks are typically done by a team or an entire accounting department? 

Deciding to outsource to a virtual accountant means eliminating these tasks and putting your time and focus elsewhere. See how we handle it all here.

Tax season is a busy season for all organizations. Yes, this need can be taken care of by a virtual accountant. However, this is a one-time, one-task deal and bookkeeping is important year-round.

To effectively run your nonprofit, your eyes and ears must always be peeled for everything financial. However, when your job description doesn’t state bookkeeping, forecasting, or accounting, you run the risk of having vitally important financial information fall through the cracks.

Why take the time (the hours and days) to organize a year’s worth of data and bookkeeping to hand over every year to a new account? Why not use your time efficiently to introduce one outsourced bookkeeper to your organization and keep him or her on board for future years?

Imagine the time you’ll save in record keeping and data entry. Imagine eliminating wasted time and money as you try to get organized for your one-time bookkeeper each year at tax time. Instead, your new outsourced, full-time bookkeeper has these steps on their radar and completed throughout the year.

A bookkeeper’s job is to protect your information, not open the doors to your finances. One of the biggest worries faced by businesses and nonprofits, in general, is sharing your books with an outside source. In fact, confidentiality agreements, non-disclosures, and privacy policies were created for this very reason: to ensure the security of your organization. 

In addition, your outsourced bookkeeper not only helps protect your church’s confidential information but also works to improve current security measures for your accounting practices. This means fewer security breaches and far more peace of mind.

When it comes to virtual bookkeeping, we tend to assume that a computer can just “do it better,” but is that really the case? No! 

Virtual bookkeeping software such as Quickbooks or Sage Accounting are wonderful, easy options for a DIY church accountant. However, not having a full grasp of accountancy and virtual bookkeeping can mean values input incorrectly, poor assessment of data, or even misaligned predictions for the upcoming season of donations.

It’s not so much the software as it is the human behind it. Make sense?

Instead of taking hours out of your months learning, practicing, or using software for your nonprofit accounting, we can take over. We at Temple Management go above and beyond to ensure we deliver the best financial practices, jump on all opportunities to improve, and help prepare you for not only the next year, but also for everything in between. 

The idea of aligning passion is the beauty of outsourcing. You can find who and what works best for your church and its mission. This can be a bookkeeper who shares the same love for God as all your members do, and someone who understands church financing specifically versus general business financing.

An outsourced bookkeeper means passion meets experience. Our accountants are among the most-updated experts in financial technology and are ready to support your passion. 

We understand that opening the doors to your church accounting is not as simple as turning the knob (or making the decision). Our team at Temple Management would be happy to discuss what this door opening looks like for your organization and whether it is a good fit.