CRUCIBLE
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, PART 2
FINANCIAL SOFTWARE
Small Business Packages
•Peachtree Complete
•QuickBooks Pro
•Avanquest Bookkeeper
Church Specific Software
•Shelby www.shelbysystems.com
•ACS Technologies
www.acstechnologies.com
TALKING ABOUT MONEY…
Transparency as our Key Tenant
•Two exceptions
• Salary and Compensation Packages
• Individual Giving Records
The Information Cycle
•Monthly
•Special Occasions
TALKING ABOUT MONEY…
Communication with our
Constituents
•Quarterly Reports & Pledge Updates
•Tell the story again and again and
again!
• Articulation of the Vision drives giving
• “Your giving is changing lives!”
• Never, “We can’t pay the light bill!”
TALKING ABOUT MONEY…
The Annual Pledge Campaign
•The Power of a Transformed Life
•You get what you ask for!
•Mail / Email Contact with prior
givers
•The follow-up process
THINGS I MUST KNOW…
First Time Givers
•The two most powerful words in
the English language
Quarterly Giving Reports
•A Canary in the Cage
Staff Giving
BUILDING A BUDGET
The Revenue Side: we start here
•I believe God can speak to us
through a spreadsheet
•It is a matter of faith to believe that
the first dollar will land in the
collection plate!
The best predictor of future
performance is past performance
BUILDING A BUDGET
Understanding the giving history is
critical
•What is the make-up of your giving?
•Is there a depth and breadth to the
giving?
•Are there high capacity givers within
the congregation?
Know the timing of the gifts
BUILDING A BUDGET
Interpreting the Stewardship Campaign
•40% of our pledges on “Pledge Sunday”
(moving to 70% within three weeks)
•Solid projections based on participation
and the growth/retraction of the average
pledge
•Moving from the Campaign to the
Budget
BUILDING A BUDGET
ONLY upon establishment of this
top line do we move to project
expenditures!
•Discipline at this point is critical
It is what it is…deal with it
•The temptation is always to
overestimate revenues and
underestimate expenses
BUILDING A BUDGET
The Expense Side of the Budget
•Department Heads and “Wish Lists”
• Zero based budgeting…each
allocation must be justified
• Not only amounts, but timing of the
expense
•This process demands intentionality,
planning, and focus on the year’s
objectives
BUILDING A BUDGET
Some General Rules of Thumb
•Total Allocation for Staff: Less than
50%
•Total Interest Expense: Less than
15%
•Fixed Costs will often total 94-95%
• Our people are our programming!
•Never turn your back on a musician
BUILDING A BUDGET
Bringing it all together
•Closing out the fourth quarter
• Current year giving and projections
forward
• Monthly updates to the Finance
Committee and the Staff
•The budget is finalized at the first
Finance Committee meeting of the
new year
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