Do church accounting and business specific accounting software differ from each other?
There are commercial accounting software products available designed primarily for businesses, plus church specific accounting software that will probably be more appropriate for your needs. You should keep in mind that a nonprofit organization like a church, has accounting needs that are much different than those of a for profit business.
One specific difference is the need for a church to use fund accounting which is not the type of accounting used by a for profit business. Almost all nonprofits such as churches use this type of accounting. Fund accounting creates asset and liability categories based mainly on their use by the not for profit organization.
Cost accounting differentiates between funds that are restricted such as contributions for missions, and those that have general or unrestricted flexibility. Differences in what data is collected and how it is organized are significant between a church and a business although they both must keep accurate and audit verifiable records.
Can your church make use of free church accounting software?
A basic general business accounting package may be all that a small church needs. But one drawback to a bare bones system is that it might be easy to make improper changes in the records. If this were to happen, with no clear audit trail, it could be a real problem to find out exactly what happened.
An additional issue when using accounting software intended for businesses is that there will not be any ability to track attendance or giving without using an additional free standing program intended for these purposes. Free church accounting software may not be suitable for churches that are larger due to more complicated management and accounting needs. If the free options do not seem suitable at least some of the versions for sale are reasonably priced.
It is unfortunate that there is not more free software available for new churches to use for their accounting needs. If you find a particular program that you would like to try for your church, contact the vendor because they sometimes will make an exception to or reduce the cost for a small or startup church.
There are commercial accounting software products available designed primarily for businesses, plus church specific accounting software that will probably be more appropriate for your needs. You should keep in mind that a nonprofit organization like a church, has accounting needs that are much different than those of a for profit business.
One specific difference is the need for a church to use fund accounting which is not the type of accounting used by a for profit business. Almost all nonprofits such as churches use this type of accounting. Fund accounting creates asset and liability categories based mainly on their use by the not for profit organization.
Cost accounting differentiates between funds that are restricted such as contributions for missions, and those that have general or unrestricted flexibility. Differences in what data is collected and how it is organized are significant between a church and a business although they both must keep accurate and audit verifiable records.
Can your church make use of free church accounting software?
A basic general business accounting package may be all that a small church needs. But one drawback to a bare bones system is that it might be easy to make improper changes in the records. If this were to happen, with no clear audit trail, it could be a real problem to find out exactly what happened.
An additional issue when using accounting software intended for businesses is that there will not be any ability to track attendance or giving without using an additional free standing program intended for these purposes. Free church accounting software may not be suitable for churches that are larger due to more complicated management and accounting needs. If the free options do not seem suitable at least some of the versions for sale are reasonably priced.
It is unfortunate that there is not more free software available for new churches to use for their accounting needs. If you find a particular program that you would like to try for your church, contact the vendor because they sometimes will make an exception to or reduce the cost for a small or startup church.
About the Author:
Want to learn more about free church accounting software? Visit us to find the best free church downloads for your accounting needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment