Most churches start with one faithful volunteer who does everything: counts, deposits, pays the bills, enters the numbers and gives the report. That works for a long time, and for some churches it keeps working. The question usually comes up when that person wants to step down, or when the board notices it has not seen a fund report in three months. There are three common answers, and they are not mutually exclusive.
Treasurer and bookkeeper are two different jobs
A treasurer is an officer of the church. The role is defined by the bylaws and is about oversight: seeing that money is handled according to policy, reviewing the reports, and explaining them to the board and the congregation. A bookkeeper does the recording: entering deposits and payments, coding them to the right account and fund, reconciling the bank, and producing the reports the treasurer reviews.
In a small church one person often does both. The risk in that arrangement is not dishonesty. It is that nobody else looks at the work, so an honest mistake can sit in the books for a year. Whichever option below you choose, the IRS expects a church to keep books and records that support its activities and any returns it files, so somebody has to own the recording and somebody else should check it.
The three options side by side
| Volunteer treasurer | Part-time staff bookkeeper | Outside bookkeeper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A member who keeps the books as unpaid service | An employee, often the church administrator, with bookkeeping in the job description | An independent bookkeeper or firm working under a written scope |
| Does well | Knows the church, costs nothing in fees, answers to the congregation | On site for mail, checks and questions; available during office hours | Separate from the people who approve and spend; has seen other churches' books |
| Strains when | Time runs short, the role turns over, or the books need skills the volunteer was never taught | Bookkeeping is one of ten duties, or there is no one qualified to review the work | The church expects someone on site every day, or cannot get documents to the bookkeeper reliably |
| Continuity | Depends on one person's availability and a good handoff | Depends on the employee staying, and on written procedures | Depends on the engagement continuing; records and procedures should belong to the church |
| Cost | Volunteer time, plus software | Wages, payroll taxes, training and supervision | A fee set by the scope of work |
When a volunteer is enough
A volunteer treasurer who also keeps the books is a sound arrangement when most of these are true:
- One or two bank accounts and a short list of funds
- No payroll, or payroll run through a payroll service
- The volunteer has the time each month and is comfortable with the software
- A second person sees the bank statement and the reconciliation every month
- The procedures are written down well enough that someone else could take over
If that describes your church, paying for bookkeeping may not buy much. A better use of effort is the review step and the written procedures. See internal controls for small churches and, for a new volunteer, a treasurer's first 90 days.
When a staff bookkeeper fits
A staff bookkeeper makes sense when there is enough daily activity to justify it: a busy office, a school or preschool, frequent vendor payments, many reimbursements. Someone on site can open the mail, chase a missing receipt down the hall and answer a ministry leader's budget question the same day.
The weak points are supervision and backup. Many churches have no one on staff who can tell whether the bookkeeping is right, and no one who can cover a long absence. A staff bookkeeper is also an employee, with everything that brings: payroll taxes, time off and a hiring process if the person leaves.
When an outside bookkeeper fits
An outside bookkeeper suits a church with real complexity but not enough hours to fill a position: several restricted funds, pastoral payroll, online giving that has to be matched to the bank. It also suits a church where volunteers are few, because the person recording transactions is then not the person approving or spending them.
The limits are practical. An outside bookkeeper is not in the building, so someone at the church still handles paper and deposits. And an outside bookkeeper works to a scope; anything not written into it is not being done. Local or remote covers what that looks like day to day.
How the roles combine
The arrangement that holds up best in most churches is a combination:
- Counters count and deposit the offering, two at a time.
- The bookkeeper, whether volunteer, staff or outside, records, reconciles and prepares the reports.
- Authorized officers approve and sign payments.
- The treasurer reviews the reconciliation and reports, asks questions and presents to the board.
- A CPA or tax adviser handles tax and any audit or review. See bookkeeper, CPA or auditor.
Adding a bookkeeper does not retire the treasurer. It changes the treasurer's job from data entry to oversight, which is the part of the role the bylaws actually describe.
Questions that settle it
- How many hours a month does the bookkeeping take now, and who is giving them?
- If that person stopped tomorrow, could someone else pick up the work from what is written down?
- Who, other than the person keeping the books, looks at the bank reconciliation?
- Are the monthly reports arriving on time and answering the board's questions?
- Is there payroll, and does anyone feel confident about how the pastor's pay is set up?
If the answers point toward outside help, the next step is knowing what to ask. See questions to ask before you hire a church bookkeeper, or read how Danielson Bookkeeping works alongside a treasurer and finance committee on the church bookkeeping page.
