Managing records of the annual conference and local church

It’s good to keep documentation, but keeping too much can become overwhelming. This process can be very helpful when you have multiple people managing church records. This should include what documentation to keep and how long to keep it, as well as where these documents will be stored and how they will later be disposed of. All the documentation that you need to keep may be requested by the IRS. Your bank may also need these documents if you ever need financial help.

This article is the second in a series of articles in Church Treasurer Alert! That will summarize recordkeeping rules for several kinds of church records. This month, and next month, we address the retention of tax records. Your record retention policy should include how to store documents so you can access them later. This ensures you are keeping everything you need and discarding what you don’t.

Church Law & Tax Update

This relates to the laws of tax audits and the number of years back the IRS is allowed to look when determining an organization’s tax liability. Most organizations simply make the seven-year-rule standard for all records containing financial information since any financial document may potentially be required during a tax audit. Once established, a records management program will continue to benefit the church and all of its programs. The records committee needs to work with the church history committee for providing the proper storage of historical records and materials. A good idea is to designate a room or even a section of filing cabinets as the church archives. This area or room should be secure and free from any hazards that might damage the records.

The world we live in revolves around information recorded on paper, film, tape, and disk—this includes the life of the local church. Correspondence, invoices, contracts, minutes, reports, financial records, and hundreds of other records provide the information that moves the wheels of our institutions. A records retention schedule should also give us permission to dispose of some records.

Records Retention Schedule for Churches

To learn more about One Write’s church offering envelopes, envelope books and contribution report forms, contact One Write or request a quote today. A church is not legally bound to keep church offering envelopes after they’ve been used, however, the law does require that all cash contributions, regardless of the amount, be substantiated. Since she began leading worship at the age of 15, Ashley has always been passionate about supporting the local church and leading others into worship. For the past 10 years she has been leading worship teams and finds much joy and fulfillment in empowering and raising up other leaders. Ashley is a song writer with Worship Central Canada and has had the incredible opportunity to travel and lead worship, while collaborating with other worship leaders. Choosing the storage option that makes the most sense for your church will depend on your church’s desires or needs.

• This action could save you or your successor countless hours of work and much grief trying to duplicate records.
• These are all documents that the IRS may require later if you experience a tax-related issue.
• This is something you should confirm for your state so you understand what you need to keep.
• Membership records often show when individuals joined the church and when and by what method they left the fellowship.

For example, most detailed financial records can be tossed, but summary documents, statements, and audits should be kept. Record retention is an important consideration in church administration. A good way to minimize the burden of keeping unnecessary records accounting for churches is to adopt a written record retention policy. A record retention policy should be followed consistently and will help the church be better stewards of its physical space, eliminate possible fire hazards, and reduce the need for offsite storage.

How Churches Can Classify Employees, Contractors, and Volunteers

Digital records should be retained on the same schedule as paper records. If minutes are a permanent record of the church, then minutes created electronically are also a permanent record of the church and a plan should be created to retain them. Create a records retention policy based on applicable legal and administrative considerations. Also, keep records security in mind—data loss can be devastating for a church, or any business for that matter. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, does your church have an attorney? If so, I would suggest asking them for guidance on creating a record retention program that works with your local legal requirements.

These three steps—taking an inventory, setting retention periods, and designing a records center—are not difficult or highly specialized tasks. They can be undertaken inexpensively, usually using the staff of the church. In making such an inventory, you likely will find many records— duplicates and dead records—which can be destroyed immediately. The following three steps are required to initiate a records management program.

Each church should have a records retention policy based on legal and practical considerations that will make records retention and disposal decisions systematic and rational. The “guesswork” and arbitrary nature of record retention decisions must be replaced with a sound and consistent policy. The table reproduced in this newsletter will assist you in developing such a policy with regard to tax records.

Annual audit records and worksheets, insurance letters, individual giving records and accounts payable records are also important. These records also include employee expense reports and personal records after employment separation. Despite this, most churches turn  profits every year from donations. Your documentation must be organized and stored somewhere where you can access it easily. These are examples of documents that are important to running a church.

While most cemeteries are well kept, more than a few rural cemeteries have been abandoned. Usually legal documents for a church are not voluminous and are best suited for placement in a safety deposit box or bank vault. Photocopies can be made and placed in the church office where they can be available for reference. Vital records are those which are essential to the continued functioning of an organization and are records from which duplicate copies should be produced.

If approved by your attorney, one approach to consider that’s uniform and easy to administer would be to implement a standard 10-year records retention policy that uses digital records storage. Most financial records have a short, useful life span; but some have vital significance. The original journal entry records and general ledger are permanent records. Copies of completed budgets and audits should be retained permanently as well. These records have both current and historical importance, but may not be essential to the continued functioning of the church. Duplicate copies of the most important financial records should be made.

Church members can easily donate by using their phones at the touch of a button. How you choose to do this depends on the size of your church and your staff. Here are some examples of ways churches can streamline this process. There are many instances where you may need to prove your church finances and where the money is going. These are all documents that the IRS may require later if you experience a tax-related issue.