Financial Management at PCC: Managing Outflows

Managing Outflows

by Chauncey Starkey

Church Administrator

Today we’ll continue to try to make our financial management transparent to by explaining how payments and reimbursements are made. We’ve had a great process for “Accounts Payable” from the start. Checks are written in a timely manner, usually weekly. Of course, there are several protective measures in place, starting when the need for a service or purchase is realized.

Before an obligation is made an Expense Voucher should be completed.  You can download one from the website at http://www.powhatancommunitychurch.org/ExpenseVoucher.pdf. You will need to know the amount required; you can usually find this online or by calling the vendor. If you don’t know what budget line item to select you can check with your ministry leader, the staff support member or call the office at 598-1174. A staff member (named next to the budget line name) will need to sign the voucher before payment or reimbursement can be made, and you’ll need to select if you’ll require reimbursement (you’ll pay the vendor yourself) or payment should be made to the provider. When your purchase will exceed $5,000, Chauncey Starkey, Dennis Green or Brian Hughes will also need to sign the voucher.

By using the Expense Voucher you know funds are available without exceeding the budget (Brian explained the budget process in “Budgeting at PCC”). It also helps make sure we aren’t buying anything we already have on hand, that we use the best vendors at the best price whenever possible, and that any tax exemptions are claimed. Once the Expense Voucher is completed you can purchase the necessary goods or service.

There are several ways to make that purchase. You can make it yourself and request reimbursement; this is often the fastest method, but sometimes it isn’t convenient. If that is the case, send it to the office. Whenever possible your request will be forwarded to a purchasing agent to be purchased, or a check may be written and sent to the provider.

We use QuickBooks to manage our financials. We use most of its features; we use it to write checks, schedule recurring payments, process payroll and provide any necessary reports. There are only three people who can sign checks:  Chauncey, Dennis (and Brian, in extreme circumstances; in 6 years, Brian has signed only a handful of checks). If a second signature was required for the Expense Voucher (the check is over $5,000), one of the other two will sign the check providing another layer of oversight.

The Church Treasurer reconciles the bank statement every month and reviews transactions, providing a layer of checks and balances.

Whenever possible we use online or electronic banking to save time and money. On rare occasions when checks need to be hand written, they are entered into the system as soon as possible. In either case an Expense Voucher is required.

Budgets can be complicated, especially when needs continue after a specific budget line item has been spent. This can be resolved at staff level by moving funds from another line item; of course this requires the approval of both managing staff members. The total approved budget is not to be exceeded.

This may seem like a long process but a check can usually be received (or a purchase made) in a week or less. These processes are all necessary to ensure we are fiscally responsible, transparent and above reproach.