One of the main reasons I strongly advise my church clients to buy church management software or a church membership software is to avoid the embarrassment of issuing non-compliant contribution statements. Members won't realize you're putting their tax deduction in jeopardy until they get audited. That looks really bad! Oh and the rumors may start spreading like wildfire.
I make it a requirement for churches doing business with Whitfield & Associates. I do a lot of tax returns. My tax clients attend churches and receive contribution statements that won't pass an IRS audit. I'm constantly telling them to go back to the church and get a detailed contribution statement, just in case you're audited.
Some of my clients are big givers. This YouTube video I posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7NCxrn3nbo shows one example of a member giving about $3K and losing a tax deduction because she didn't have the proper documentation. Ant that cost her about $500. I've got clients that give $10K to $25K or more to their church. They are in much higher tax brackets and risk losing thousands of dollars in tax deductions.
Churches don't need to spend a lot of money on church management software. For churches on a tight budget, I usually tell them that before anything else, buy the church management software. Don't hire me as an accountant just yet; and do the best you can with keeping track of your books - and oh yeah! Do take my online courses for church finances; but spend the money on your membership software first.
Your church contribution statements will look neat and very professional. It makes people feel good about giving to your church when they get something back that looks professional. It shows you've got some structure in place in the church administration area.
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For those who find MembershipPlus too big, complicated, or expensive, you might want to consider my DONATION program, from www.software4nonprofits.com.
It has over 4,000 registered users in churches and charities in the USA and Canada, and is very easy to learn and use. It is strictly focused on donors, donations and receipts, without all of the complications of a program like Membership Plus that is trying to be a full church management .
There's a free Lite version available for very small churches, and the regular version is just $80.
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