Principles of Church Accounting

The goal of Jewel Church Accounting Software is to make your work as treasurer as efficient and simple as possible. You do not need any previous knowledge of accounting, since Jewel takes care of much of the accounting for you. However, as you begin your work as treasurer, it will be helpful for you to have a basic understanding of the principles of local church accounting.

Accounting in the local church is based on the principles of fund accounting. In fund accounting, the focus is on how monies are spent rather than what profit is earned. It is therefore appropriate for use in non-profit organizations, such as churches and schools. In the local church, there are two main groups under which all accounts are categorized:

1. Conference Funds
2. Local Church Funds.

Conference Funds include such accounts as tithe, conference evangelism, religious liberty, and world missions. These funds are those which are passed on to the Conference for their distribution. Under no circumstances are conference funds to be used for the local church. These funds are to be remitted to the conference at the end of each month. Likely the most common Conference Fund you will encounter is tithe. According to the "Local Church Accounting Manual," tithe is to be held sacred for the work of the ministry, Bible teaching, and field missionary work. It is of interest to note the distribution of tithe through all levels of the church organization. The local church sends all of its tithe monies to the local conference. The conference then takes 10% of all tithes received and passes it on to the Union Conference, distributing the remaining tithes to further the ministry within the conference. The Union Conference does the same, passing on 10% of tithe received from the Local Conference up to the Division. Likewise, the Division sends 10% of its tithe on to the General Conference. "This system of dividing tithes...serves a wonderful purpose in unifying the work throughout the world."

Local Church Funds include such accounts as Church Budget, Sabbath School Expense, and various funds for organizations associated with the church (Pathfinders, Adventist Youth). All donations to these accounts are to be handed over to the church treasurer, whether they were received in the offering plate or were an outside donation for a church organization. The treasurer is responsible for the distribution of these funds, under the authority of the church board. It is very important to note that funds are to be used ONLY for their intended purpose as indicated by the donor. If at any time a certain department has need of more money, it can be transferred from another non-discretionary account with surplus (usually this will come out of the Church Budget account) but only after approval by the church board.

The main goal of fund accounting is to demonstrate how donated monies are used and to ensure that they are used for their intended purpose. For example, when a member puts money in their tithe envelope and specifies that it is to be used for the Local Church Budget, the treasurer's bookkeeping should specifically reflect how much was donated, what it was intended for, as well as its being used for the intended purpose of Church Budget. As you enter data into Jewel (cash and checks or electronic donations), it will keep track of how the funds are being used and will produce reports, fulfilling this goal of fund accounting.

In fund accounting, it is important that every financial transaction be reported in both your fund as well as your checking account. Using our previous example, a member turns in money towards Church Budget. When you enter this in your records, you need to show that money has been added to the Church Budget account (part of Local Church funds). You also need to show that this same amount has been deposited in your banking account. Jewel takes care of this process when you enter the tithe envelope into Jewel.

Introduction

Now it's time to see how Jewel actually works! We hope you will find that Jewel makes your job as church treasurer easier, and perhaps even fun! Before we get into the actual processes you will be performing, let's find out what to expect Jewel to look like and how to find your way around. Also in this introduction, we will introduce you to some features you will find throughout the program to make your work easier.

How to Get Help

Perhaps the most important question many of you may have at this point is, "So how do I get HELP?" You actually have several options. For one - you are reading it right now! This handbook is meant to be a guide both as you are first learning Jewel, as well as later on if you need to reference back or get further information from the Appendix. Other helps include the helps built into the program, tips, the Jewel Wiki, and your auditor/tech support.

Jewel Helps

You will find the most useful helps to be those built in to the Jewel program. You can access it a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to press F1 on your keyboard (located at the very top of the keyboard, these keys are referred to as Function keys). F1 will take you to the helps applicable to whichever screen you happen to be on. For example, if you need further information about writing a check, simply go to Write Checks and hit F1. A new window will open, giving you detailed help about writing checks. The second way to access Help is by clicking the Help menu item on the Jewel Main Screen. Choosing either the Contents or the Index options will open up the help window where you can use the Table of Contents, Index, or Search to find the topic you need help with.

Tips

As you begin using Jewel, you will notice small dialog boxes with "Tips" popping up at various times. Pay special attention to these - at least the first time you see it! These dialog boxes are yet another method Jewel uses to offer you help. They will give you tips regarding the step you are on in the process. Once you have read a Tip and know you will not need it again, click the box next to "Don't show this Tip again." located towards the bottom of the Tip dialog box. Again, don't ignore these tips - they will save you a lot of time in the long run!

Auditor/Tech Support

Another way for you to get help is through your conference auditor or, if your conference has contracted with us for tech support, directly from us. Please be sure to check this handbook for answers to your question BEFORE calling your auditor/tech support. This will save time both for you and your support. You can contact your auditor/tech support via phone or email.

Jewel Wiki

Located at https://www.jewelsda.com/wiki, the Jewel Wiki has lots of helpful articles on the topics you need most. Please explore!

Navigation within Jewel

Menu Bar

Once you have completed the installation, the first screen you will see is Jewel's Home Screen. You can access everything you need from this window. Notice that there are two sets of menus. The first one is located across the very top of the window, with the menu items File, Offerings, Accounting, Maintenance, and Help. Click on each of these menus and notice the drop-down menus with many more options available to you. You can use these menus to access everything you need in Jewel.

Quick Links

Notice the list of five items in the middle of Jewel's main screen: NextStep, Write Checks, Transfer Funds, Reconcile, and Reports & Graphs. These items are the processes you will be using the most. They have been placed here for quick and easy access. Simply click on the item you need to access and the desired screen will open.

The NextStep item at the top of this list is one of the features that sets Jewel apart from other accounting software. This button will guide you through the entire accounting process - all the way from entering offerings to closing out the year. The item listed beside NextStep will change according to where you are in the accounting process - reminding you of where you left off and what your next step is.

General Use

Following is an explanation of various buttons and icons you will be seeing throughout Jewel:

This button is located in the top right corner of virtually every screen in Jewel. Click this button either when you are through viewing the screen (such as a Tip) or when you are finished entering your data (i.e. Write Checks, Contribution Entry). Clicking OK indicates that you are done with a particular process and would like to save the changes you have made. Clicking OK on a NextStep process will let the NextStep move to the next process in the accounting cycle.

Use this button to cancel the process you are working on. But be careful! Only click this button if you intend to lose the information you have just keyed in (the exception to this is the Bank Reconciliation, which gives an option to save your work when cancelling). This button is useful if you have perhaps entered something incorrectly and just want to start over. When you click Cancel on a NextStep process, that process will remain at the NextStep until you have completed it and clicked OK.

Click this button to close the window you are in, such as on a reports screen. You will also see the Close button in Contribution Entry. Note that your changes will NOT be lost by clicking Close. The NextStep button will bring you right back to the envelope where you left off.

Click this button to print the report, check, or any other screen you would like to print. Please make sure your printer is plugged in and with the appropriate paper loaded in the printer before clicking this button. On the reports screens, you may also select how many copies of the report you would like to print.

You will find this symbol located to the right of data entry fields, such as in the Donor Name box in Contribution Entry. This symbol is a quick way to add a new name or account, depending on which field it is located on. Simply click the (+) button and you will be taken to either Edit Names or Edit Accounts, where you can add a new name or account. When you close the Edit Names/Accounts screen, you will be taken right back to where you were when you clicked the (+).

NOTE: Instead of clicking (+), you may also type the full new name or account directly in the text box and press ENTER on the keyboard to get to Edit Names/Accounts.

This symbol is located beside fields for the selection of a name or account. Clicking on the down arrow will open a drop down menu showing all of the names or accounts to choose from. When looking at the drop down menus for names and accounts, you will notice that they are listed both with and without the ID number attached. This is intentional, so that you can search by either ID number or alphabetically, depending on which is more convenient.

NOTE: Instead of using the down arrow, you may just begin typing the ID number, name, or account in the text box. As you type, the program will find matches for what you are keying in. When the desired name/account appears, click Enter. Use whichever method is convenient for you.