Budget

Why Make a Church Budget? And How?

It is highly recommended by the "Local Church Accounting Manual" that your church set up a Budget for each year. A budget is simply a plan for how money will be spent. So a budget will help guide your financial decisions as a church and will help you to be more aware of how you are spending your money and whether changes need to be made. Here's how to make a budget:

Start planning your upcoming year's budget in November of the current year. Go to Reports & Graphs -> Income/Expense Report in Jewel, selecting "This fiscal year to date" as the dates for the report. Then print the report or if you prefer, copy the report to clipboard and paste it into a spreadsheet program. Divide the amounts on the report by 10 to get average monthly amounts, then multiply the monthly amounts by 12 to get yearly amounts. An alternative method is to select the report dates for November of the previous year to October of the current year. Use this report to guide your budget for the following year.
Discuss prospective needs for the upcoming year with the church board, and include these possibilities when drafting the proposed budget.
If your Church Budget includes both church expense as well as organizations of the church, be sure to include the organizations in the budget.
Determine which amounts will be fixed and which will be percentages. For example, the church insurance will be a fixed dollar amount. Other accounts like departments could use a percentage.
Make a tentative Budget to present to the church board for consideration, modification, and approval.