Budget planning in churches is a much different beast than budget planning in the business world—there’s more to account for, and oftentimes a much leaner team to get it all done. Investing in a quality church management system tool that has a robust budget feature will allow you to simplify your budget process and alleviate pain points. 

But can a church accounting software actually help with budget planning? And what church budget planning tools should you look for when investing in a software? We’ve outlined all of that below, so you can be informed on which accounting software is best for your church—whether you’re a staff of one, you rely on volunteers, or you have an in-house financial team. 

Can Church Accounting Software Help with Budget Planning? 

Yes, church accounting software can help with budget planning! Whether you’re planning out your church finances for the upcoming year or only for a month, accounting software can streamline your budget process. And, because these softwares are specifically made for churches, they often contain features that are particularly useful! 

No church accounting software can take out the human aspect of budgeting and forecasting, but the right tool should make it easier to make these decisions. 

Church Budget Planning Tools 

Simple Transaction Paths 

Your church accounting software should be equipped with simple transaction paths that allow you to create journal entries for any of your budget planning needs. And ideally, it can sync with your membership software to track which accounts the offering money goes into, based on where your members have categorized their giving. For example, Concordia Technology Solutions’ accounting software, Church360° Ledger, syncs with its partner software, Church360° Members. This allows you to more effectively forecast and budget for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Straightforward Reporting 

Whether you need to export your income and expense reports, a chart of accounts, or your general ledger, your church budget planning tools should be able to give you straightforward reporting to allow you to more easily share data with your staff and volunteers. If you have a budget planning team, they might not have (or need) access to your church accounting software, so the ability to export your reports is necessary. 

Secure Audit Trail 

If you ever have a question about a transaction in your church budget planning tools, it will be helpful if your church accounting software features an Event Log that tracks all activities to your church’s accounts. This will let you see which account made the change and when it was made, so you have full transparency into each transaction. This comes in handy during budget planning season, when you might have a specific question from a transaction that took place the previous year.

Roles and Users 

If you have a robust budget planning team, it might be beneficial to give some of them access to your church accounting software. Make sure the software you use allows you to create an unlimited number of roles with custom permissions—so everyone has access only to the data they need. Financial security is paramount within your church, so keeping as much data private as possible ensures you retain the trust of your members.  

Access all of these essential church accounting software features with Church360° Ledger. Sign up for your free 37-day trial today!