Benefits of a Church Payroll Solution (Part II).

Church Payroll Software Cost and its Benefits

One option for churches is to outsource payroll responsibilities. Payroll services typically charge $1 or more per check, with a minimum fee of $10-25 each pay period. Additional fees are often incurred for quarterly reports and W-2 preparation. These fees can amount to a substantial number over time.

Another option is for the church to purchase payroll software, which usually requires annual upgrades. These upgrades are not only expensive, but the installation process also consumes your valuable time.

The Icon Systems payroll module provides you with an unlimited number of paychecks and pay periods for any number of employees for only $110 a year. Since the system is entirely web-based, upgrades are automatic and cost you nothing extra. Additionally, the web based capability allows payroll checks to be prepared offsite but printed on location for the staff.

Price should not be the only factor considered when choosing a payroll system. The benefits of using the right church payroll software are numerous; however, we summarized the most important ones here.

• Confidentiality – Church payroll software needs to be password-protected so only authorized people have access to this confidential information. You can have volunteers and staff members use the system to enter contributions and even process accounts payable checks without making sensitive payroll figures available.

• Accuracy– The importance of accuracy in any church payroll system cannot be overemphasized. Not only do employees rely on the church to calculate paychecks correctly, but reports created for the IRS and other government entities also need to be accurate. Issues concerning pay tend to quickly dissolve trust in any organization, not to mention inaccurate reporting to the government could result in heavy fines.

• Integration – Using separate church payroll software requires you to summarize the information and record the journal entries in the accounting system. Since the IconCMO Payroll module links directly to the fund accounting records, you are able to allocate staff pay to various funds as well as obtain up-to-date, detailed reports that comply with guidelines set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB.)

• Reliability – Icon Systems has been in the business of helping churches for the past 20 years and its certified church accounting software follows the FAS 95 and 117 guidelines. Since you trust Icon Systems to take care of your organization’s accounting needs, it makes sense to turn to us for your payroll needs also.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this two-part series about church payroll software – if you missed the first post, you can read it here.

The Secret to Affordable Church Payroll Software! (Part 1)

Payroll is one of the most difficult, time consuming, and costly administration tasks churches repeatedly encounter. Churches of all sizes are required to use “fund accounting” as described by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) guidelines. Fund accounting is a specialized way of accounting designed for non-profits; if you use this accounting method we recommend you read this informative interview with Nate at The Church Accounting Software Guide.

More often than not, Payroll + Fund Accounting = Confusion

FASB Reporting guidelines add to the difficulty, time, and costs already associated with payroll. For example, churches can use money in the General Fund and the Youth Fund to pay the Senior Pastor and Youth Pastor, respectively. Alternatively, both Pastors may be paid using money from the General Fund. On top of regular income, IRS reporting and taxes vary for items such as housing allowances and vehicle expenses. Paying church staff members can also prove to be tricky; reporting and taxes for hourly or salaried employees follow a completely different set of guidelines altogether. Payroll management also tends to get significantly more complicated for multisite organizations.

Payroll does NOT have to be time-consuming

The initial setup of a payroll system is expected to take some time; however, this task may be considered to be of lesser importance since it is not recurring. Completing the payroll for each pay period, on the other hand, needs to be fast and relatively simple. An effective, easy-to-use church payroll solution will substantially reduce the time needed for you to complete recurring payroll cycles, therefore lowering the overall costs associated with payroll. Evaluate your current payroll system by asking yourself these questions:

1. How long does it take me to print employee paychecks?
2. Can I pay tax liabilities to government agencies quickly and efficiently with only a few clicks of the mouse?
3. Are the liability accounts automatically updated when I cut checks to make these payments?

*Making consistent entries to liability and expense accounts each pay cycle minimizes the likelihood of mistakes.

The Ultimate Cost-Saving Secret:

Systems that charge thousands of dollars for payroll essentially offer the same benefits and features as basic payroll software. Some of the expensive payroll systems do not even comply with fund accounting guidelines. The price of church payroll software is dependent on who enters the tax formulas, so find a package that requires the church to input the tax formulas. If your church leaders are willing to put in a few hours of work at the start, they can save the church hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year in payroll expenses.

Icon Systems has streamlined the recurring task of paying employees by incorporating payroll into the IconCMO fund accounting software system in order to reduce the difficulty, time, and high costs associated with church payroll administration!

6 Steps to Maintaining your Church Tax Exempt Status.

Lauren Hunter did a wonderful write up of what to look for in church software. Please read the full article. Below is just a summary of some of the information you will find.

Know what regulations pertain to churches and what organization creates them. Understand and know why you cannot keep balances in the revenue and expense accounts. Additionally, liabilities should not have fund balances because liabilities are money owed and not money the organization owns. Does church size matters when it comes to accuracy of church reporting or does the church have to report the financials at all?  There are two major repercussions of having bad financials. One is moral and the other is legal.  When an organization is out of compliance trust is lost in the community, which is the moral issue and is very hard to recover. The other is the church can lose its tax-exempt status and cannot claim to be a tax-exempt organization legally. Find out where to go to get more information. Tell us what you think.

Why Church Accounting is Important – Do Not Lose your Tax Exempt Status!

At Icon Systems we are always looking out for our clients and wanted to pass this information on to you. Does your current software provide the right financial reports for the IRS? Ask the 3,000 organizations in Orange County, CA that lost their tax exempt status and it came down to not filing their financial records with the IRS. Small organizations are not exempt from this reporting requirement anymore as many believe. The IRS has revoked approximately 325,000 non profit tax exempt organizations this year alone. It will only get worst when non-profit organizations use sub-standard accounting packages that do not provide accurate reports based on the fund accounting standards. These standards are provided by the FASB organization and specifically written in the FAS 95, 116, and 117 regulations. Please see a more in depth discussion with the church accounting software guide about these guidelines.