Streamlining Receipt Tracking for Small Churches: A Software Solutions Inquiry

For many small churches, managing finances, especially when it comes to tracking receipts and expenditures, can often feel like a daunting task. One particular church is seeking cost-effective software solutions to enhance their receipt tracking system, especially for their payroll employees who currently rely on a manual process.

The Current Process

This church, which employs between five to ten staff members, uses Chase’s Ink for Business credit cards linked to a master account. At the end of each month, employees manually log into their Chase accounts to fill out worksheets detailing their expenses. They then print and attach receipts to these documents and submit them to an Accounting personnel for approval, followed by a secondary review. This labor-intensive method not only consumes considerable time but also raises concerns over inefficient fraud monitoring and record-keeping.

The Need for Change

The church is looking for a more efficient, cost-effective solution that allows employees to easily track their receipts using their smartphones, similar to features available through American Express cards. The aim is to facilitate real-time expense tracking while minimizing potential fraud—both internal and external.

Existing Accounting Tools

Currently, the church employs QuickBooks Online Plus for their Accounting needs. However, they have encountered limitations with this setup. While it supports their bank accounts, their credit cards are not integrated, making it challenging to directly link expenses. Additionally, with the Plus plan accommodating a maximum of three users, finding a solution that allows individual employee access without incurring significant costs is a priority.

Potential Solutions

As this church explores options that connect seamlessly to their credit card systems and provide mobile receipt entry, they’re faced with questions regarding user access and functionality. It’s crucial to ensure that each employee can easily add receipts to their respective transactions without overwhelming the accounting system or creating unnecessary complexity.

Looking for Suggestions:
The church is open to any recommendations for affordable receipt tracking software that offers mobile functionality and integrates well with QuickBooks. Solutions that provide user access management to allow for receipt entry without full account privileges would be especially beneficial.

If you have experience with a software that fits these criteria or any insights into the best practices for managing receipts within non-profit organizations, your advice would be greatly appreciated!