Seeking Affordable Receipt Tracking Solutions for Small Churches

Managing expenses efficiently is a vital aspect of church administration, particularly for small congregations that often rely on limited resources. Today, I want to discuss a particular need we’ve encountered at a local church: finding a cost-effective solution for receipt tracking.

The church employs between five to ten staff members, all of whom possess credit cards tied to a central account through Chase’s Ink for Business program. Each month, these employees log into their Chase account to manually record their expenses on a worksheet. They then print and attach receipts before handing the completed documentation over to the Accounting personnel for initial approval. The process ends with a secondary review by another staff member, all conducted through traditional paper methods.

While the primary objective of this procedure appears to be monitoring for potential fraud—both internally and externally—maintaining comprehensive records is also essential.

What we’re searching for is an affordable digital solution that streamlines this process. Ideally, we’d like a system that integrates directly with their credit cards, allowing users to input receipts effortlessly from their smartphones—similar to the functionality provided by American Express cards.

Currently, the church uses QuickBooks for its Accounting needs, specifically the Online Plus plan. Unfortunately, although their bank accounts are linked, the credit cards are not, which complicates their ability to track expenses effectively. I had considered utilizing QuickBooks for receipt tracking; however, I believe each user would require an individual account, and the Plus plan only accommodates three users. Furthermore, I’m curious to know if it would be possible to restrict user accounts so they could only add receipts to transactions without accessing further features.

If anyone has recommendations for affordable receipt tracking software that fits these criteria, or insights on maximizing QuickBooks for this purpose, your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your assistance in helping us enhance our financial oversight and integrity!