Church Accounting That Saves Treasurers Time

What does the treasurer's month look like, and who does each part?

The treasurer runs the money day to day. Church Law & Tax describes the job as counting and recording donations, keeping donor records, reconciling bank and digital giving accounts, paying bills and reporting to the board. The same article gives CPA Mike Batts's first principle of internal control: "Separate those who handle money from those who manage accounting and reporting."

Two church bodies spell out who should do each part: the United Methodist Church's finance agency (GCFA) in its internal-control guide, and the Presbytery of Los Ranchos in its treasurer training.

If you record the gifts, pay the bills and reconcile the bank, you're checking your own work, which is exactly what all three sources warn against. In Grain, the person who checks your work gets their own login. You can also give an outside accountant read-only access, and board members read-only views of reports and fund balances. For the controls in more detail, see our guide to segregation of duties.

What should the next treasurer inherit?

A login, not a spreadsheet. Some churches rotate the job on purpose: a treasurer asking for software on r/churchtech said their church now moves people out after two or three years so they don't burn out, and wanted something easier for the next person. Between them, TechnologyAdvice's buyer guide and the Presbytery of Los Ranchos list what to hand over:

The rest is already in the ledger, not in your head: every fund and its balance, every entry, and the trail from invoice to payment. Add the next treasurer as a user before you step down, and close one real month together. Starter's 3 users cover you, the person who checks, and the one taking over.

Our free month-end checklist and treasurer's report template belong in the hand-off too, along with our notes on training a new church treasurer.

Can we keep Planning Center?

Yes. Grain is the finance ledger, not a church management system or a giving platform. Planning Center stays where it is, and its gifts import into Grain. Pushpay, Rock RMS, Subsplash, OnlineGiving and Overflow connect the same way; see all integrations.

What does it cost, and can we bring our QuickBooks file?

Starter is free for churches with up to $20,000 in monthly expenses, with 1 bank account. It's a plan, not a trial that expires, and it needs no credit card. Growth is $70 a month for churches with up to $1 million a year in revenue or expenses, with 3 bank accounts and unlimited users. Above that, Scale starts at $100 a month, with unlimited bank accounts. Details are on the pricing page.

Under $1 million a year but more than 3 bank and card accounts? Choose Growth and connect the 3 you use most. At a small church, the extra accounts are usually CDs or money market accounts that barely move. If you'd rather connect them all, Scale is $30 a month more.

And yes, you can bring the QuickBooks file. Every plan includes One-Click QuickBooks Migration, and our team helps with the move from QuickBooks or spreadsheets at no charge.