Church financial report template for your board

How to read the report

Read the fund and cash lines before the budget lines. That's where the problems hide.

• A fund below zero. A general fund below zero means day-to-day bills were paid with money set aside for something else. A restricted fund below zero means its purpose was paid for before the gifts for it came in.
• Cash left for day-to-day spending. If it's below zero, the bank holds less than your restricted and designated funds say you have.
• Transfers that don't net to zero. Every transfer has two sides. If they don't add up to zero, one side is missing or mistyped.
• Over / (under) budget. Actual minus budget. On an income line, a number in parentheses means you took in less than planned, so explain it. On an expense line, a positive number means you spent more than planned, so explain that.
• % of annual budget used. Compare it with the share of the fiscal year gone, shown under section 1. A line well ahead of it is using the budget faster than the year is passing. Lines that are seasonal on purpose, like a Christmas offering, belong in the notes.

How the template works

Section 1 is budget vs. actual for the general fund, for the month and the year to date. % of annual budget used is year-to-date actual divided by the annual budget. The share of the year gone is your month number in the fiscal year divided by 12. A church whose fiscal year starts in July is in month 4 in October.

Section 2 rolls each fund forward: beginning balance, plus received, minus spent, plus or minus transfers, equals the ending balance. Spending on a fund's purpose goes in that fund's Spent column. On audited statements, the same amount shows as released from restriction.

Section 3 adds the funds into the two classes of net assets that not-for-profit financial statements use under FASB's 2016 standard. Net assets without donor restrictions can go to any purpose. Net assets with donor restrictions are tied to a purpose a donor set. Board-designated funds stay in the first class. As the ECFA's church guide puts it, a board's designations "do not create restrictions."

Section 4 subtracts restricted and board-designated balances from your reconciled cash. What's left is what the general fund can spend. It also compares cash with all fund balances. Those match when cash is your only asset and you owe nothing. Unpaid bills, payroll owed, property, or a loan make them differ. Explain the difference in the notes; don't force it to zero.

The report is only as good as the bank reconciliation behind it. The church month-end checklist walks you through that. It's a board report, not an audit or a full set of GAAP financial statements.

A sample church financial report, worked through

The Sample sheet in the download shows October at an example church with a $510,000 annual income budget and a fiscal year that starts in January.

Income is $396,200 for the year to date against a $425,000 budget. Expenses are $417,100 against $412,500. Building, utilities, and insurance has used 87% of its annual budget with 83% of the year gone, so it's running ahead.

The budget lines aren't the story, though. The general fund started October already below zero, at ($2,550), and ended at ($3,800). That's the same $3,800 the cash check comes up short: the bank holds $60,950, but the restricted funds and the board's operating reserve add up to $64,750. Day-to-day bills are being paid with restricted and reserve money. The cash check reads "No," and the board's first decision is how the general fund pays it back.

When you're copying totals every month

The template works as long as someone types the totals in each month. Grain builds the fund balance report, the Statement of Activities, and budget vs. actual from the ledger, and you can click any number to see the entries behind it. It also warns you when a bill or expense would take a restricted fund below zero. Starter is free for churches with up to $20,000 a month in expenses. See Grain's church financial reports.

For what each statement means, read financial statements for churches. For more report formats, see this church treasurer's report example.