Church books, from Sunday’s count to the year-end receipts.

1. Every Sunday

   Count and deposit the offering

   The plate is the one place a church handles cash in volume, so it is where the simplest controls matter most.

   Two people who are not related to each other count together, record cash, envelopes and cheques on a tally sheet, and both sign it before anything leaves the room. The deposit goes to the bank promptly, and the signed tally goes to the treasurer. Many denominations and insurers recommend it, and it protects the counters from suspicion.

   The treasurer then enters that tally as one deposit batch: loose cash, numbered envelopes and cheques as lines, with a total that has to match the deposit slip and, a day or two later, the single deposit line on the bank feed. Put both counters’ names in the batch notes so the record shows who counted. Donor records and deposit batches belong to the donors and gifts part of the non-profit plans, so check which plan includes them.

   • Two unrelated counters, both names on the tally
   • Envelope numbers tie each gift to a giver
   • One batch that matches the slip and the bank feed
2. Every gift

   Keep designated gifts in their own funds

   Building fund, missions, benevolence and youth work each need a balance that cannot quietly pay the hydro bill.

   Most of what arrives on a Sunday is general giving. Some of it is not: a family gives toward the new roof, another marks an envelope for missions. Once a gift is directed, the church is expected to use it that way, and a fund balance is how a treasurer keeps that promise visible. Tell the congregation how directed giving works before the first gift arrives, and write the policy down.

   Awditify records a fund against each line, so the building fund and missions keep their own balances beside general operations, and statements can show fund columns. Moving money between funds is its own entry with a date and a reason, which is exactly what a board or an auditor will ask to see. If a restricted balance is ever spent on something else, the books show it rather than hide it.

   • A fund on every line, not a note in the margin
   • Restricted balances kept apart from general operations
   • Fund columns on the statements your board reads
3. Every January

   Receipt every giver correctly

   A donation receipt is a tax document for the giver, and a registered charity is accountable for every one it issues.

   Only a registered charity, which most churches are, can issue official donation receipts, and the CRA sets what each one must contain. For envelope givers the usual practice is one consolidated receipt per giver for the calendar year. Awditify’s donor records and receipt run are built for that, with serial numbers issued in order. A mistake is corrected by voiding and reissuing, with the original kept on file, never by overwriting.

   Not everything in the plate can be receipted. An anonymous cash gift is a real gift but has no giver to name. A payment for a hall rental, a bazaar table or a raffle ticket is not a gift at all. Where a giver receives something of value, such as a dinner ticket, the receipt shows that advantage and the eligible amount is reduced by it. And a gift made through CanadaHelps is usually receipted by CanadaHelps itself, so record the payout but do not issue a second receipt.

   • One consolidated receipt per giver
   • Required details checked before issue
   • Void and reissue that keeps the original
4. Year-end

   Report to the board and the CRA

   Two audiences read the year: the congregation at the annual meeting, and the CRA through the charity return.

   A registered charity files its T3010 information return within six months of its fiscal year-end, so a church with a December year-end files by the end of June. The return asks for totals the books should already hold: gifts receipted, revenue and expenses by type, and what was spent on charitable activities. Gathering those figures from a shoebox in June is the part that makes volunteers quit.

   The same books produce the statements for the annual meeting. Awditify prepares a T3010 worksheet and statements under ASNPO, the CPA Canada standard for non-profits, with fund columns, and budgets on the plans that include them. It does not file anything for you. The treasurer or the church’s accountant reviews the worksheet, files the return with the CRA, and keeps the supporting records, which charities are generally expected to hold for six years.

   • Statements with fund columns for the annual meeting
   • A T3010 worksheet built from the same books
   • Gifts receipted tied to what the books show

This page is general information for church treasurers, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by denomination, province and circumstance, so confirm details with the CRA’s charities guidance or your accountant.

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