Your church treasurer has meticulously maintained the church’s financial records by hand for the last thirty-seven years. Understandably, this dedicated individual has recently announced that the time has come to step aside and let another volunteer assume this responsibility. Does this sound familiar?

This is often when a church considers automating the bookkeeping. There are many things to consider. Is the current system meeting the needs of the church? Does the finance committee get the reports and other information they require. Is the system based on double-entry accounting or is it a basic bookkeeping system?

A good automated system should meet your needs and requirements. A computer should never force you to change the way you do things, but merely automate the process and make it easier.

If your manual system was based on double entry accounting, you will no doubt want to select a double entry accounting system when you computerize. On the other hand, if your manual system did not involve double entry accounting, perhaps a basic bookkeeping system that does not require an accounting background would be adequate.

Related Article: Selecting the Right Bookkeeping System

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