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Chart of Accounts
The chart of accounts is a listing, or index, of all the detailed accounts used by the church, including all assets, liabilities, income, and expenses. It is the foundation of the financial reporting process, as the financial reports become a by-product of the chart of accounts. A number is assigned to each account to facilitate bookkeeping. Below is an example of a typical chart of accounts. Notice how important it is to categorize accounts based on function and type of fund used by the church.
Assets
101 Petty Cash
102 Cash—Checking
103 Cash—Savings
104 Cash—Investments
130 Land and land improvements
140 Buildings
150 Furniture and equipment
160 Vehicles
170 Other assets
Liabilities
201 Current liabilities—Accounts payable
202 Current liabilities—Notes payable
210 Long-term liabilities—Property mortgage
220 Long-term liabilities—Other debt
Fund Balance
290 Accumulated fund balance
295 Excess income over expenses
Income
General Fund
301 Tithe and envelope offerings
302 Loose offerings
303 Interest
304 Miscellaneous income
Missions Fund
311 General missions offerings
312 Designated missions offerings
313 Special projects
Building Fund
321 General building fund offerings
322 Special fund-raisers
Departmental Funds
351 Youth
361 Men
371 Women
381 Music
Expenses
General Fund
Salaries and benefits
401 Salaries
402 Medical expenses
403 FICA taxes
404 Other benefits
Operations
411 Travel and meals
412 Contract labor
413 Guest speakers
414 General supplies
415 Office supplies
416 Printing costs
417 Postage
418 Miscellaneous
Building/Vehicles
431 Utilities
432 Repair & maintenance—building
433 Cleaning supplies
434 Paper supplies
435 Insurance
441 Gas and oil
442 Repair & maintenance—vehicles
Missions Fund
501 Foreign missions
502 Home missions
503 BGMC
504 STL
(an account can be set up for each person or organization for which support is budgeted)
Building Fund
601 Youth center renovations
(an account can be assigned to each project)
631 Interest expense
Departmental Funds
701 Youth expenses (detail as necessary)
711 Men’s expenses (detail as necessary)
721 Women’s expenses (detail as necessary)
731 Music expenses (detail as necessary)
—Contributed by Terry Steen, Tampa, Florida. Permission to reproduce
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