PS20 - Practical Solutions

1. Permanent Records
2. Current Year Records
3. Prior Year Records

For Permanent Records, we recommend that you create the following file tabs and file records accordingly:

1. Legal Documents and Minutes
   1. Articles of Incorporation - including original and any revisions.
   2. Constitution - including original and any revisions.
   3. IRS Determination Letter
   4. SS – 4 Acknowledgement Letter or EIN Letter from the IRS
   5. Elder Board Books - if any
   6. Elder Minutes

As an alternative, these records can all be filed in the “Minutes Book” – which is a back binder
you should have received when the church was legally formed.

1. Legal Documents – Leases, Service Contracts and Others
   1. Lease with XYZ, Inc.
   2. Service Contract with ABC, Inc.
2. Insurance Records
   1. Property and Casualty Forms
   2. Workers’ Comp Forms
3. Accounting Records
   1. Important Check Copies - checks used for important payments, such as taxes and big asset purchases.
   2. End-of-year Financial Statements - at the end of each year, print out a hard copy of the balance sheet and income statement.
   3. Tax and Information - Returns – Federal – include all correspondence letters to and from federal tax agencies (print out emails and file them).
   4. Tax and Information - Returns – State - include all correspondence to and from state tax agencies (print out emails and file them).
4. Employee Records
   1. Current Employees
      1. Employee - “John Doe”
      2. Employee - “Jane Doe”
      3. Employee - “John Smith”Each employee file should include the following:
         • W-4 (Employee Federal W/H Allowance Certificate)
         • State Employee W/H Allowance Certificate
         • I-9 (Employee Eligibility Verification)
         • Annual W-2’s (Annual Wage and Tax Statement)
         • All Evaluation Reports
         • All Benefit Info/Request Forms
   2. Former Employees
      1. Employee - “Bill Smith”
      2. Employee - “Jane Smith
5. Contract Labor Records
   1. Current Contractors
      1. Contractor – “Bill Doe”These files should include the following:
         • W-9 (Request for Taxpayer ID and Certificate
         • 1099 (Misc Income)
         • Any written contract agreements
   2. Former Contractors
      1. Contractor – “Billy Bob”
6. Employee Benefits – Prior Year RecordsFor Current Year Records, we recommend that you create the following file tabs and file records accordingly:
   1. Bank Statement #1 - Feb statement follows Jan statement, etc.
   2. Bank Reconciliation for Bank #1
   3. Bank Statement #2
   4. Bank Reconciliation for Bank #2
   5. Voided Checks - since you will have so few, combining voided checks from all the bank accounts
   6. Returned Checks - if it has not occurred already, you will invariably have some donation checks returned for insufficient funds. We recommend that you file them away as donors may eventually contest this issue.
   7. Unpaid Invoices
   8. Paid Invoices
      1. “ABC, Inc.”
      2. “DEF, Inc.”
      3. “GHI, Inc.”
      4. “Reimbursements – John Doe”
      5. Vendor – All OthersConsider setting up vendor files for major vendors and filing them alphabetically. You may setup one file per letter of the alphabet and file vendor payments accordingly. We also recommend that you create a reimbursement file for each employee.
   9. Deposits – Service OfferingsConsider filing each deposit slip from each Service Offering in order by date. As a result, at year-end, you should have approximately 52 deposit slips. Remember, the deposit slips from each Service Offering will have a Tally Sheet from the team who counted the offering on Sunday as well as the summary sheet from your donor database and/or accounting system.
   10. Deposits – Mail GivingSimilar to the deposits from Service Offerings above, file each deposit created from mail giving in order by date.
   11. Deposits - OtherInvariably, you will receive returned checks, miscellaneous reimbursements, etc. during the year so create a file for these.
   12. Employee Benefits – Current
       1. Health Plan
       2. LT Disability
       3. Retirement Plan
       4. FSA Accounts
       5. Vacation Schedule

       Notes, forms, copies of applications, etc. pertaining to the various employee benefit programs need to be filed. Be sure to file important emails between and/or among employees/contractors as well.

   13. Other Working Papers
       1. Budgets - Consider filing a hard copy of annual and/or semiannual budgets.
       2. Dashboard - Consider filing a hard copy of the Dashboard or any other important work papers. (Feel free to contact us to learn more about what a Dashboard is)