Ben Habeck

I’ve been thinking a ton about “collaboration” lately. We run a mostly “virtual” office. We have the most amazing systems / processes and employees ever, but I’ve been wondering how collaboration could play into our strength of “virtualization”!

So, here are my thoughts…

1. If there isn’t someone at the top driving, organizing and facilitating the collaboration, then it goes only a short distance before it fails!

2. Vision casting is KEY! Someone at the top has to cast vision, otherwise, it could potentially be a bunch of random thoughts that point in different directions.

3. Someone has to DO SOMETHING with it! If there isn’t someone who takes all of the collaborative thoughts and monitors / develops them, then all collaboration is, is collaboration and no action!

4. It’s not for everyone! Collaboration only works well in some industries! Creative works, programming, music, etc. are perfect industries for collaboration. Accounting? Maybe not so much! Granted, there are some areas of accounting where collaboration would be amazing, but in the core function, it’s hard to implement. Use collaboration where it’s best suited!

5. Systems have to be the foundation! If you don’t have a system or process for developing your responsibilities, then collaboration is nearly useless! You have to have a starting place! Build a system [or even an idea] and then use collaboration to expound on it.

Our organization uses very clear, concise systems and processes. We call these the “Method” documents and each and every employee has one. I wrote them! Over the last 2 years, we’ve used a collaborative effort to develop these processes and they’re getting better each and every day. I think that when collaboration is used correctly, it can be a hugely powerful tool. However, if done wrong, it could potentially kill an organization!

“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” – Ronald Reagan

When donors make gifts near the end of the year, the question inevitably arises: “is the gift deductible this year?” Hopefully, this will help answer any questions you might have…

To qualify as a gift in a respected year, federal regulations require that checks must be dated on or before December 31 AND, the envelope accompanying the check must be postmarked by December 31 as well. The date the envelope is metered is NOT the same as the postmark date. For instance: if an envelope has a meter date of December 30, 2009 and a postmark date of January 2, 2010, then the transaction is recorded as a 2010 donation.

For hand delivered checks, the date the check is received determines which year to record the donation.

A postdated check is a check that is dated in the future. Postdated checks are not recognized as a donation until the day of the date of the check.
For example, suppose the church receives a check on December 30, 2009 but the check is dated January 1, 2010. In this instance, the donation is classified in 2010.

All this being said, when receiving year end donations, please be sure to use the above explanations when classifying donations. If we maintain your donor database, please be sure to let your bookkeeper know what calendar year the donation should be recorded. Generally, if the check is dated on or before December 31, 2009, we will assume it is a 2009 donation. However, if the postmarked date is AFTER December 31, please be sure to specify that on the copies of the checks / deposits that you send us.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding this.

Have a great Christmas!

Ok, I know I haven’t posted in a long time… I’ve actually been waiting to post, purposely! However, this one couldn’t wait. It’s a great article…

The current economic situation has only intensified the ever-present need of executives of small and mid-sized nonprofits to find cost-effective ways to reduce overhead costs. According to a new report released by the Meyer Foundation and the Management Assistance Group (MAG), outsourcing is a promising strategy for these nonprofits to meet their back-office needs, but there are many barriers that prevent outsourcing success.

The study, “Outsourcing Back-Office Services in Small Nonprofits: Pitfalls and Possibilities,” is based on a survey of grantees of the Foundation, interviews with grantmakers, consultants, and a range of back-office service providers, and a review of current literature on the subject. The goal for the collaboration was to survey and identify alternative back-office services that could strengthen operations, relieve the pressures on executive directors, and lead to greater efficiencies, particularly in this difficult economic climate.

Key findings include:

The 48-page study offers ideas for grantmakers, back-office service providers, nonprofit executives, and business entrepreneurs as they consider how to better meet the back-office needs of nonprofits and proposes a framework for evaluating outsourced back-office services.

Follow these links to the actual reports…

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FULL REPORT

Source :: Meyer Foundation

In recording tithes and offerings for churches (I’m a bookkeeper), I’ve started to ponder the whole giving electronically thing (or e-tithing). I thought I’d bring the discussion to the Ps20 world in hopes that some pastor or wise lay man or woman could settle the issue and I can go on my merry way.

In the spirit of full disclosure (yes, I know I am supposed to give in secret), I tithe electronically. I like the ease of it, the convenience, the consistency, the no-brainer aspect. I don’t have to wriggle in my seat as the offering plate (or bucket in my case) approaches and think about the clothing purchase I made earlier this week and start bargaining, “God, how about $50 less for your Kingdom?” (In case there was any doubt, I am not a saint and still need to practice the Give-Save-Spend mantra.) The tithing exercise has turned into an annuity, coming straight out of the bank account, as any other bill would, before I get my oftentimes greedy hands on it. Obviously, churches aren’t complaining about this. Churches love consistent giving, without which forecasting is nearly impossible. When church attenders go out of town on a summer vacation, for example, roughly forty percent of those contributions missed are not made up. So giving through systematic electronic withdrawals appears to be the solution from the church’s perspective.

But what about from the heart of the giver? Does giving my first fruits offering electronically impact my heart the same way? After all, if I give without love, “it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:13). Does electronic giving depersonalize tithing the same way an email letter depersonalizes a hand-written one? Am I bringing my tithe and offering to the church as an act of worship and obedience or is this just Old Testament rigmarole (I love that word, regardless of whether I am using it correctly)? Crown Ministries teaches that giving should be premeditated, that to know the full joy and reap the blessing of giving, it must not be done carelessly. Does e-tithing lead to careless giving more so than writing a manual check? When the offering plate goes by and I physically place something in it, do I more consciously remember that I am giving back to the Lord Himself? An electronic debit on my bank statement doesn’t seem to move my spirit in the same way. Is there a conscious (or subconscious) surrender of possessions when I participate in the Sunday offering or snail mail a check in to my church? Or am I missing the point altogether?

In wrestling with this whole thing, I am coming to understand that giving (whether it’s time or money) boils down to a heart issue. Am I giving, electronically or otherwise, with a heart of love? Am I positioned to reap the benefits and blessings that the Lord wants to bestow on me as the giver? Am I being stretched beyond my tithe? Is the tithe the starting point of my giving and not the limit? These are the questions that impact my selfish heart and more closely align it with Christ. Perhaps for me, a manual check would be better, but for others, giving electronically accomplishes the same mission in self and Christ-awareness: my heart follows my treasure (Matt. 6:21).

So, any thoughts out there? Should I buck the modernized e-tithe system and return to a pen and checkbook like my grandmother? Does it matter or am I splitting hairs? Is ‘obedience’ obedience regardless of how I arrive there, emotionless or not? Feedback, anyone?

~ Zoie (One of Ps20’s bookkeeper extraordinaire)

Just wanted to put out a quick post with the recently updated IRS Mileage rates.
As of July 1, 2008 and through December 31, 2008 the OPTIONAL standard mileage rates are as follows…

Business – $0.585
Charitable – $0.14
Medical & Moving – $0.27

Again, these are optional rates to use in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving expense purposes. In other words, if your organization reimburses employees for miles driven, the IRS recommends that you reimburse them at $0.585 per mile.

See: http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=156624,00.html