When making sure that your bills are being paid efficiently, accurately and on time, your congregation also needs safeguards to make sure no one has the opportunity to use your system to embezzle funds.

Recommended Dispersal Policies

• Monthly expenses must use the categories (i.e. accounts) established in the church budget.
• Clearly state who is given authority to be a signatory (e.g. treasurer and president, bookkeeper and treasurer)
• Checks larger than an amount set by board policy (e.g., $2,000) should require two signers. Exclusions would include routine, budgeted expenses such as payroll or a mortgage payment.
• There must be a bill, invoice, statement, or written request for reimbursement for every check drawn. These should be available for comparison with the canceled checks on an occasional basis.
• No checks should be signed without documentation of the expense and its budget category.
• Do not sign blank checks in advance.
• The signers of particular checks must not be:
  • the person authorizing the expense
  • the person being reimbursed
• A check to CASH should be prohibited

Common Dispersal Practices

• Make sure there are enough people authorized to sign checks so that the church business can go on if the treasurer is away at a conference or on vacation.
• The minister should not be a primary signatory.
• For additional safety in congregations without staff, the monthly bank statement and canceled checks should be opened and reconciled by someone other than the person who signs the checks. This is to protect against someone falsifying the amount on a check after it has been signed.
• As a substitute for preparing checks for reimbursement or routine expenditures, board policy may authorize electronic bank drafts or electronic payments following other standard procedures for documentation.

Documentation for Checks

• All supporting documents should be given to the check signer to review before signing the check.
• All disbursements should be made by pre-numbered checks and must be accounted for on a weekly basis.
• Every check that’s written should have written documentation (check request/receipt/invoice) except for payroll checks.
• Invoices and check requests must be marked paid with date and check number and filed.
• Check stock should be kept in a locked cabinet/safe and inventoried on a regular basis.
• Voided checks should be marked VOID and retained.