ChurchTrac features a complete church bookkeeping software that enables you to record and track church expenses, create church budgets, track funds, and more.
To get started, you will need to set up your funds, categories, and accounts. On our Setting Up Accounting article, you will find a step-by-step video and guide to show you how to get going from start to finish.
ChurchTrac is an easy-to-use Quickbooks alternative for churches needing to track their finances. There are 3 big differences you need to know:
ChurchTrac doesn't use a chart of accounts
In ChurchTrac, you use Categories to identify or designate how money is received or spent.
Accounts in ChurchTrac are actual accounts
In ChurchTrac, you will use Accounts to designate actual accounts held at a financial institution. This can include accounts such as checking, savings, a credit card, and more. This is not a chart of accounts.
ChurchTrac doesn't offer a Profit Loss Statement
In fund accounting, especially in non-profits and government entities, the emphasis is on tracking the sources and uses of funds, rather than profitability. For this reason, an income statement is used rather than a P&L Statement.
Funds, Categories, and Accounts make up the heart of ChurchTrac Accounting.
Our downloadable Accounting Chart to give you a visualization on how these three things are connected in the software.
We also have a great article that dives deeper into the basic terminology and examples of funds, categories, and accounts.