# Job Description: Bookkeeper
### [Church Name] · Approved by SPRC [date] · Reviewed [date]

**Reports to:** [the pastor / church administrator] for supervision; works with the
**committee on finance** and the treasurer on financial matters
**Classification:** [full-time / part-time] · [exempt / non-exempt] ·
[employee / contractor — see above]
**Hours:** [ ] per week
**Compensation:** [rate], reviewed annually with the budget

### Purpose

To keep the church's financial records accurate, current, and auditable, and to
give the finance committee and church council the information they need to make
decisions.

### What this position does **not** do

Stated first, because it is the point:

- Does **not** serve as treasurer or financial secretary if those roles are held by
  a family member (¶258.4).
- Does **not** both count/receive contributions **and** reconcile the bank
  statement.
- Does **not** sign checks `[or: signs only as a second signature under $ ___, never
  alone — choose, and write it down]`.
- Does **not** open mail containing contributions alone.
- Does **not** have sole access to any account, record, or password. Access is
  recorded in the church's account register.

### Core responsibilities — **FULL TIME (30–40 hrs)**

**Recording**
- Enter all receipts and disbursements; maintain the general ledger by fund.
- Maintain designated and restricted fund balances separately — **restricted gifts
  are used only for the purpose given** (¶258.4).
- Record contributions from counters' reports; prepare quarterly and annual giving
  statements.

**Payables and payroll**
- Prepare check requests with supporting documentation for the treasurer's
  signature.
- Process payroll; maintain records for withholding, benefits, and Wespath
  remittance.
- File or coordinate filing of required payroll returns.

**Reporting**
- Prepare monthly financial statements for the finance committee and council.
- Prepare the annual report for charge conference and support the annual audit
  (¶258.4d).
- Track apportionment payments and report progress.

**Controls and records**
- Maintain written financial policies with the finance committee and flag anything
  the church is doing that departs from them (¶258.4c).
- Maintain vendor files, W-9s, and 1099 preparation.
- Retain records per the church's retention schedule.

### At **HALF TIME (15–20 hrs)** — what changes

Keep: all recording, payables preparation, payroll, monthly statements, audit
support, restricted-fund tracking. Controls do not shrink.

Move: contribution statements to a quarterly cycle; vendor file maintenance to the
administrator; apportionment tracking reported quarterly rather than monthly.

### At **QUARTER TIME (8–10 hrs)** — what changes

Keep only: recording receipts and disbursements, payables preparation, payroll, and
a monthly statement. That is a full plate at ten hours.

Move: giving statements to annual; audit support becomes "assemble records for the
auditor" rather than "prepare schedules"; reporting to committees goes through the
treasurer.

**What must not move:** the separations listed above. If quarter time tempts the
church to let one person do everything because "it's only a few hours," that is
exactly the condition under which losses happen and go undetected for years.

At this size, seriously consider **an outside bookkeeping service**. It costs more
per hour and frequently costs less per year, and it comes with built-in separation.

### Qualifications

- Bookkeeping experience, ideally fund accounting `[church or nonprofit fund
  accounting is genuinely different from small-business accounting — say so in the
  posting]`.
- Competent with [specify software].
- Discreet. Giving records are confidential, including from the pastor if that is
  your church's practice `[decide this deliberately and write it down]`.

### Screening

Background check including a **credit and criminal check appropriate to a financial
role**, before the first day. References checked directly, including prior
financial roles.

### Bonding

The church's treasurer(s) shall be adequately bonded (¶258.4). Confirm that the
bond or crime-coverage policy also covers this position, and that the amount is
reviewed annually with the trustees' insurance review (¶2533.2).

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**This is a starting point, not legal advice.** Employment law varies by state, and your annual conference may have policies that go beyond the Discipline. Before you rely on anything here for a hiring, firing, or compensation decision, run it past your conference office or chancellor.

Paragraph references are to the 2020/2024 Book of Discipline. This document paraphrases; for the binding text, see the Discipline itself.

From Itineracy Commons — https://itineracy.app/commons/jobs/bookkeeper/
Licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapt it freely; keep the attribution.
Last updated 2026-07-22.