MinistryCPA - Corey A. Pfaffe, CPA, LLC

Question: The following question rolls out of content provided in a previous post: " Debits and Credits for Designated Gifts ." How do I generate a report in QuickBooks that shows the monthly starting balance, change for the month, and the ending balance for each Equity account relating to Designated Gifts? Answer: Our answer here will be consistent with the above cited blog post. In it we discussed simplest approach to handling Designated Funds that we can suggest.  We will illustrate assuming the use of QuickBooks Desktop. Some of these instructions may be slightly modified for users of QuickBooks Online. The following are the necessary steps: 1. Select the "Reports" pull-down menu 2. Under "Accountant & Taxes" choose "Trial Balance" 3. Modify the date range to reflect the desired period 4. Double-click on the amount for the Equity account of interest This will generate a "Transactions by Account" report.

On March 23, 2020 , a governmental order was given to close all “non-essential” businesses due to the coronavirus outbreak.   These words fell heavy upon the community and left the hearts and minds of every business owner questioning who was considered essential and what does an essential business look like during a pandemic? Mullen’s Dairy Bar, in Watertown, Wisconsin was such a business.   We asked Adam Keepman, operator and chef of Mullen’s, to share his journey with us and how Mullen’s has changed through COVID-19. As we spoke with Adam over lunch, he looked pleasantly comfortable with all the busyness surrounding us. Our first question addressed the “most challenging obstacle” during the pandemic. “Was it customers, vendors or possibly finances?” we asked. His answer matched the initial reaction for many of us.   “My biggest obstacle was myself, keeping cool, being positive and productive. I had to be able to look at the situation with a clear head. I also sp...

Most of our small business clients are now focused on Step 2 of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan process - FORGIVENESS. While we're waiting yet again for clarifications from Congress and the Small Business Administration (SBA) on the rules for forgiveness, this may be a good time to reflect on small business banking relationships. While national banks have received the most PPP loan attention from the popular press, we've been pleasantly surprised with the superior quality of our clients' experiences with smaller regional or state banks. There have even been a couple of credit unions that have participated in the SBA programs and aided our clients. Our clients have found these financial institutions almost without exception to be more responsive to small business needs than some of the national banks. Don't get us wrong. We've also worked with individual bank professionals at these larger institutions who are serving well, so we don't want to ...

Question:   Are churches required to file a Form 944 annually to report their employees' earnings and tax-withholdings? A quarterly Form 941 (rather than an annual Form 944) is required of some employers. Which IRS form, if any, should be filed? Answer: According to IRS Section 1402(c) and 3121(c), ministers are not subject to mandatory income tax withholding. Unless one or more ministerial employees request non-mandatory withholding, church employers with only ministerial employees do not need to file Form 941 or Form 944.  The IRS  Ministers Audit Techniques Guide  explains in further detail a minister's treatments for Social Security, Medicare tax, and income tax withholding.   Form 941 or 944 must be filed when non-ministerial employees are compensated or when ministers request withholding. When can a church file the annual Form 944 rather than filing Form 941 each quarter? The IRS may permit the annual filing of Form 944 for employers wh...