The ChurchTrac Blog
Clergy Housing Allowance 101
Your pastor might be losing thousands of dollars in take-home pay every year—and the IRS is perfectly happy to let you keep making this classic mistake. The clergy housing allowance is the most significant tax benefit available to ministers, yet it is ...
The #1 Pastor Payroll Mistake (It's FICA)
January 1st is often a hopeful moment for small churches. Payroll gets updated, numbers are changed, and things move forward. Unfortunately, this is also when one of the most common pastor payroll mistakes quietly happens. A well-meaning church treasure...
New Feature: Enhanced Messaging
Enhanced Messaging gives your church a dedicated toll-free number to send and receive texts and voice messages directly within ChurchTrac—no third-party integrations required. How Enhanced Messaging Works After providing basic information about your c...
![Pastor Mileage Reimbursement 101 [Form Included]](https://cdn.churchtrac.com/assets/394ea24f-6e0b-412e-99a7-e152993c189f.jpg)
Pastor Mileage Reimbursement 101 [Form Included]
Pastors log countless miles for ministry: hospital visits, counseling, meetings, conferences, and more. Because it’s so routine, mileage reimbursement is often overlooked or handled casually. Some churches add “extra pay” for gas or reimburse miles ...
How Often Should Churches Do Background Checks? (More Often Than You Think)
Background checks are one of those topics most churches mean to stay on top of, but in practice, they tend to slip quietly into the background until something forces the issue. The problem is this: background checks are not lifetime clearances. And when ...
1099 VS W2: A Guide For Churches
Churches depend on a wide range of people to carry out ministry: pastors, administrative staff, worship leaders, guest speakers, and outside service providers. Somewhere along the way, almost every church asks the same question: Should this person be paid...
The Perfect Church Plan Your Visit Page
Your Plan Your Visit page is more important than many churches realize. In many ways, it serves as the digital front door to your church—and for many visitors, it’s the deciding factor in whether they attend on Sunday. Before anyone steps inside your ...
Should I Use Excel Sheets For Church Accounting?
Most church treasurers don’t sign up to be accountants. Many are volunteers with little formal accounting experience. They step in simply because someone has to manage the church’s finances. That’s why many churches start with Excel. It’s famili...
Switching Online Giving Platforms: A Guide for Church Leaders
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve thought about switching online giving platforms for a while. Maybe the fees are too high. Maybe the system is clunky. Maybe it’s just not built for churches the way you need it to be. But every time you st...