- Serving Taxpayers Since 1993
- File In Person or Fully Virtual
- Year-Round Help, Not Just Tax Season
- Nonprofit & Church Specialists
- Flexible Refund & Payment Options
Katy nonprofit boards are full of capable people: engineers from the Energy Corridor, teachers, nurses and small business owners. Many have never read a nonprofit balance sheet, and the reports don’t look like the ones they see at work. Restricted gifts, functional expenses and fund balances follow their own logic. We train church and nonprofit boards in Katy to read their own statements and build a budget that matches real giving.
When You Need Board Training & Budgeting
Training pays off when new members rotate on, when a new treasurer takes the job, or when the group is growing faster than its habits. It also helps when the budget is last year’s numbers plus five percent and nobody can explain why. Quiet warning signs include reports approved without a single question, a cash balance that slides a little every quarter, and restricted money quietly covering general bills. A grant application that asks for a program budget is another good push.
Our Board Training & Budgeting Process
Training uses your group’s real reports, not a sample company. We can meet during a regular board meeting or by video and go line by line through the income statement and balance sheet. We cover the difference between restricted and unrestricted money, how costs split among programs, management and fundraising, and how many months of cash a group your size should keep on hand.
Then we build the budget with you. We base income on what has actually come in from giving and grants. Expenses include the easy-to-forget items: employer payroll taxes, insurance renewals and annual bills. A one-page monthly report then compares real results to the plan, so the board can act early instead of in December.
There is a related 990 question. The full return asks whether your board got a copy before it was filed. Per the IRS page on pre-filing review of the 990, federal law doesn’t require that step, but the question must be answered anyway, and donors read it. We teach members what to check on the draft.
Board Training & Budgeting Cost in Katy
The fee depends on the number of sessions, the size of the group and how ready your statements are. If the books need work before there is anything to teach from, we may suggest bookkeeping first. A budget for one program takes less time than one covering several programs and restricted grants. We quote our fee up front.
Budgeting for Growth and Storms in Katy
Two things shape budgets here. The first is growth. A congregation in Jordan Ranch or Cross Creek Ranch may plan for a building years before it can afford one, so the board needs a clear building fund and a giving forecast it can defend. The second is weather. Many Katy families remember the flooding after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. A reserve for storm repairs, insurance deductibles and a few slow weeks of giving is a sensible line in any Gulf Coast nonprofit budget. And if the group buys land, the board should know that property tax exemption is requested from the county appraisal district, not granted by the IRS.
Why Choose Us for Board Training & Budgeting
We prepare 990s, keep church and nonprofit books and run their payroll, so our training comes from what we see every week, not a slide deck. We have prepared taxes since 1993 and schedule around your board, including Saturdays.
Training pairs well with the rest of our nonprofit finance work in Katy.
Common Questions
Our treasurer is new. Can you train just that person?
Yes. A one-on-one session with a new treasurer or finance chair is often the best start. They learn to read the reports first, then help explain them to the rest of the board.
How much should a small church keep in reserve?
There is no single right number. Many groups aim for a few months of regular expenses in cash, then adjust for how steady giving is and how much risk the building carries. We help your board pick a target it can reach.