- 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 worked with a nonprofit budget, 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 build budgets for churches and nonprofits in Katy that match real giving, then prepare reports that show the board where the year stands.
When You Need Budgeting & Board Reports
A budget that is last year’s numbers plus five percent, with nobody able to explain why, is the most common reason groups call. New treasurers, fast growth and a first grant application that asks for a program budget are others. 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.
Our Budgeting & Board Reports Process
We work from your group’s real records, not a sample company. First we look back at a year or two of giving, grants and spending. Restricted and unrestricted money are kept apart, and costs are split among programs, management and fundraising, the way the 990 asks.
Then we build the budget. Income is based on what has actually come in. Expenses include the easy-to-forget items: employer payroll taxes, insurance renewals and annual bills. Each month or quarter, a one-page report 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 send the draft early so your board has time to look it over.
Budgeting & Board Reports Cost in Katy
The fee depends on how many programs and restricted funds you track, how ready your books are, and how often you want reports. If the books need work before there is anything to budget 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 Nonprofit Budgeting
We prepare 990s, keep church and nonprofit books and run their payroll, so your budget comes from the same records as your filings. We serve more than 20 churches, pastors and ministries, have prepared taxes since 1993, and are open Saturdays on Kingsland Boulevard for boards that meet on weekends.
Budgeting pairs well with the rest of our nonprofit finance work in Katy.
Common Questions
Our treasurer is new. Where should they start?
With the monthly report. Once a new treasurer can read the budget-versus-actual page, the rest of the board reports make sense. We prepare that report so it reads in a few minutes.
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.