Payroll for Churches

Efficient and Expertise-Driven Church Payroll Services

4 Things to Know About Payroll Services for Churches

  • A majority of new clients have errors or misunderstandings in their payroll due to following standard corporate laws instead of church-specific regulations.
  • Church payroll is unique and complex, requiring specialized knowledge of laws, benefits, and exemptions that differ from corporate payroll.
  • Outsourcing church payroll is advisable due to the challenges of handling ministerial compensation, including proper tax treatment of housing allowances and Social Security/Medicare tax exemptions.
  • ChurchShield provides experienced professionals with over 100 years of combined experience in church payroll.

Navigating the Landscape of Church Payroll Compliance

Church payroll has unique laws, benefits, and exemptions that make it different from traditional corporate payroll. Due to these differences, it’s important to invest in a church payroll service that can accurately review and process your staff’s compensation (including housing allowance) in accordance with the applicable state and federal laws.

Doing so will guarantee that your church remains compliant, while also ensuring your team is receiving the most from church payroll’s unique benefits. It’s important to note that individuals working for the church must be properly classified as ministerial and nonministerial employees as well as exempt or nonexempt, all things our team can handle.

payroll for churches

At ChurchShield, our experts understand that payroll for churches can be complex, and we have found that almost 90% of clients who have us review their payroll for the first time have errors that need to be corrected. This is almost always because the processing is being done according to standard corporate laws as opposed to church laws. With our longstanding expertise working with churches and ministries, we’re able to provide effective church payroll services that will correct previous mistakes and prevent these issues from continuing.

Do you fall into that majority of churches? Let’s look at the signs that you might need outsourced church payroll help.

Know When It’s Time to Outsource Your Payroll

Properly handling ministerial compensation setup to ensure that Social Security and Medicare taxes are not withheld, along with the proper tax treatment (both federal and state) of housing allowance, are the biggest challenges our church clients face. Therefore, we believe it is advisable that most churches outsource their payroll process. Even if a client has a knowledgeable staff member in these areas, aligning this knowledge with software that can handle ministerial compensation well is important. 

Working with an expert can help in this process, as church payroll has unique laws, benefits, and exemptions that make it different from corporate payroll. Our clients often find it difficult to maintain the internal knowledge needed to ensure compliance with these unique rules. 

Most big SaaS payroll companies can technically process church payroll, but ithout proper setup and maintenance, they often miss the critical details that make church compensation unique. Our team offers comprehensive, specialized support that generic platforms cannot match. So, if you want accurate payroll services for your church, look no further than ChurchShield.

Get Comprehensive Church and Clergy Payroll Services

ChurchShield offers both standard and full-service payroll options to assist our clients in accurately processing their church payroll. The ChurchShield team is specifically trained to understand clergy payroll and all of its intricacies, and we have the experience needed to recommend best practices for church payroll.

Our full-service payroll for churches also helps save money by helping you accurately track your employees’ time. We offer a variety of time and attendance options (including biometric and web-based), making it easier than ever to track and analyze church employee payroll and hours.

Of course, our faith-based focus isn’t the only thing that sets us apart. We’re also dedicated to outstanding customer service when providing payroll for churches, and we will do whatever it takes to get the job done right the first time. When you work with ChurchShield, you are supported by our payroll team from day one of the onboarding process. Our team is also available during the payroll process to ensure that our clients have the information they need for their leadership teams.

Furthermore, our team values the relationships we get to build with our clients, some of which have lasted for over 15 years. A lot of these clients are also HR clients of ours, as these services pair well together!

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Why to Choose ChurchShield for Your Church Payroll Needs

At ChurchShield, we strive to be a valuable asset for your church and want to help alleviate the stress that comes with ongoing payroll processing and compliance. That way, you can continue to do what you do best, which is address the needs of your congregation.

By choosing us for church payroll service, you’re choosing highly specialized professionals who offer the following:

  • Experience – Regardless of the size of your organization, we have the expertise needed to help. Our staff has over 100 years of combined experience working in church payroll, HR, and more.
  • Best practices – Our expertise extends to knowing the ideal processes for our church clients. So, when we work with you, we consider the current regulations, your desired outcomes, and specific church culture before providing recommendations.
  • Valued relationships – Our goal at ChurchShield is to develop long-term relationships with our clients through excellent service and effective communication.
  • Church familiarity – We are a firm dedicated to the needs of churches, offering a plethora of services specifically for ministries of all sizes. Along with our church payroll services, we also can help with your tax, compliance, insurance and accounting needs.

Considering Payroll Companies for Churches? Contact ChurchShield Today

If you’re looking to delegate payroll for churches to an outsourced team of professionals, let us take on your ministry’s administrative responsibilities. Be sure to contact us today for more information, as we look forward to assisting you!

About the Author

Kristin Oechsle

Kristin joined ChurchShield in 2005 to serve office and administrative matters. Through the years, Kristin has taken on a wide range of office responsibilities. She handles everything from accounts receivable, accounts payable, human resources, health and life insurance, and is currently leading our payroll department, while in her spare time builds SQL queries and dashboard reports. Kristin graduated from Anderson University magna cum laude with departmental honors in business management. Outside of ChurchShield, Kristin and her husband, Curt, have been married since 2008, and they have a son, Cameron, who was born in 2014.

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