Faith-based, nonprofit & membership orgs
Books and taxes for ministries and mission organizations.
Support raised through TntConnect for a dozen field workers, wires sent overseas, travel costs for deputation, and furlough housing that has to stay off the field budget. Your own bookkeeper keeps it sorted, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $7,500 after expenses. Spring missions conference giving pushed three missionaries above full support, which I flagged so the extra can be routed the way the board policy says.
- TntConnect giving batchMissionary support
- Home church conference giftMissionary support
- Wire, Kenya field teamField disbursements
- Deputation travel, Ortiz familyDeputation and travel
- Home office payrollStaff payroll
Why your books are different
A mission organization's books go wrong in the same recurring places.
A generalist sees one big pool of donations. Your ministry holds separate support accounts for a dozen or more field workers, wires money overseas, and covers travel and furlough costs that are easy to mix with field spending. Miss that and no missionary, and no donor, can trust their number.
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1
Individual missionary support accounts blur together
A gift designated for one missionary and a gift designated for another both land in the same general account, and without careful tagging, one worker's support can quietly cover another's shortfall.
What we doKeeps each missionary's designated support in its own line, so every worker's balance is accurate and the organization can show exactly what each account holds. -
2
Overfunded support does not get flagged
When giving to a specific missionary runs above what the board's policy allows them to draw, the extra often just sits there unaddressed instead of being routed to the general fund or another worker the way policy requires.
What we doFlags accounts running above their support level so the board can apply its own policy instead of letting the excess sit unresolved. -
3
Deputation travel gets buried in field expenses
The cost of a family raising support, visiting churches, and traveling to speak before heading to the field is a distinct cost from actual field ministry, and lumped together, the organization cannot see what it costs to send a new worker out.
What we doKeeps deputation and travel costs in their own category, separate from field program spending. -
4
A furlough or home assignment gets paid like field support
A missionary home on furlough still needs housing and living costs covered, but those costs are different from what it takes to run programs on the field, and mixed together they make both numbers unclear.
What we doTags furlough and home assignment costs separately, so field program spending and stateside support stay visible on their own. -
5
A wire transfer fee gets lost inside the disbursement
Sending money to a field team overseas often comes with wire fees and currency conversion costs that get absorbed into the disbursement total, hiding what it actually costs to move money to the field.
What we doKeeps wire and currency conversion fees in their own line, so the true cost of supporting field workers is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a mission organization.
Set up once for how support is raised and sent to the field. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Missionary supportIndividual and church gifts designated to a specific field worker, tracked through TntConnect or a similar donor system.
- General fund givingUndesignated gifts supporting home office operations.
- Grants and partner church giftsLarger gifts from foundations or partner congregations toward specific projects.
- Conference and event givingGifts collected at missions conferences and banquets.
Money out
- Field disbursementsWires and transfers sent to support field workers and programs.
- Deputation and travelTravel and lodging costs for missionaries raising support before heading out.
- Furlough and home assignmentHousing and living costs for missionaries home between field terms.
- Home office payrollStaff who support and coordinate the sending organization itself.
- Translation and print materialsBibles, curriculum, and print materials produced for the field.
- Wire and currency feesThe cost of moving money internationally to field teams.
- InsuranceLiability and traveler's coverage for missionaries and staff.
What we watch for you
- Support account balances
Each missionary's account against their approved support level, so overfunding gets caught early.
- Field versus home office spending
What share of every dollar reaches the field versus runs the sending organization.
- Cost to send a worker
Deputation and travel costs against the number of new workers sent, useful for planning.
- Wire and transfer costs
What it actually costs to move money to the field each month.
Ask Gus
Things ministry directors ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
I flagged it. Under most policies it either rolls to the general fund or another worker, but that decision is the board's to make, not mine. I kept the excess visible so you can act on it.
Wire fees and currency conversion, about $150 total. I keep those costs in their own line so the real cost of sending money overseas is not hidden inside the disbursement.
That depends on how they are structured with the organization, employee or independent missionary. I flag it for the accountant since it changes how support gets reported.
The tax side
The tax side of running a mission organization.
Most of what matters here is keeping each missionary's support account clean and getting field worker status right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Missionary support is not automatically tax-free to the workerHow a missionary's support is taxed depends on their employment status with the organization and how the support is structured. That is often a matter for the missionary's own return, which is not part of this subscription, but the organization's records still need to be accurate.
- Worker classification for field staffWhether a missionary is an employee of the sending organization or works independently changes what the organization reports. Getting this settled early avoids a bigger problem later.
- Contractor 1099s for stateside helpA translator, editor, or contractor working for the home office who is not on payroll and is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- International transfers and recordkeepingWires sent to field teams overseas need clear documentation of purpose and destination, both for the organization's own records and to support its annual filing, whatever that filing turns out to be for your structure.
Deductions ministries and mission organizations miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Wire transfer and currency conversion fees
- Translation and print materials
- Deputation travel and lodging
- Home office payroll
- Traveler's and liability insurance
- Donor database software fees
- Furlough housing costs
- Conference booth and materials
- Vaccination and travel medical costs
- Mailing costs for support letters
- Video and newsletter production
- Field vehicle and equipment costs
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A mission organization's year, kept every month.
Support ebbs and flows with conferences and the calendar, but the books stay steady all year. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Reconcile support accounts
Last year's records are wrapped up, every missionary's support balance is confirmed, and the contractor 1099 list for stateside help is finalized.
- April
Field accounts finalized
Whatever filing applies to your organization's structure is ready to hand off, with every field disbursement and support account already sorted for the year.
- July
Support levels checked midyear
Where support accounts stand against approved levels, and whether any workers are running under or over what the year's giving projected.
- October
Before conference season
Fall missions conferences often bring a giving surge. Gus looks at which support accounts need attention before the year's biggest fundraising push.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for ministries and mission organizations. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions ministry directors ask first.
Can Gus keep each missionary's support account separate?
Yes. Every gift designated to a specific field worker is tagged the day it arrives and tracked in its own account, so each missionary's balance stays accurate.
We use TntConnect for donor management. Do we need to change anything?
No. Keep managing donors and support the way you already do. Gus works from your bank statements and TntConnect reports and asks when a gift needs to be matched to the right account.
What happens when a missionary's support runs above their approved level?
Gus flags it so the board can apply its own policy, whether that means rolling the excess to the general fund or another worker. The decision stays with the board.
How do wire fees and currency conversion get handled?
They are kept in their own category, separate from the disbursement itself, so you can see the real cost of sending money to the field.
Do you handle our missionaries' personal tax situations?
No. Each missionary's own return is a personal matter outside this subscription. The organization's records stay clean so whoever helps them with their own filing has accurate numbers to start from.
Our support accounts have not been reconciled in months. Can you catch us up?
Yes. Send the bank and donor system records you have. Gus works through the backlog account by account, and most organizations know where they stand within a couple of weeks.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever