How to Track Tithes and Offerings for Your Church

To track tithes and offerings properly, churches need software that records every gift by donor, amount, date, fund designation, and payment method — then automatically generates tax receipts, year-end giving statements, and fund-specific reports. The best approach is purpose-built church accounting software (like Alignmint or Aplos) that connects donation tracking to fund accounting, so every tithe flows directly into the correct fund balance without manual journal entries.

Many churches still rely on spreadsheets, paper envelopes, and manual data entry — creating errors, delays, and a constant reconciliation headache. Here's how to do it right.

Why Accurate Tithe Tracking Matters

Tax Compliance

Churches are required to provide written acknowledgment for any single contribution of $250 or more. For year-end giving statements, you need accurate records of every gift — amount, date, donor, and whether any goods or services were provided in return. Errors in giving statements can create tax problems for your members and legal exposure for your church.

Donor Trust

When a member asks "how much have I given this year?" you need to answer accurately and quickly. If your records don't match their records, trust erodes. And trust is the foundation of generosity.

Fund Integrity

When a member designates a gift for the building fund, missions, or benevolence, that designation is legally binding. You must track which gifts are restricted and ensure those funds are used only for their designated purpose. Commingling restricted and unrestricted funds is a compliance violation. See our guide on restricted funds tracking for details.

Financial Planning

Accurate giving data helps your church budget effectively. You can identify trends (giving is down 10% from last year), seasonal patterns (summer slump, year-end surge), and donor behavior (15 members stopped giving in the last 3 months).

The Old Way: Paper and Spreadsheets

Many churches still use this workflow:

1. Members put cash or checks in offering envelopes on Sunday
2. Counters tally the offering after service and fill out a deposit slip
3. Someone enters the data into a spreadsheet or QuickBooks during the week
4. At year-end, someone manually creates giving statements from the spreadsheet

This process has several problems:

• Delayed recording — Donations aren't recorded until days after they're received
• Manual errors — Typos, missed entries, and incorrect fund designations
• No donor portal — Members can't check their own giving history
• No automatic receipts — Tax receipts must be created manually
• No connection to accounting — Donation data lives in a spreadsheet while accounting lives in QuickBooks, requiring double entry

The Modern Way: Integrated Giving Software

Modern church giving software like Alignmint eliminates every one of these problems:

Record Every Gift Type

Churches receive gifts in many forms — not just cash and checks. Your software should track:

• Cash — Sunday plate offerings, recorded by amount and donor (if identified)
• Checks — With check number for reconciliation
• Online giving — Credit card and debit card gifts through your donation page
• ACH / Bank transfer — Lower-fee option for recurring tithes
• Wire transfers — Large gifts from estates or institutional donors
• Stock and securities — Recorded at fair market value on date of receipt
• In-kind gifts — Donated goods, services, or property
• Cryptocurrency — Valued at time of receipt
• Pledges — Promises to give, tracked separately from actual gifts

Alignmint supports all 9 donation types. Every gift is recorded with the donor's name, date, amount, payment method, fund designation, and any notes.

Automatic Tax Receipts

Every donation automatically generates an IRS-compliant tax receipt. The receipt includes the donor's name, your church's name and EIN, the date and amount of the gift, and the required "no goods or services were provided" disclosure. Members can download receipts from the Donor Portal anytime.

Year-End Giving Statements

In January, generate all year-end giving statements with one click. Each statement summarizes the member's total giving by fund, lists individual gifts, and includes the required IRS disclosure language. Email them to members or make them available in the Donor Portal.

Recurring Giving

Members can set up automatic weekly, biweekly, or monthly tithes through the Donor Portal or your donation page. Recurring giving is the backbone of church financial stability — it smooths out seasonal fluctuations and makes budgeting predictable.

Donor Portal

Give every member a self-service login where they can:

• View their complete giving history
• Download individual tax receipts
• Download their year-end giving statement
• Set up or manage recurring gifts
• Update their payment method
• Update their contact information

This eliminates the most common request your church office receives: "Can you send me my giving statement?"

Direct Accounting Integration

This is the most important feature — and the one most church giving platforms lack. When a donation is recorded in Alignmint, the system automatically creates the corresponding journal entry in your general ledger:

• Debit: Bank account (or receivable for pledges)
• Credit: Revenue account for the designated fund

No manual journal entries. No syncing between systems. No reconciliation between your giving platform and your accounting software. One entry, everywhere.

Setting Up Fund Designations

Your church should have clear fund designations that members can choose from when giving. Common church funds include:

Fund	Type	Purpose
General Fund	Unrestricted	Tithes and general offerings for operations
Building Fund	Restricted	Capital projects, renovations, new construction
Missions Fund	Restricted	Missionary support and outreach programs
Benevolence Fund	Restricted	Assistance for members and community in need
Youth Ministry	Restricted	Youth programs, camps, and mission trips
Music Ministry	Restricted	Worship equipment, choir supplies, licensing
Capital Campaign	Restricted	Specific fundraising campaigns with defined goals

In Alignmint, each fund maintains its own real-time balance. You can see at a glance how much is available in each fund — and the system prevents you from accidentally spending restricted funds on the wrong purpose.

Best Practices for Church Giving Management

1. Record gifts the same day they're received — Don't let Sunday offerings sit unrecorded until Wednesday
2. Always require two counters — For accountability and accuracy
3. Use fund designations consistently — Don't create new funds for every small purpose; keep your fund structure clean
4. Send tax receipts promptly — Members appreciate immediate confirmation
5. Review giving trends monthly — Catch problems early (declining giving, lapsed donors)
6. Encourage recurring giving — It's better for your budget and easier for members
7. Make online giving easy — A simple, mobile-friendly donation page removes friction

Getting Started

If your church is still using spreadsheets or a disconnected giving platform, switching to integrated software takes less time than you think:

1. Sign up for Alignmint — Free for churches up to $100K in annual giving
2. Set up your funds — Create fund designations that match your church's structure
3. Import existing donors — CSV import from your current system
4. Create your donation page — Drag-and-drop builder with your church's branding
5. Start recording gifts — Every gift flows into your accounting automatically

Ready to modernize your church's giving? Schedule Your Free Setup or learn more about church giving software.

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Related:

• Year-End Giving Statements: A Guide for Churches — IRS requirements and automation
• Church Fund Accounting: Why QuickBooks Isn't Enough — Why QuickBooks fails churches
• Church Accounting Software: Features for Modern Ministries — What churches need from accounting software
• Donation Tracking Software: From Gift to Report — Automate receipt generation and reconciliation