Why Vestrybooks exists
Most small churches don't have an accountant. They have a volunteer — someone who loves their church and agreed to keep the books, then discovered that church accounting software either speaks fluent accountant (debits, journals, "FASB 117") or skips real accounting entirely.
We built Vestrybooks for that person. Pick a fund from a dropdown; real double-entry fund accounting happens behind the scenes. Year-end giving statements are one click. Online giving is free — we take $0 of every gift, because profiting from the offering plate isn't right.
Our promise is simple: never be the person who lost track of God's money. Clarity, plain language, and provable integrity — so a volunteer can do it confidently, and the board can always trust the books.
Benjamin Reinke
Founder
Benjamin built Vestrybooks after seeing how much weight lands on the volunteer who agrees to keep a small church's books — usually someone who loves their church but never trained as an accountant, and who lies awake worrying they've made a mistake with money that isn't theirs. Vestrybooks is his answer: real accounting that hides its complexity, plain language instead of jargon, and giving that never skims a cent from the offering plate.
Building it has meant living in the details these guides cover — fund accounting and restricted gifts, the clergy housing allowance and SECA, and the IRS rules for substantiating donations. That's the experience behind everything published here: he writes about church finance because he builds the software that has to get it right.
Connect on FacebookHow we research these guides
- Every guide cites primary sources — IRS publications, the tax code, and official guidance — linked so you can check them yourself.
- We write for the volunteer treasurer, not the accountant — plain language, real examples, no jargon for its own sake.
- Each article is reviewed for accuracy before it's published, and updated when the rules change.
- It's general information, not legal or tax advice — for your church's specifics, talk to a qualified professional.