Church bookkeeping, led by someone your community already trusts
Sayaka Stephens brings professional bookkeeping experience to your ministry's books — backed by a trained support team, so nothing falls through the cracks and nothing depends on one overworked volunteer.
A short conversation about your current system and size — no pressure, no sales pitch.
A lot of churches are one retirement away from a bookkeeping crisis.
Many congregations rely on one aging bookkeeper who's been doing it the same way for decades — often on paper, often as an unpaid labor of love. When that person retires or steps back, there's frequently no one trained to take over, and records can fall behind fast. Smaller communities often can't justify hiring a dedicated bookkeeper at all, so volunteers handle it in spare moments, which slows everything down. And when it comes to donor records and financial data, "whoever has time this week" isn't really a system.
Your books, led by a real person — not a rotating help desk.
Sayaka Stephens is the professional bookkeeper behind this service. Rather than taking over a church's finances and imposing a new system on day one, she starts by learning how your church already does things — your current software, your particular process, the way your community actually runs — before anything changes. Every church does it a little differently, and she treats that as the starting point, not an obstacle.
She's supported by a small, trained team: Sayaka handles the sensitive work directly — the parts that call for judgment and a trusted hand — while her team manages the routine data entry and transaction work under her supervision. That means your books get senior-level oversight without paying senior-level rates for every single hour of work.
You don't need a skilled local bookkeeper. You need someone who can deposit money, and someone who can approve spending.
That's the honest version of what changes. Everything in between — the actual bookkeeping — is on us.
| Locally, you need… | We handle… |
|---|---|
| Someone to count, confirm, and deposit cash and checks | Recording every deposit and matching it to the right fund |
| Someone to approve expenses | Coding, categorizing, and reconciling every transaction |
| — | Making sure bank access and payment authorization stay stateside — with your church or a designated U.S.-based finance lead |
One safeguard worth spelling out: our bookkeeping team never has the ability to move money or access your bank account directly. They prepare everything — coded, matched, ready to go — but authorization to actually send a payment always stays stateside — with your church or a designated U.S.-based finance lead, never with the bookkeeping team. That separation isn't a limitation we're working around; it's how the service is built.
What We Handle
Monthly bookkeeping
Reconciliation, transaction categorization, and reports you can actually read and use — not just a spreadsheet that sits unopened.
Transition support
If your current bookkeeper is retiring, stepping back, or simply needs relief, we build a handoff plan so your records and institutional knowledge don't disappear with them.
Works with what you already have
Whether your church runs on QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, or something else entirely, we learn it first. If you're interested in modernizing an older system down the road, we can talk through that too — on your timeline, not ours.
Scaled to your congregation's size
Whether you're a small community with a handful of regular donors or a larger congregation with more complexity, the service is scoped to match — not a one-size-fits-all package.
How It Works
A short conversation
Tell us about your current system, your congregation's size, and what's not working right now.
We learn before we touch anything
Sayaka and the team review your existing books and process alongside whoever currently manages them.
A clear transition plan
You'll know exactly what changes, when, and what stays the same.
Ongoing monthly bookkeeping
With a real person you can reach when you have a question.
Who This Is For
This service grew out of the Family Federation community, and this page is written for FFWPU churches and ministries — though we work with churches and ministries of any size, from small communities with a handful of regular donors to larger congregations with more complex finances.
About Pricing
We don't publish a flat rate here, and we want to tell you why: bookkeeping cost depends on your congregation's size, transaction volume, and how much cleanup (if any) your current books need. Rather than guess with a generic number, we'd rather have a short conversation and give you an honest quote — and you'll be talking directly with the person who'd actually be doing the work, not a call center.
Get a Straightforward QuoteFAQ
We collect cash and check donations in person — how does a remote bookkeeper handle that?
Nothing changes about how your offering is counted and deposited. That stays local, in person — and if your church already has two people count and verify the offering before it's deposited (standard practice at most churches, and a good internal control regardless of who does your books), that continues exactly as it is now.
The only new habit is depositing the full amount intact and keeping a simple record of what was deposited, rather than pulling cash out to cover a reimbursement on the spot — that one change is what makes remote reconciliation actually work. Checks are often eligible for mobile deposit through your bank, the same way many churches already do it; cash still needs someone physically local, same as today.
Our part starts once the money is deposited: we record and categorize it, reconcile it against your bank statement, match it to donor and pledge records, and make sure it's reflected accurately in your reports. The people you trust to physically handle the offering keep doing exactly that; we handle what happens to the numbers afterward.
Who actually sees our financial data?
Sayaka handles the sensitive parts of the work directly. Her supporting team handles routine data entry and transactions under her supervision — access is scoped, not wide open.
Can your team access our bank account or move money?
No. The bookkeeping team prepares everything — transactions coded, matched, and ready — but the ability to actually authorize a payment or touch your bank account stays stateside, with your church or a designated U.S.-based finance lead. Nobody overseas has that authority.
Do we have to switch software?
No. We start with whatever you're already using. If you'd like to modernize later, that's a separate conversation on your timeline.
What if our bookkeeper is retiring soon and we're worried about the gap?
This is one of the most common reasons churches reach out to us. Tell us your timeline and we'll build a transition plan around it.
Is this only for Family Federation communities?
This service grew out of the Family Federation community and this page is written with FFWPU churches in mind — but we work with churches and ministries broadly. If you found us from outside the community, you're welcome here.
Are you hiring our bookkeeper, or hiring your company?
Your church contracts with our business for the service — you're not managing an individual employee, payroll, or benefits. We handle staffing, training, and continuity on our end.
Your books deserve more than "whoever has time this week."
Start with a short, no-pressure conversation about where things stand.
Prefer to write first? Send us a message — we reply within one business day.