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Is it illegal in the state of TN for a church to pay its bills with cash?

I recently tried paying the church I serve as pastor’s bill at the local Christian bookstore and was told it was against the law in Tennessee for a church to pay any bills without a church credit card or church check.

Is this true?

If so, is there any reasoning behind it?

I figure as long as I get a receipt showing it paid, who cares?

Thanks for your time!

Comments for Is it illegal in the state of TN for a church to pay its bills with cash?

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Jan 19, 2020
 Using Undeposited Church Cash is Never a Good Idea
by: Vickey

I'm not familiar with TN laws, so really hoping someone from that state or familiar with that state law will chime in on this post =)

I do know that for proper accounting, a church should deposit all cash and then use a check, credit card, etc. to pay its expenses, but many church have petty cash accounts (check written to Petty cash ... not withheld from the offering!) that they pay for small things like stamps, coffee for a staff meeting, etc. However, that petty cash should never be used to pay a bill...because you always want a paper trail.

Plus, paying bills with cash could have some major internal control issues.
Jan 23, 2020
 TN must use check or credit / debit card
by: Anonymous

In TN if the church us a tax exempt church you must use church check or church crefit/debit card to pay.

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Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Church Accounting FAQs.

If you want to DIY your payroll, I highly recommend you look at using Gusto! It is very user friendly and their support is awesome! Plus they know how to set up and maintain payrolls for churches and nonprofit organizations.

Note: I am a "partner" of Gusto, but as I have told you before ... I never recommend anything that we or our clients have not tried and love =)



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