Clergy Financial Resources is the leading payroll provider for churches. We offers an easy online tax and salary management for churches with 1 employee to 200 employees that specifically meets the requirements of religious organizations.

By request and for your convenience, we put together an overview comparing our services to secular payroll companies. Churches are amazed at our depth of knowledge relating to clergy tax law, clergy compensation and payroll & HR compliance, which is far superior than any secular payroll company and costs so much less. Compare these advantages and benefits below.

Church Payroll vs Secular Payroll Comparison Chart

Churches want to focus on their ministry.  Unfortunately there are necessities to running a church that must get done.  There are the salaries, paperwork, taxes, and the list goes on.  So a church has to make a decision: Am I going to try and handle this in-house myself, or hire someone, or outsource to a payroll provider? Here is a list of Benefits of Outsourcing Church Payroll.

Selecting a payroll company may seem easy at first. However, a closer look at the effort, cost, liabilities, education, and ongoing training reveals some potential challenges. The greatest challenge for the church in selecting a payroll company is finding someone who is truly qualified in clergy tax law.  Knowledge and experience in clergy tax law are critical.  Large payroll companies may be great with payrolls of large secular businesses. However, they only provide payroll service and do not provide any guidance and adequate knowledge relating to clergy compensation, PARP, pension accounts, clergy W-2 forms, etc.  A secular payroll company only knows what you tell them.  If your payroll contact person does not have an accurate and up-to-date knowledge of standard tax law and clergy tax law, your payroll can become nothing more than an exercise in wrongdoing. Last year, 60% of clergy W-2 forms were issued in error by churches and payroll companies.  Ministry leaders must understand these challenges and recognize the need for industry specialists.

We have an unparalleled tax expertise on the complex issues associated with church salaries, pastor and staff compensation. Our services include “Church Tax, Payroll and HR Support” which is not available with any other payroll company (ADP, PayChex, Cerdian, etc.). This unparalleled support plan offers the church a valuable resource for questions relating to church payroll, clergy compensation, reimbursements plans, and other tax, payroll and HR related issues for clergy and other staff members throughout the year. 

When our client call into our Support team they are greeted with kindness and patience every time. Don’t believe me? Read some of our client stories and see just how many of our clients are singing the praises of our team here.

HR Support Center Online is also included in our payroll service at no additional cost, (an opt-in service). This is a $120.00 saving! HR Support Center Online is a web-based HR resource that will assist you with a very critical aspect of your organization – your people. The objective of HR Support Center Online is to help you become more successful by providing easily accessible solutions to your largest HR challenges. The HR Support Center will provide you with the most up-to-date information and tools necessary to lower the amount of effort that is needed on your part to understand how to manage the day to day HR functions of your church.

Your choice of a payroll solution will depend on a lot of things, including how many employees you have, how complex your withholdings are, how willing your designated payroll person is, and how much control you want over
your payroll.

Clergy Financial Resources’ online payroll and HR management is designed for churches that want control and flexibility 24/7.  You simply go online and process when you want, where you want. You won’t need to play phone tag  in order to process your payroll. You’ll never have to wait for your paycheck, pay stubs or payroll reports to be delivered. All your payroll reports are available at your fingertips.  Plus, you can make direct changes to your payroll data without waiting for a payroll service administrator.

Employees receive online information too. They can access their payroll information, pay stubs and W-2s when and where they want. On payday, each employee receives email notification that lets them know they’ve been paid by direct deposit.

Customer Support that Can’t be Beat

Call or click your way the multiple customer service platforms. Have a quick question while you’re processing your payroll? No problem, use our chat feature and get instantaneous help. Need a more elaborate answer, pick up the phone and give us a call, one of our Tax & Payroll Advisors will be more than happy to give you clarification or walk you through your payroll. No one dislikes waiting on hold forever to get their needs met and with Clergy Financial Resources you’ll never have to. 

Learn how Clergy Financial Resources can help!

CFR payroll solutions make it easy to simplify payroll compliance. Plus, our payroll advisors can explain the church and clergy tax rules clearly and simply, and answer your questions, so you feel confident that you’re in compliance.

The next step is easy. Contact us for a complimentary review to experience the affordable and expert guidance that sets our firm apart.  Contact us today!