A Quick Reminder about Cheque Payments.
If you usually pay Share with mailed cheques,
please be aware that you can now send them in to the Diocesan Office.
We are able to collect mail and can process them as usual.
Return of Parish Finance
We have been informed that the deadline for submitting the Return of Parish Finance has been extended to 31 July 2020. You do not need to have held your APCM to submit the return and, whilst it is preferable for the accounts to have been examined before submission, it is preferred the data is submitted on time rather than wait for the independent examination to be completed. Finally, the PCC should approve the accounts on which the returns are based but to avoid delay caused by the lockdown, the accounts can be approved at an online meeting of the PCC or be recommended for approval by the Finance or Standing Committee.
An Update on Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme & HMRC
Following concerns over whether multiple cash donations saved up in envelopes during weeks of lockdown would still be eligible for GASDS claims, HMRC have now offered guidance on the matter. HMRC says "
Where it is the case, for example, of separate donations being given in a single envelope, then if the church/charity official is happy these are clearly separate 'small donations' (and clearly stated as such) then they will be eligible for GASDS, as is the case where separate envelopes are used". Read the guidance article
here or on the
Parish Resources website.
Could Your Church be eligible for a Government Grant of £10k or £25k?
In
Money for Mission Special edition 4 we reported that some churches may be eligible to claim either £10k via their local authority from the
Small Business Grant Fund or as much as £25k from the
Retail,Hospitality & Leisure Grant Fund; both of which form part of the
UK Government's financial measures in response to Coronavirus. Eligibility depends on being in receipt of a discounted rates bill by April 2020. Churches with cafes and separate church halls seem most likely to fall into this category and are advised to contact their local authority to check their eligibility for the grants.
We are now delighted to report that The Eldwick Church, Bingley, has indeed been successful in claiming a Small Business Grant of £10k following the closure of their Link Cafe during the Coronavirus lockdown resulting in loss of income. Read more about their story
here.
Please do continue to let us know if your church is successful in claiming either of these grants
Free NEW online finance/accounts training!
Following on from Data Development's successful online training for MyGiving.Online they are now offering free online training for MyFundAccounting.online which is their online fund accounting software (the online version of Finance Co-ordinator).
With many APCM's now likely to take place in the autumn, Data Developments are offering this free finance training to help churches with their delayed yearends and to prepare for their annual meetings as well as continue with their 2020 accounts.
These free online training sessions will take place every week, are free for everyone and you can 'attend' as many as you wish. For more details please visit the 'Services' page of Data Development's website at:
https://www.datadevelopments.co.uk/services/ which also contains details of how to join the training.
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It's easy for your church to Register for the PGS visit link: 
