But then there are the odd little things. Things that don’t fit into the budget, that are unexpected, but needed. Between Stated Meetings.
My Lodge has always handled these expenses through a Mason taking care of it with his own funds, then bringing the receipt to Lodge to be reimbursed. It seems to me that has always worked well, but, it also seems that at least some of our newer Masons feel that system to be extremely antiquated.
My Lodge, and my Temple Board have been discussing this recently. Should the Lodge have a Credit Card to take care of odd expenses? A petty cash fund in the office? Some kind of pre-paid Debit Card?
Would this make things easier, or harder?
Could it be controlled, or would it become too easy to overspend?
What about extra fees or interest?
Would the Lodge be tempted to adopt an ‘ez payment plan’ as so many of us as consumers do?
Many lodges here have a “threshold” the master can spend without prior approval i.e.$1,000, $500, $100 discretionary funds. It seems to me that this, in conjunction with your pre-paid debit card idea, is probably the easiest way to take care of incidentals.
There is plenty we can do short of adding a debit card or a credit card to the accounts of our lodges. We should be able to trust our brethren but as has proven many times recently....it's better to guard against misuse and improper things being "charged" to the lodge accounts, even if that means using our antiqued ways....so be it
Having a way to pay online expenses, setup recurring payments or emergent items makes good "business" sense, but only if a Lodge is truly running itself .. as a business .. when a Lodge ceases to do this or fails to start, it should not be allowed (by it's governing body .. we as members of Grand Lodge .. the Officers and Past Masters of our Lodges) to continue to operate and should be placed in to a probationary state through a special deputy and suspension.
We recently changed banks and I was elected treasurer. We also decided (the officers) that we needed to streamline our financial process. Lodges need to have a debit card for use in today’s economy. We have miscellaneous or discretionary fund line item in our budget. That is available for expenses not anticipated in budget planning.
Those funds need to have the approval of at least the Master and Secretary to be spent up to a $200 limit. There are Lodges that have bylaws that do not allow them to spend over $100 without the approval of the Lodge. This has lead to them not participating in unscheduled charity items or having to have another Lodge cover their portion of a district or state to be paid back later.
Having a Brother pay for items or other expense has lead to a Brother not getting paid back for over a month, which is unfair to the Brother.
Our Temple Building Company, a separate corporation and Directors has all utility bills on auto pay and two of the Directors have debit cards for any building expenses. Anything over $250 needs to have at least two officers approval, usually by phone or e mail.
The Lodge Treasurer and Secretary have on line access to all the accounts and bill pay services. As Treasurer, I get text alerts on all activity excepting check writing, and I usually check bank balances on line daily.
I prepare monthly reports for the Lodge supported by copies of bank statements, and account activity. Having be involved in a misspending investigation some years back, it is key reports are validated and accepted by the Lodge officers and approved by membership.
Having been around when there was a huge misappropriation of funds at the Grand Lodge level in Oregon in the mid 80s it , really opened a lot of eyes to improving financial controls.
There are so many antiquated issues with how some lodges handle their financial affairs.
My biggest gripe is having to wait 2-3 months to be reimbursed for an expense the lodge approved of spending. There is absolutely no reason for it. I'm not a rich man, and having to sit and wait for a check months after submitting my receipt is ridiculous.
As far as a lodge having a debit card, I think it's necessary in today's world. At work the department has a debit card with a spending limit that a couple of folks manage in order to purchase things online. It's handled just like any other monthly accounting expense. Lodges should also establish online fund transfers to pay member expenses in a more timely manner.
Lodges need to be dragged, kicking and screaming if necessary, into at least the 20th century.
I'm old school - I'm also old. I like the system of receipts and reimbursements. When I was working, my employers used the same system. It gives the lodge approval of the expense. I too often donate the small stuff to the lodge - better to you the funds for Masonic Charity.
On Debit/Credit cards. Would they ever actually be in the hands of the person making the purchase? When I occasionally buy groceries/supplies for the lodge, it would be much more inconvenient to have to go fetch the card from the Treasurer or Secretary or whom ever.
I believe in New York is against the Constitutions to have a pretty cash fund.
A credit card is good, as long as it's for budgeted or approved items, but I don't see anything wrong with submitting receipts if the Brother doesn't object.
I think the big problem is that some folks just don't have the extra buffer in their finances to absorb an expense, even temporarily. I used to run into this in my professional career on the rare occasion when I would need to travel and be expected to pay for my own food, etc. and submit expenses upon my return. If one is living paycheck to paycheck (which many are), doing without that money even for a short time can be detrimental. This, in turn, can put a brother in a position he finds embarrassing if he can't cover the cost or, conversely, puts him in a position where he covers the cost to his own detriment out of a feeling of obligation and/or pride.
My lodge does operate this way, though, although there's leeway with what needs to go to the lodge for a vote and what can be approved by the executive committee as far as dollar amounts go.
Many lodges here have a “threshold” the master can spend without prior approval i.e.$1,000, $500, $100 discretionary funds. It seems to me that this, in conjunction with your pre-paid debit card idea, is probably the easiest way to take care of incidentals.
We passed a budget to cover various expenses, with approval to 120% of expected costs. That way we could meet inflation without another vote.
There is plenty we can do short of adding a debit card or a credit card to the accounts of our lodges. We should be able to trust our brethren but as has proven many times recently....it's better to guard against misuse and improper things being "charged" to the lodge accounts, even if that means using our antiqued ways....so be it
Having a way to pay online expenses, setup recurring payments or emergent items makes good "business" sense, but only if a Lodge is truly running itself .. as a business .. when a Lodge ceases to do this or fails to start, it should not be allowed (by it's governing body .. we as members of Grand Lodge .. the Officers and Past Masters of our Lodges) to continue to operate and should be placed in to a probationary state through a special deputy and suspension.
We recently changed banks and I was elected treasurer. We also decided (the officers) that we needed to streamline our financial process. Lodges need to have a debit card for use in today’s economy. We have miscellaneous or discretionary fund line item in our budget. That is available for expenses not anticipated in budget planning.
Those funds need to have the approval of at least the Master and Secretary to be spent up to a $200 limit. There are Lodges that have bylaws that do not allow them to spend over $100 without the approval of the Lodge. This has lead to them not participating in unscheduled charity items or having to have another Lodge cover their portion of a district or state to be paid back later.
Having a Brother pay for items or other expense has lead to a Brother not getting paid back for over a month, which is unfair to the Brother.
Our Temple Building Company, a separate corporation and Directors has all utility bills on auto pay and two of the Directors have debit cards for any building expenses. Anything over $250 needs to have at least two officers approval, usually by phone or e mail.
The Lodge Treasurer and Secretary have on line access to all the accounts and bill pay services. As Treasurer, I get text alerts on all activity excepting check writing, and I usually check bank balances on line daily.
I prepare monthly reports for the Lodge supported by copies of bank statements, and account activity. Having be involved in a misspending investigation some years back, it is key reports are validated and accepted by the Lodge officers and approved by membership.
Having been around when there was a huge misappropriation of funds at the Grand Lodge level in Oregon in the mid 80s it , really opened a lot of eyes to improving financial controls.
There are so many antiquated issues with how some lodges handle their financial affairs.
My biggest gripe is having to wait 2-3 months to be reimbursed for an expense the lodge approved of spending. There is absolutely no reason for it. I'm not a rich man, and having to sit and wait for a check months after submitting my receipt is ridiculous.
As far as a lodge having a debit card, I think it's necessary in today's world. At work the department has a debit card with a spending limit that a couple of folks manage in order to purchase things online. It's handled just like any other monthly accounting expense. Lodges should also establish online fund transfers to pay member expenses in a more timely manner.
Lodges need to be dragged, kicking and screaming if necessary, into at least the 20th century.
I'm old school - I'm also old. I like the system of receipts and reimbursements. When I was working, my employers used the same system. It gives the lodge approval of the expense. I too often donate the small stuff to the lodge - better to you the funds for Masonic Charity.
On Debit/Credit cards. Would they ever actually be in the hands of the person making the purchase? When I occasionally buy groceries/supplies for the lodge, it would be much more inconvenient to have to go fetch the card from the Treasurer or Secretary or whom ever.
If it's NOT BROKE - Don't Fix It!
I believe in New York is against the Constitutions to have a pretty cash fund.
A credit card is good, as long as it's for budgeted or approved items, but I don't see anything wrong with submitting receipts if the Brother doesn't object.
I think the big problem is that some folks just don't have the extra buffer in their finances to absorb an expense, even temporarily. I used to run into this in my professional career on the rare occasion when I would need to travel and be expected to pay for my own food, etc. and submit expenses upon my return. If one is living paycheck to paycheck (which many are), doing without that money even for a short time can be detrimental. This, in turn, can put a brother in a position he finds embarrassing if he can't cover the cost or, conversely, puts him in a position where he covers the cost to his own detriment out of a feeling of obligation and/or pride.
My lodge does operate this way, though, although there's leeway with what needs to go to the lodge for a vote and what can be approved by the executive committee as far as dollar amounts go.