Funds and ministry budgets
Allocate money to funds (Building, Missions), set a budget per category or per ministry, and get alerted on overspend.
A church rarely runs from "one pot". Sanctumel lets you split money into funds (accounting envelopes) and set budgets — including per ministry — with an automatic alert as soon as a cap is reached.
Note: a fund is an accounting envelope, not a bank account. The money stays in your church's single account; Sanctumel only separates its purpose in the ledger (the "designated funds" model).
Create a fund
- Open Finance, Funds section.
- Click New fund (e.g. "Building", "Missions", "Youth").
- Say whether it is restricted (use constrained by donors) and, if you like, a goal and a colour.
Each entry can then be attached to a fund. The balance per fund (in − out) shows in real time; unassigned entries go to the general fund.
Tip: use "restricted" for collections with a specific purpose (building, missions). It reminds everyone the money cannot be spent elsewhere — a requirement of several accounting frameworks.
Set a budget
A budget is a spending cap over a period. In the Budgets card:
- Click New budget.
- Choose the target: a category (rent, maintenance…) or a ministry envelope (fund).
- Set the amount and the period (month or year).
Consumption is computed automatically from real expenses.
The ministry envelope
Choosing a fund as target turns the budget into a ministry envelope: "Youth: €200/month". The budget then tracks the expenses attached to that fund, with:
- a progress bar and Watch / Exceeded badges;
- an automatic alert in the copilot as soon as you approach or pass the cap.
This is the "the budget lives in the spending container" principle — without issuing a card.