"It's just peace of mind that it's being done right. I'm not worried about our taxes. I'm not worried about onboarding new staff. I'm not worried about the books not being balanced. And I know about all of that, but I love that I don't have to think about it."
— Alan, Pastor
The Challenge
Alan is one of the pastors of a growing church in Farmington, Utah. As the congregation expanded, managing its finances grew increasingly complex — and finding reliable help proved harder than expected. A former CFO who once had 240 finance professionals reporting to him, Alan understood exactly what sound financial management looked like. What he found with his first outsourced bookkeeping provider fell far short of that standard.
The initial service seemed convenient: cheap, accessible, and easy to set up. But over time, critical problems surfaced. The provider was not proactive, responses were slow and unhelpful, and even straightforward questions were met with pushback rather than solutions.
"It was just unfortunate. It didn't fit our needs," Alan explained.
The church needed more than a transactional vendor. It needed a true financial partner — someone with deep expertise, a proactive mindset, and genuine investment in the organization's mission. Alan turned to BELAY.
The Solution
After a disappointing first experience, Alan came to BELAY with a detailed list of needs and was matched with BELAY Accounting Professional Michal Trout. Her depth of knowledge and strategic insight impressed him immediately — and his own CFO background gave him a sharp lens through which to evaluate her work.
"In the past, I've had 240 finance people reporting to me on any given day, and having just Michal, I'm way ahead right now."
Michal moved quickly to transform the church's financial operations. She introduced Divvy cards and Bill.com to eliminate the need for pastors and ministry leaders to use personal cards, developed customized financial reporting tailored to different stakeholders' needs, and streamlined processes so effectively that monthly financial discussions shrank from a full hour down to just 15 minutes.
Her contributions extended well beyond daily bookkeeping. Michal helped Alan establish and manage retirement contributions through Guidestone, co-developed a presentation to educate pastors on personal finance — including concepts like compounding interest — and helped build a training course as two new members were added to bring the finance team to four.
"She's incredible. Her attitude, her professionalism, her accuracy. She understands the complexities of bookkeeping at a high level and ensures every detail is handled correctly."
"She genuinely cares. She is genuinely focused on our needs. And she's also proactive to tell us when we should be doing something different."
— Alan, PastorThe Impact
The results of Alan's partnership with Michal Trout have been both operational and deeply personal. Efficiency improved across every dimension of the church's financial life — but the most meaningful outcome was something harder to put on a spreadsheet.
"It's just peace of mind that it's being done right. I'm not worried about our taxes. I'm not worried about onboarding new staff. I'm not worried about the books not being balanced. And I know about all of that, but I love that I don't have to think about it."
Michal didn't remain an outside contractor for long — she became a core member of the finance team in every sense. Her proactive communication, genuine care for the organization's mission, and collaborative spirit made her an irreplaceable partner rather than a line-item expense.
"When we talk about the finance team, her name's always on the team. She's not an outsider anymore. She kind of never was honestly. It was an immediate bond. She's one of the team leaders in my mind because between me and her, we're giving all the financial direction."
Alan now actively recommends BELAY to fellow pastors and friends, crediting the relationship with providing the visibility, clarity, timeliness, and documentation his church needs to plan for the future and reflect confidently on its growth.