Year-End Statements: A Few Reminders
One of the most important tasks during this time of the new year is to send the year-end contribution statements
for your donors before. In that light, I thought I'd post a few reminders, tips, whatever you want to call them.
Run a small sub-set as a test
You can create a tag of donors and select that tag for the year-long date range. That gives you an opportunity to take a look a few statements to check some items such as the following:
- Statement Header - the church name and physical address
- Statement Notice - the blurb beside the donor's address
- Fund names - making sure each has a description displaying
- Pledge Funds - you may want to close an old fund before sending all the statements, so it does not display
- Envelopes - statements are designed to fit in a standard #9 double-window envelope. Ensure that the return address and donor's address display correctly. If not, check the Statement Header.
Statement Sort Options and Exclusions
When actually printing the statements, you have several options , such as sorting alphabetically by Last Name, by Zip Code, or the normal sort, which is by Family ID. If you choose to Exclude those with Electronic Only selected, be sure to read about this feature, so you understand how to answer a donor's questions and how to communicate with those donors.
Other Statement Options
There are several settings that can be added/changed in your database. These are all out-lined in this section of the Contribution Statements help article. The options range from the Minimum Contribution Amount to printing check number and/or notes and other items in between.
Resolving Issues After-The-Fact
Once statements have been generated, you may notice some statements display No Data instead of the normal information. Be sure to check out the Troubleshooting section of the Contribution Statement article. This will explain the most common reasons for this.
Also, you may get calls from people because a contribution has been posted incorrectly - either to the wrong Fund or to the wrong person. This article explains how to make corrections and reversals.
As always, please submit a Support Request if you need anything.
Have a very blessed 2016!