Offerings & Income

This option, from the Main Switchboard, takes you to:

The Calendar Form: When you are presented with the Calendar Form, you are to select the Year, Month, and Date of the offering. It is presented in Calendar format. You change the Year and Month via Combination Boxes by either typing in the input area (for the month) or selecting from a drop-down list (year).

Whenever you change the year, the configuration of the month's days changes, but the date remains the same. Whenever you change the month, you must click on the day to re-select it.

The date you select will cause any prior input in the Offering Processing application to be selected for display in that application. If there is none for that date, the date will be primed into the first "Date" field on the Offering Input form.

The Offering Input Form: This form is laid out in DataSheet format (rows and columns), with rows for individual gifts, and columns for the following data input:

Initially the Envelope Number and Donor's Check Number columns are hidden, except for the headings. Under each of these columns are buttons you can click on in order to make the input areas visible.

The Date field is initially primed with the date you have selected with the "Calendar" form on the way in. You have the ability to change the date at this point if you haven't selected it properly. Thereafter, each time you enter the "date" field for input, the date from the row above is copied; you can simply tab out of the input area.

The Envelope Number field, when it is visible, allows you to enter the numeric number assigned to a family instead of the name (which is the next field). When you enter the number and tab out of the field, the Family Name appears in the Donor's Name field, and you can tab on through that field. You are allowed to enter only numbers that appear in the combo's drop-down list, which is taken from the envelope number table.

If the Envelope Number is not used, you can start typing the family's last name in the Donor's Name field. This is a combo box made up of the Last, His, and Her name fields from the Family table. As soon as you enter enough letters to identify a family, the rest of the name will be displayed. If the name that is fully displayed is the one you want, you can tab out of the field and that name will be selected. If the name displayed isn't the right one, you continue typing until the right one shows up, then tab out. You can also click on the "show list" icon on the right side of the input area, and use the slide on the list to locate the name you are seeking.

The Amount field is initialized at zero. As you enter the field, the zero is highlighted, and you can over-type the correct amount. You don't enter the Dollar Sign ($). For even dollar amounts, you don't have to enter the ".00" - that will be supplied by the system. You tab out when you have correctly entered the amount donated.

The Purpose field is to contain the Income Account name representing the purpose for which this donation is made. When you enter the Purpose field, the field is filled with the income account name from the prior record, e.g., "Pledged & Unpledged Support". If this is correct for the current donation also, you tab out of the field; otherwise you start to type the name of the field you want. You may also use the drop-down list controls to find the name you are looking for if you can't remember the exact name. When that name is highlighted, you can tab out.

The How Given field allows you to choose between a limited number of choices: Cash, Check, Journal Entry, Stock, and Receipted In-Kind donations, which are contained in the tHow table. It also copies the "How" of the prior record, which will normally be the most logical selection.

The Donor's Check Number field, if visible, is used to record the check number from the Donor's check. It is not used within the system except to be displayed on the donor's statement of giving.

If, in processing the last entry for the day, you Tab into the next row on the form, you have inadvertently started a new record. You'll be fussed at if you try to close the form with that "dirty" record - a highly technical term for a record that has had changes made to it. To avoid this fussing, you can clean the record out by pressing the "Esc" key. It doesn't hurt if you press it several times. Then click on the exit button....

When you finish the offering processing, you are taken automatically to a Register of the Day's Offerings. You may have to enlarge the window (Click on the single box next to the "Close" X in the upper right hand corner of the window), and zoom the page (left mouse click on the page) to see it adequately. You can either close the window or print the report by