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Finances

ChurchCRM includes comprehensive financial tracking for tithes, pledges, and gifts.

Note: Only users with Finance permissions can access financial features. See Users for permission details.

Deposit entry in ChurchCRM

Fiscal years​

Finance views use the church's fiscal year, which may not match the calendar year. Set it under Admin → System Settings → Financial Settings. The setting is iFYMonth: the month that starts your organization's fiscal year.

The same year shows up in a few places:

  • Finance → Dashboard scopes Recent Deposits with a Fiscal Year list that includes All Time.
  • The Deposits listing has a fiscal-year filter with its other search filters.
  • A family profile's pledges and payments default to the current fiscal year, and you can pick another year or All Time.
  • Fundraiser totals labeled This Fiscal Year follow that start month.
  • The Pledge Dashboard and fund-contributor pages can switch years, including All Time.

Step-by-step: Managing Donations​

Recording a Donation (Cash/Check)​

  1. Open the Family record for the donor.
  2. On the family toolbar, open Finance and choose Add Payment.
  3. Enter the date, amount, fund, and method (Cash, Check, Credit Card, or Bank Draft), and the family if it is not already filled in. A check payment also needs a Check # unless the check-number requirement has been turned off.
  4. Click Save. Use Save and Add Another when you have more payments to enter. On a new payment, Ctrl+Enter (⌘+Enter on Mac) does the same as Save and Add Another.

Creating a Deposit Slip​

  1. Go to Finance → View All Deposits, then click New Deposit (top-right of the results card).
  2. Fill in the deposit Comment, Type (Bank, Credit Card, or Bank Draft), and Date in the modal, then click Add New Deposit.
  3. The page redirects to the Deposit Slip Editor (breadcrumb: Finance → Deposits → Edit Deposit).
  4. Click Add Payment to add each donation — the new payment form opens pre-linked to this deposit. Fill in Method, Fund, Amount, and a Family record, then save. Repeat for every payment in the batch.
  5. The payments table lists Family, Check Number, Fund, Amount, and Method.
  6. Click Generate Report to download a PDF bank deposit form.
  7. When the deposit is ready to be finalised, toggle Closed and click Save.

See Key Concepts below for pledge, payment, and deposit terms.

Key Concepts​

TermDescription
PledgeA promise of support - a planned donation of a specific total amount
PaymentAn actual donation by cash, check, credit card, or bank draft
Deposit SlipA batch of donations printed on a standard bank deposit form
Reminder StatementLetters reminding families of their pledge and payment progress
Giving StatementYear-end letters acknowledging donations for tax purposes. See Giving Statements

How do I enter a pledge?​

There are two ways in which pledges can be added:

From the Family View​

  1. When viewing a family, open Finance on the toolbar and choose Add Pledge.
  2. Enter the pledge.
  3. Click Save.

Batch Entry​

  1. Click Save and Add Another instead of Save. The editor clears for the next pledge. It does not keep a fiscal-year id in the address.
  2. Select the next family and fill in the pledge.
  3. Keep clicking Save and Add Another until the batch is done.

How do I delete a pledge or payment?​

  1. Open the pledge or payment and click Delete.
  2. A dialog asks whether to permanently delete the record. Choose Yes to delete it. No, Escape, or closing the dialog keeps the record.

A short message confirms Deleted successfully, or explains why the delete failed. Saving a pledge or payment shows the same kind of message.

How do I deposit donations?​

When a batch of cash and check donations is received, create a deposit slip in ChurchCRM so the donating families receive credit against their pledges and for tax purposes.

Cash / Check deposits (Bank type)​

  1. Create the deposit slip: Go to Finance → View All Deposits, then click New Deposit (top-right of the results card). Choose type Bank, enter a comment and date, then click Add New Deposit.
  2. Add payments: On the Deposit Slip Editor, click Add Payment for each donation. Fill in the payment method (Cash, Check, etc.), fund, amount, and donor family, then save. Repeat until all donations are recorded.
  3. Review the payments: Each row shows Family, Check Number, Fund, Amount, and Method.
  4. Print the deposit form: Click Generate Report to download a PDF that can be printed on a standard bank deposit form.
  5. Finalise the deposit: Toggle Closed and click Save once the batch is packaged for the bank.

Tip: See Deposits for searching deposits and for the CSV and OFX buttons on the search page.

How do I enter a payment?​

Payments use the same editor as pledges.

  • From the family: Open Finance on the family toolbar and choose Add Payment. Enter the payment and click Save.
  • Batch entry: Click Save and Add Another to save this payment and clear the form for the next family.

Keyboard shortcut on the payment and pledge editor​

On a new payment or pledge, Ctrl+Enter (⌘+Enter on Mac) runs Save and Add Another. When you are editing an existing record, the same keys run Save. Pressing Enter by itself does not save.

After each save the Family field is focused, so a deposit can be entered from the keyboard. A short hint sits next to the buttons on a computer with a mouse or trackpad. Phones and tablets do not show that hint. The buttons stay disabled while a save is in progress, so holding the keys does not post the same payment twice.

Check numbers​

On a deposit payment the field is Check #. It is required by default: the label has a red asterisk, and a check payment will not save until the box is filled in. Turn that off with Require check number on check payments in the Financial Settings panel on the Finance Dashboard (the same setting is also listed under Admin → System Settings → Financial Settings). When it is off, Check # has no asterisk and may be left blank or set to 0 — both mean "no check number", and neither is checked for duplicates, so the same blank or 0 can be saved as often as needed.

A real check number is still checked for duplicates: a number this family has already used is rejected: "Check number '…' for selected family already exists." With the control on, a check payment that has no number is rejected: "Must specify non-zero check number". A cash payment still cannot have a check number.

How do I edit the QuickBooks Deposit Ticket Layout?​

The layout for most QuickBooks deposit tickets should be nearly identical; however, differences in printers and deposit ticket providers may require you to adjust the position of various elements of the report.

  1. Go to Admin → System Settings.
  2. Open Report Settings.
  3. Edit QuickBooks Deposit Ticket Settings (sQBDTSettings).
  4. Adjust the values for your deposit ticket and printer.

Finding and managing deposits​

The Deposits page (/finance/deposit/search) lets you search, filter, and manage all deposit slip records in one place. It replaces the legacy FindDepositSlip.php URL — existing bookmarks redirect automatically.

Key capabilities:

  • Filter deposits by fiscal year, date range, amount, fund, status, teller, or deposit ID
  • Select multiple deposits and export: bulk CSV (single file), or per-deposit OFX/PDF
  • Delete selected deposits in bulk
  • Add a new deposit directly from the page

See Deposits for full details.

Finance Dashboard​

Finance → Dashboard is the finance home page.

Current Deposit shows the open deposit you are working in: deposit number, date, type, Total Amount, and Edit Deposit. If nothing is open, the card is No Active Deposit and offers Create Deposit.

Recent Deposits lists deposits for the Fiscal Year you pick (or All Time). Columns are ID, Date, Type, Comment, Total, and Status (Open or Closed). View All opens the deposits search.

Deposit Statistics shows Total Deposits, Open Deposits, and Closed Deposits for that same year.

Payments by Fund breaks down the payments for that same year by donation fund: one row per fund with its total, a bar chart of the same totals, and a grand total at the foot of the table. Funds with no payments in the year are left out, and inactive funds still appear when they took payments. Pledges are not counted — only payments. When nothing was paid in the period, the table says No payments found for this period. and no chart is shown.

Deposit Reports​

Finance → Deposit Reports (/finance/reports) is the report list. There is no Finance → Pledges menu item. The Pledges button on the finance dashboard is only a shortcut to the pledge dashboard.

The page groups these links:

  • Tax & Giving Reports — Giving Statements (see below) and Zero Givers
  • Pledge Reports — Pledge Summary (opens /finance/pledge/dashboard), Pledge Family Summary, and Pledge Reminders
  • Deposit Reports — Individual Deposit Report and Advanced Deposit Report
  • Membership Reports — Voting Members (see Voting Members), which opens only for users with the Finance permission

The Finance menu also lists Financial Reports and Giving Statements, so you can reach either one without going through the dashboard.

Voting Members​

Finance → Reports → Voting Members prepares a list of candidates for a church vote. The report does not decide who may vote, and it does not save an eligibility record. It applies the criteria you choose, and your church leadership confirms the final list under your own bylaws.

The Voting Members page, with the classification list and review date

Prepare the list​

  1. Select the Classifications to include. You must select at least one; the report has no default classification.
  2. Set the Review Date. Age, membership time, and giving are all measured against this date.
  3. Add the optional filters your bylaws use:
    • Minimum age on the review date.
    • Minimum membership duration by the review date.
    • Family giving: require a positive family payment in the fiscal years you select, up to the review date.
  4. Run the report. It downloads as a PDF that lists each candidate's name, family, and photo or initials, repeats the criteria you selected, and gives the candidate count.

If nobody matches, or a value is not valid, the form returns with your filters still in place so you can adjust them and run the report again.

Who is left out​

  • Deceased or deactivated people are always left out, as are people and families marked pending review, inactive classifications, and inactive families.
  • Someone with an incomplete birth date is left out only when a minimum age is set. Someone with no membership date is left out only when a minimum membership duration is set. The PDF counts the people left out for missing dates.
  • People who do not belong to a family stay on the list when the family giving filter is off, because there is no family payment to check.

What the report does not decide​

  • The list uses each person's current classification and status, not a roll from an earlier year.
  • A payment is counted at the family level. It does not prove that an individual person gave.
  • Baptism, communion, electoral-roll applications, residence, attendance, standing, and local exceptions are not checked. Review those separately under your church's rules.
  • Treat the PDF as an internal review document for authorized staff. It is not a list to distribute publicly.

Giving Statements​

Giving statements are the year-end letters that thank each family and list what they gave, for their tax records. Open Finance → Giving Statements, or choose Generate in the checklist on the Finance Dashboard.

Make the statements​

  1. Set Report Start Date and Report End Date. The page opens on your previous fiscal year. See Fiscal years for how your church's fiscal year is set.
  2. Choose Apply Report Dates To: Payment Date counts gifts by the day they were given, Deposit Date counts them by the day they were deposited.
  3. Narrow the list if you need to. Each picker has Add All and Clear All buttons:
    • Classification, Filter by Family and Filter by Fund limit who and what is included.
    • Filter by Deposit uses one deposit. When you choose a deposit, the dates are ignored.
    • Minimum Total Amount leaves out families whose total for the period is below the amount. It compares each family's total, not single gifts.
  4. Choose Remittance Slip Yes to add a detachable slip addressed to the family below each letter.
  5. Select Preview. A window shows how many Families and Payments are included and the Total. If nothing matches it says No Data Found, so change the filters and preview again.
  6. In the preview window, choose Download PDF (the letters open in a new tab) or Download CSV (one row per payment, for a spreadsheet).

The PDF is named GivingStatements-<year>.pdf, or GivingStatement-<year>-<family>.pdf when the statement is for one family. The letters are written in the language you use ChurchCRM in.

What the letter says and looks like​

  • The opening line, closing line, questions line and signer come from Finance → Admin → Statement Settings, which also holds the church tax ID (EIN) and PDF Handling. These settings are not on System Settings.
  • The top of the page uses your church letterhead image when one is uploaded under Letterhead on Reports → Admin → Report Settings. Without one, it shows your church name and address. See How do I set up my logo or letterhead? for the image size.
  • Each letter is addressed to the family's mailing address.

One family​

On a family profile, open Finance on the toolbar. Under Giving Statements, choose Print or Email for a year. Years that the family has payments are listed. Email sends the PDF to the family's email addresses and returns you to the profile.

Pledge Dashboard​

Open pledges at Finance → Pledge Dashboard. Pledge Summary under Deposit Reports opens the same page.

The year list includes All Time. Add New Pledge goes to /finance/pledge/new?type=Pledge and does not put a fiscal-year id on that address.

See Pledge Dashboard for the tables and status colours.

Where are the giving statement settings?​

Go to Finance → Admin → Statement Settings. The page sets the statement wording, the church tax ID and how the PDF is handled. Report Settings, for the letterhead and the letter greeting and signature, stays under Reports → Admin.

How do I add a new Donation Fund?​

  1. Go to Finance → Admin → Donation Funds.
  2. Use the on-screen editor to add, rename, or remove donation funds.

Can't find what you need? Ask in Discord, or open an issue on the ChurchCRM repository.