User Support Forum

Good morning. I'm trying to get some information on online tithing. This last year I got a complaint from one of the church members that I didn't include the fees in the giving report. As best I can find there's no way to include fees and not completely mess up the deposit when you balance the check book. I already have enough problems balancing them monthly as it is. I know there's a way to import the contributions but have not figures that out either. Most people don't care but since I have this one person I need to find out what the laws or rules are for online giving. And if it is law how do I put them in the system Crystal

When you state 'fees', do you mean the fees that the donor is paying in addition to the normal contribution to a given contribution fund?

Or, do you mean the fees the church pays for the online transaction to occur?

I ask because I believe these would be treated differently in PowerChurch.
For example, if a donor pays additional amounts to help offset fees, I have a separate fund that specifically tracks that part of the donation. They are included on the giving statement.

If the fees are actually what the church pays the online giving service provider, then that is really on the side of accounts payable or a direct fund accounting entry, and would be on the income/expense reports / account activity.

Also, are these fees solely related to credit card transactions, ACH debits, or effectively cover both?

I'm not really sure we use tithe.ly and their fees are either taken from the contribution or the contributor adds the fee to amount given. we as the church do not have a set fee that we pay but that the fee automatically comes out of the amount given. This is for debt cards/credit cards.
So How do you offset the fees when balancing the bank account do I enter the fees differently? Crystal

cgjsmith wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 22, 2023 1:03 pm

I'm not really sure we use tithe.ly and their fees are either taken from the contribution or the contributor adds the fee to amount given. we as the church do not have a set fee that we pay but that the fee automatically comes out of the amount given. This is for debt cards/credit cards.
So How do you offset the fees when balancing the bank account do I enter the fees differently? Crystal

This has to be handled on a 'case by case' basis. Assuming that the contributor is giving $20.00, and the fee is $1.20. If the contributor pays the fee, all you have to do is enter the contribution, no other transaction is needed. However, if the contributor is NOT paying the fee, then you have to give the contributor credit for the full $20.00 donation, but the church has to cover the expense.

So, on the Deposit transaction when entered into Powerchurch if you have two contributors, one paying the fee and one not. Assuming that the given amount is $20 each, the transaction posting from Contributions would show the following:

01-1110-000 Checking DEBIT 40.00
01-4030-000 Tithes Income CREDIT $40.00

Well, you would need to adjust that by DEBITING an expense account, for example: 01-5900-000 Online Contribution Fee. You'd have to change the transaction to show this:

01-1110-000 Checking DEBIT 38.50
01-5890-000 Contirbution Fee DEBIT 1.50
01-4030-000 Tithes Income CREDIT $40.00

this covers the fees, and gives the contributor the full credit.

As far as the fees they pay, is it considered a contribution, or a convenience to the contributor. That is something for your church board to discuss, not you.

However, if they want to consider that a contribution, you'd have to do the following:

Enter the contribution as normal, and include the fee, then subtract the fee in the same way as I did above. So again, assuming that the fees are $1.50, the contributor who paid the fee would have given $41.50, so the transaction would look like this:

01-1110-000 Checking DEBIT 38.50
01-5890-000 Contribution Fee DEBIT 3.00
01-4030-000 Tithes Income CREDIT 41.50

The problem is that you need to know who did what, I'm assuming that's possible.

Im not even sure how to set that up as a contribution, I may have to call power church for info on how to do that. Thank you Crystal

cgjsmith wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:53 am

Im not even sure how to set that up as a contribution, I may have to call power church for info on how to do that. Thank you Crystal

Sorry to take so long getting back to you. You do NOT setup the fees as a contribution, they are included in the contribution and subtracted by adjusting the transaction sent to Funds Accounting from the Contributions module.

Is Power church looking into a way to make this more simple. Can I do this at the end of the year with a total for each person? Is it simpler if we use the company that power church promotes? Crystal

cgjsmith wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 30, 2023 11:09 am

Is Power church looking into a way to make this more simple. Can I do this at the end of the year with a total for each person? Is it simpler if we use the company that power church promotes? Crystal

There is no simpler way as its all manual entry unless you use Vanco, as it directly interfaces with Powerchurch and properly creates the transactions needed. There is one caveat, you must properly setup Vanco to use your Contribution Funds as they are setup.