How to post Tithely deposits

We recently began using Tithely and I want to make sure we are entering everything properly. Up until now (I just started as bookkeeper) the Tithely deposit have been entered as a transaction in Fund Accounting so the bank statement would balance, but they have not yet been reported in the Contributions module. I have a couple issues, hopefully I can explain:
1. The transactions were posted to the General Fund, but in looking back, several were noted for other funds, so how do I adjust those transactions?
2. When a member contributes through Tithely, they have to option to either cover the bank fees for that transaction or let the church cover them. How should that be reflected on the Contribution transaction to reflect those fees, whether paid by us or the member?
2a. Should the fees paid by a member be included in the contribution amount that would reflect on their giving statement?
2b. Would those bank fees be considered an expense or liability?
2c. I thought simply setting up a separate "fund" for those bank fees would help us to track that expense but I want to make sure that's correct.

Edited to add: Does the fund report pull contribution amounts only from the contributions module? So as stated above, the deposits that were entered in Fund Accounting will not show up on the report until they are posted in contributions, is that correct?

Thank you!

We recently began using Tithely and I want to make sure we are entering everything properly. Up until now (I just started as bookkeeper) the Tithely deposit have been entered as a transaction in Fund Accounting so the bank statement would balance, but they have not yet been reported in the Contributions module. I have a couple issues, hopefully I can explain:
1. The transactions were posted to the General Fund, but in looking back, several were noted for other funds, so how do I adjust those transactions?

Since Tithly does not provide a direct interfacing with Powerchurch as does Vanco, you have to do this manually. Same as entering them into Contributions. You have to break down the contributions when entering them into the system.

I'm going to assume that you setup Tithly with all the proper Contribution Funds as setup in Powerchurch, if they provide a file with the contributions funds broken down you may be able to import that in to Contributions. From the Powerchurch help :

The file must contain the following fields in this order:

·Envelope Number - (Number, up to 5 digits) - This is used to connect the Contributions record to the Personal Profile of the contributor.
·Amount - (Number, up to 9 digits with 2 decimal places) - Amount of the individual contribution.
·Date - (Date) - The date of the individual contribution. Formatted as MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY, depending on your regional settings.
·Fund Number - (Number, up to 5 digits) - This is used to define which Contribution Fund this was given to.
·Check Number - (Character, up to 20 digits) - The contribution check number, if applicable.
·Memo - (Character, up to 50 characters) - A note or memo for the contribution, if applicable.

If this is the way they come in you can just import the information. If not, you may be able to manipulate the columns in a spreadsheet program to match what the import expects.

However, I'd make sure as to what amount is sent via that file, the amounts including Fees paid by the contributor, or just the actual amount contributed.

2. When a member contributes through Tithely, they have to option to either cover the bank fees for that transaction or let the church cover them. How should that be reflected on the Contribution transaction to reflect those fees, whether paid by us or the member?
2a. Should the fees paid by a member be included in the contribution amount that would reflect on their giving statement?
2b. Would those bank fees be considered an expense or liability?
2c. I thought simply setting up a separate "fund" for those bank fees would help us to track that expense but I want to make sure that's correct.

2a - if they make the decision to pay the fees themselves, I do not believe it can be claimed as a donation to the church. You should check with an accountant or with the IRS.
2b - If the church pays the fees, then is it an expense to the church, but should be reflected as a full donation to the church.
2c - No ... this is an operations expense, it should be reflected in the operations fund.

Edited to add: Does the fund report pull contribution amounts only from the contributions module? So as stated above, the deposits that were entered in Fund Accounting will not show up on the report until they are posted in contributions, is that correct?

Thank you!

The Contribution Funds Report only pulls data from Contributions NOT Funds Accounting. If you've already entered the amounts in Funds Accounting, then you would be posting these contributions To the Contributions Module ONLY. If you can import the information using the supplied file as I pointed out at top, you can run the Funds Report against the UNPOSTED contributions to get that information.

Also remember, you have to account for the fees paid by the church. I'm not sure how Vanco does it, as it provides a proper interface to pull all that data, but in Funds Accounting you need to reflect the entire amount contributed including fees paid by the church as income, and then have a separate line to reflect the expense of the fees.

For instance:

01-1110-000 Checking DB 2000.00
01-4010-000 Tithes CR 2200.00
01-5400-000 Online Fee DB 200.00

This shows that the actual income was 2200.00, but due to the online fees only 2000.00 actually goes into checking, the other 200.00 goes to the online vendor, but you're accounting for all income, and properly reflecting the expenses.

Does this help?

Thank you, this is very helpful!

On the contributions side - I will be entering these manually. Question: how do I reflect the bank fees in Contribution transactions? I am looking at the "Maintain List of Contribution Funds" and seeing how each of those items tie to specific accounts for the debit and credit, would I want to set up a separate item in this area and have the accounting funds reflected to allow for bank fees? I'm unclear as to how that data would be sent to the Fund Accounting module so we can track our fee expenses.

For example: a member submits a contribution of $50. They do NOT choose to pay the $1 bank fee so the Net contribution is $49 to us, and we paid a fee to Tithely of $1. I understand how to reflect that in Fund Accounting, but not the Contributions side.

Or....for Tithely deposits, should we only post them to the Contributions module and always do a separate transaction in Fund Accounting?

Thank you, this is very helpful!

On the contributions side - I will be entering these manually. Question: how do I reflect the bank fees in Contribution transactions? I am looking at the "Maintain List of Contribution Funds" and seeing how each of those items tie to specific accounts for the debit and credit, would I want to set up a separate item in this area and have the accounting funds reflected to allow for bank fees? I'm unclear as to how that data would be sent to the Fund Accounting module so we can track our fee expenses.

You don't account for the fees in Contributions. The contributor gets the full amount of the contribution, you account for the fees in the Funds Accounting module as an expense as I pointed out above.

For example: a member submits a contribution of $50. They do NOT choose to pay the $1 bank fee so the Net contribution is $49 to us, and we paid a fee to Tithely of $1. I understand how to reflect that in Fund Accounting, but not the Contributions side.

Or....for Tithely deposits, should we only post them to the Contributions module and always do a separate transaction in Fund Accounting?

Again, the contributor gets the FULL AMOUNT of what they contributed on their statements, you then account for the fees as I noted in my previous post above. This is an expense to the church, much like paying for paper or toner.

You can enter them either way, but the donor must see the full amount they contributed in the Contributions module, and you account for the fees in the Funds Accounting module.

Got it - thank you for your help!