Correcting a posted contribution

[Hunger Mountain]

Hi,

A contribution check was misread for $50 more and entered as so. This mistake was not caught until the deposit went to the bank, at which point it had already been posted in PCP. Is there a way to correct this contribution and enter the correct amount?

Thanks!

[Zorak]

To fix this, you will need to reverse the problem contribution and then reenter it correctly. To do this, go to Contributions > View Posted Contributions. Click the Locate button and find the contributor, then select the problem contribution. Go down to the bottom of the screen and click the Reverse button. This will create a negative contribution that reverses the entry. If you need to enter the corrected contribution amount, go back to Contributions > Enter Contributions and enter the corrected contribution.

Once these two contribution entries are posted, your contribution reports should show the correct amount. If you posted to Update Fund Accounting, you will have two transactions there that make up the deposit. The original, then the difference between the reversal and the corrected contribution amount.

[Hunger Mountain]

Thank you so much!

[F12Mahon]

I always wait until I get the bank deposit receipt back before I post contributions. Did the same thing as you and had to go in to correct it. I had even posted in Funds Account. Was easier to correct in contributions before it was posted.

[NeilZ]

I always wait until I get the bank deposit receipt back before I post contributions. Did the same thing as you and had to go in to correct it. I had even posted in Funds Account. Was easier to correct in contributions before it was posted.

There are two things that you can do when entering contributions that help to make sure the deposit is correct:

1. If you use envelopes, write down the amount given if not listed on the envelope
2. Have the cash counted twice, by two separate people
3. Use the Bank Deposit Slip (plain paper version) to verify the check amount, and the giver so that you're sure that the right envelope is getting credit.

Then I agree, don't post Contributions until you get the final receipt from the bank. Usually, on Sunday we do a night drop deposit, then the receipt is picked up the next workday in the office. That's when we post to Funds Accounting.

[wms7328]

You may also want to talk to your bank about doing direct check deposits using check scanning equipment. Many banks will give you this equipment and then the checks can be scanned directly into your bank account any time. The scanner will in most cases read the check amount directly from the check and then you can verify the deposit total matches what has been entered into contributions module.

Our process is that our Contributions Clerk enters all the checks into PC, using a scanner with PC will enter the person but you still have to enter the amount manually. Once this is done she gets a total for the deposit. She then runs the checks through the bank scanner and it will also give you the total deposit and the two have to match before anything is posted. This has caught many entry errors and prevents the bank deposit from being different than what was entered in contributions.

If you do scan the checks on site, you have to maintain the paper checks in a secure location for a period of 90 days before they can be destroyed. Most banks are willing to help you set this up since it saves them labor because they have to do the same thing for checks that you physically take to the bank.

[NeilZ]

FWIW ... that's a good idea about the bank scanner, but many small churches do not have the number of checks that will qualify for such a scanner. So learning to do it manually is a good idea.

[F12Mahon]

I always wait until I get the bank deposit receipt back before I post contributions. Did the same thing as you and had to go in to correct it. I had even posted in Funds Account. Was easier to correct in contributions before it was posted.

There are two things that you can do when entering contributions that help to make sure the deposit is correct:

1. If you use envelopes, write down the amount given if not listed on the envelope
2. Have the cash counted twice, by two separate people
2. Use the Bank Deposit Slip (plain paper version) to verify the check amount, and the giver so that you're sure that the right envelope is getting credit.

Then I agree, don't post Contributions until you get the final receipt from the bank. Usually, on Sunday we do a night drop deposit, then the receipt is picked up the next workday in the office. That's when we post to Funds Accounting.

We do 1 & 2. Then we just make sure cash and check total matches Bank Deposit Slip. We just didn't read close enough.

[Hunger Mountain]

Hi,

So I followed the steps originally given, it fixed the issue...however we just had our bank statement reconciled for March and two contributions one for $50 and one for $200 show as outstanding deposits. How do I get rid of these?

Thank you.

[NeilZ]

Hi,

So I followed the steps originally given, it fixed the issue...however we just had our bank statement reconciled for March and two contributions one for $50 and one for $200 show as outstanding deposits. How do I get rid of these?

Thank you.

OK .. if you reversed the original contribution entries, and created new ones, then posted everything from Contributions, the system should have created the correct transaction to update Funds Accounting. I'm going to assume that these are those entries.

Are you saying that without these two items checked off in the reconciliation, that the difference listed at the bottom of the reconciliation screen is zero, and with them checked its $250 off ??

[Hunger Mountain]

That is correct.

[Hunger Mountain]

We were able to resolve the issue.

Thank you.

[NeilZ]

We were able to resolve the issue.

Thank you.

OK .. what was the resolution so that others will be able to use it.

[Hunger Mountain]

It was an error on our end. The woman who does our reconciliation overlooked the offsets for said contribution correction.

[NeilZ]

It was an error on our end. The woman who does our reconciliation overlooked the offsets for said contribution correction.

That's an error that happens to many of us.

Thanks.