User Support Forum

Is anyone currently using the electronic giving interface with VANCO to upload electronic donations? If so, have you encountered any issues which we may need to consider before implementing this option?

deerfld wrote:Is anyone currently using the electronic giving interface with VANCO to upload electronic donations? If so, have you encountered any issues which we may need to consider before implementing this option?

FWIW ... I've not seen anyone posting problems here on the Forums about it. The import of the VANCO file is fairly straightforward, I believe the hardest part is making sure the Envelope & Contribution funds numbers are setup correctly on the VANCO end.

We have been using VANCO for last two years. Basically we have no problems, but you do have to be careful about how you import the contributions. VANCO will deposit funds when they are scheduled, so we get about 40 deposits each month for various contributors. You just have to have a good system of importing the contributions so you don't get duplicates and to insure you import all the deposits. We have office staff import the contributions on Monday, Wed. and Friday each week. This way we usually don't have more than a few deposits each time. If you tried to import all the contributions only a couple of times each month, you will have a lot of individual deposits and it will be a little more complicated to make sure you don't miss some or duplicate one.

VANCO responds to questions very quickly and we have no complaints about their support. You can now change your website setup on line and don't have to go through their customer support. Just make sure you have the correct contribution funds specified for each type of contribution and you should have no trouble.

One other thing to keep in mind. VANCO does not allow two people to have same envelope number, where Power Church allows this for people in same family. If two people of the same family set up separate VANCO accounts for contributions, you will have to assign a separate envelope number to each family member that has a VANCO account. That way, it will import to correct person. VANCO initially assigns a number to each person setting up an account, so you have to go in and change that to the envelope number that is used in Power Church for that individual. Again, you just have to check several times a week as members sign up for VANCO accounts.

Does it notify you when a new member signs up?

Yes, you will get an email showing that a new person has set up an account.