Deleted contribution funds showing in accounting setup

[rmorisset]

Hi all,

I am setting up the accounting portion of PC 11.5 for the first time. We did a data conversion from a different software, and we had a lot of contribution funds that we needed to streamline coming into PC. In the setup, a lot of the deleted contributions funds still showed up in the accounting setup and the newly added contribution funds don't show up. This leads me to believe that the accounting module is not being updated. I have tried to reindex all of the files (under Utilities), but to no avail. Can anyone provide some light in this situation please?

Richard Morisset
954-817-4027

[NeilZ]

Hi all,

I am setting up the accounting portion of PC 11.5 for the first time. We did a data conversion from a different software, and we had a lot of contribution funds that we needed to streamline coming into PC. In the setup, a lot of the deleted contributions funds still showed up in the accounting setup and the newly added contribution funds don't show up. This leads me to believe that the accounting module is not being updated. I have tried to reindex all of the files (under Utilities), but to no avail. Can anyone provide some light in this situation please?

Richard Morisset
954-817-4027

First off .. who did the data conversion and what was converted?

Second .. please don't confuse 'contribution funds' with Funds Accounting. What is see in Funds Accounting are INCOME accounts. Contribution Funds are used only in Contributions. The system will create deposit transactions for your bank and INCOME accounts based on what the Contribution Fund setup has for the debit & credit accounts.

Also understand, while the Contributions Module will create transactions to send to the Funds Accounting Unposted Transaction Queue, there is no other interface between the two, as it is NOT part of the Accounting area of the program. It has a separate set of tables that it uses.

Trying to give advice is very hard when we are using terms that mean very different things.

So:

1. When you say the Accounting Fund setup, exactly what are you talking about. Did you start using Funds Accounting by using the Setup Wizard, or did you try doing it manually?

2. When you talk about newly added Contribution Funds are we still talking about Funds Accounting, or are you talking about actual Contribution Funds setup in the Contributions Module?

If you could be very specific, we'll try to assist.

[rmorisset]

Hi NeilZ,

Thanks for your reply. The data conversion was done from Servant Keeper to PC by PC personnel. Since Servant keeper is not an accounting software, it only has contribution funds (tithes, offerings etc...), so to track our expenses in SK, we had created "expense funds".

For example, if we wanted to track the expenses related to utilities, we would simply create a new contribution fund called "Light expense" and enter the values in negative. I understand that this was a rudimentary method of doing things, but nonetheless that is what we had done in the past. After the conversion, since these "expense" funds would no longer apply in the contribution module, I deleted them and edited the contribution funds to better fit our needs (such as streamlining the quantity of funds by taking advantage of designation etc...).

Now, ready to set up accounting, I used the accounting wizard and noticed that the "expense funds" still show up and the newly created contribution funds (my edits) did NOT show up. So, I proceeded anyway to continue the setup. So I did NOT select the "expense funds" to be setup in the accounting (using "DO NOT SETUP IN ACCOUNTING"). Since my edited values (newly added contribution funds) did not show up, I could not select them anyways.

Hope that this clarifies my situation.

Thanks for your help.

[NeilZ]

Hi NeilZ,

Thanks for your reply. The data conversion was done from Servant Keeper to PC by PC personnel. Since Servant keeper is not an accounting software, it only has contribution funds (tithes, offerings etc...), so to track our expenses in SK, we had created "expense funds".

For example, if we wanted to track the expenses related to utilities, we would simply create a new contribution fund called "Light expense" and enter the values in negative. I understand that this was a rudimentary method of doing things, but nonetheless that is what we had done in the past. After the conversion, since these "expense" funds would no longer apply in the contribution module, I deleted them and edited the contribution funds to better fit our needs (such as streamlining the quantity of funds by taking advantage of designation etc...).

Now, ready to set up accounting, I used the accounting wizard and noticed that the "expense funds" still show up and the newly created contribution funds (my edits) did NOT show up. So, I proceeded anyway to continue the setup. So I did NOT select the "expense funds" to be setup in the accounting (using "DO NOT SETUP IN ACCOUNTING"). Since my edited values (newly added contribution funds) did not show up, I could not select them anyways.

Hope that this clarifies my situation.

Thanks for your help.

Ouch ... you should not have gone ahead with the setup until this was straightened out.

OK .. how did you delete the unnecessary Contribution Funds? The reason I ask is that the system would balk at deleting them if there were contributions assigned to them. Since it was a conversion I'm going to assume that was the case.

That said, I was just testing on the Demo, created a new Contribution Fund, then tried to pull it up in Accounting Setup .. and it didn't appear. It appears to be a bug, I'll notify the programmers to take a look at this topic to see what they say.

[Zorak]

The Accounting Setup process gathers information at the beginning and saves it along with your progress when you exit.

If you leave the Accounting Setup assistant at any point and then make changes elsewhere in the program, such as adding new contribution funds or deleting contribution funds, when you go back into the Accounting Setup, it is going to refer to that saved information.

[NeilZ]

The Accounting Setup process gathers information at the beginning and saves it along with your progress when you exit.

If you leave the Accounting Setup assistant at any point and then make changes elsewhere in the program, such as adding new contribution funds or deleting contribution funds, when you go back into the Accounting Setup, it is going to refer to that saved information.

OK .. but according to the original post, the Contribution Funds were created prior to the start of the Accounting Setup, yet they did not appear in the list given by the setup.

[rmorisset]

To ensure that we are on the same page here.....the contribution funds were created before the accounting setup was started. Further, we have no contribution data as I deleted all contribution data to ensure a fresh start. The idea behind the conversion was to specifically avoid having to re-enter each individual contributor's personal info all over again. Any prior year's info would be harvested from SK, while on a going forward basis we would use PC.

Regards,

Richard

[NeilZ]

To ensure that we are on the same page here.....the contribution funds were created before the accounting setup was started. Further, we have no contribution data as I deleted all contribution data to ensure a fresh start. The idea behind the conversion was to specifically avoid having to re-enter each individual contributor's personal info all over again. Any prior year's info would be harvested from SK, while on a going forward basis we would use PC.

Regards,

Richard

OK ... you actually deleted the old data, using the DELETE OLD DATA function of the Contributions Module, and then deleted the funds using the Maintain List of Contribution Funds. Correct?? If so, you should see those new funds in the Accounting Setup.

[Zorak]

That said, I was just testing on the Demo, created a new Contribution Fund, then tried to pull it up in Accounting Setup .. and it didn't appear. It appears to be a bug, I'll notify the programmers to take a look at this topic to see what they say.

I'm not able to recreate this behavior. When I go in the Accounting Setup Assistant for the first time, all Contribution Funds are showing up as they currently do in the Maintain List of Contribution Funds screen. However, as mentioned previously, if I exit the Accounting Setup process and make changes to Contribution Funds, then go back in, it displays the behavior you are reporting.

Are you restarting accounting to get back to the point of being able to get into the Accounting Setup Assistant, or had you already been in there previously and saved progress?

[rmorisset]

To answer your questions, Yes I have deleted the old data using the DELETE OLD DATA function of the Contributions, and then deleted some and renamed other funds using the Maintain List of Contributions Funds.

In the Accounting setup, I am at the point where I can either COMPLETE THE ACCOUNTING SETUP or EXIT ACCOUNTING SETUP. The direction states "when you are confident that your accounting setup is accurate and complete, click the COMPLETE THE ACCOUNTING SETUP. I also have the option to preview the reports (Chart of Accounts, Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, Income and Expense). When I click on Chart of Accounts, I still see the "old" data. Since I am NOT confident/satisfied with this data, I click on Exit Accounting Setup.

By the way, this is my first time setting up the accounting module. Is there a way to restart the accounting process to get back to the point of being able to get into the Accounting Setup Assistant to see if the data would be updated please?

Richard

[rmorisset]

All,

Thanks for your help. I got the answer. I was not sure how to rerun the accounting wizard, hence I took a leap of faith and accepted the setup as is. I then proceeded to the Accounting header and went to FUND ACCOUNTING - SETUP - ACCOUNTING SETUP which is a rerun of the wizard. All contribution funds are up to date. Thanks again for your feedback and input.

Richard

[NeilZ]

All,

Thanks for your help. I got the answer. I was not sure how to rerun the accounting wizard, hence I took a leap of faith and accepted the setup as is. I then proceeded to the Accounting header and went to FUND ACCOUNTING - SETUP - ACCOUNTING SETUP which is a rerun of the wizard. All contribution funds are up to date. Thanks again for your feedback and input.

Richard

OK ... that was an easy fix, I think.

FWIW ... I'd go into Contributions -> Setup -> Maintain List of Contribution Funds to make sure that the Contribution Funds are pointing to the right INCOME accounts in Fund Accounting. Always pays to double-check.

[rmorisset]

Great advice. Will do. Thank you!