PowerChurch Software Newsletter - Summer 2010

Welcome to the first issue of the PowerChurch Software Newsletter

Those of you who have been around for a while probably remember our "Tales from Tech 2" newsletter. Unfortunately, we haven't heard from Tech 2 in a while, but have decided to carry on the tradition without the silly puns and notably fewer chicken jokes. It's not that we think we're better than that; we just aren't funny enough to pull it off. If you miss him badly enough, or have no idea what we're talking about, you can browse the Tales from Tech 2 archive on our web site.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that you find it useful. The plan is to keep 'em coming quarterly, so you should be hearing from us again in about three months. Of course, if you don't want to hear from us again, unsubscribe options can be found here.

Drop That Mouse!

This article has been moved to Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts in PowerChurch Plus

Class Promotion

This article has been moved to Version 11 - Class Promotion

The Importance of Background Screening

Churches of today are growing quickly and implementing more programs, activities, and member involvement. This brings a need for more frequent and longer-term child care, fund raising, transportation, and administrative tasks. Each of these provides another opportunity for impropriety; both personal and financial. According to a recent survey, just over 50% of churches conduct background checks on employees and volunteers.

Some organizations worry about the added cost of performing periodic background checks, but the cost of not doing so can be much greater! Implementing a background screening regimen not only helps to protect against fraud and abuse, it deters applicants that may have alterior motives before they ever get involved. This provides peace of mind for staff, volunteers, and parents alike.

PowerChurch Plus Version 11 features integration with Protect My Ministry, an industry-leading provider of cost-effective background screening. They serve more than 4,500 churches and faith-based organizations in all 50 states. This makes it easy to request background checks of employees in Payroll and adults involved with certain activities in Membership. For more information, including a list of products and prices available in your area, visit www.powerchurch.com/protectmyministry.

Forum Q & A

The Support Forum on our web site is a very active online community of our users and Tech Support staff members. There you can browse through thousands of questions and answers, or post your own. Below are some recent examples:

From Membership:

Q. I have a family where there has been a divorce. She is still a member. He is not and has left the area. I changed his status to former member but he still shows up on the statement. Would I delete his profile? Would this effect the envelope number that is now solely hers?

A. If you don't want him to show up on statements at all, simply remove the envelope number from his Personal Profile. If the wife still has that envelope number assigned, then she will keep sole credit for the contributions.

From Contributions:

Q. We had a nursery to donate some flowers and shrubs. They requested a receipt showing the amount of their contribution for tax purposes. Do we need to show a contribution that reflects the amount the donation was worth? Do we need to write them a check for the items and then let them just give the check back to the church?

A. There is no need to do this, as this is a 'donation in kind' and really does not reflect any sort of monetary contribution to the church. What we usually do in this case is have the Financial Secretary or Treasurer write up a letter on church letterhead thanking the company for the donation, listing the items given. This is along the lines of what you get when you drop something off at the Salvation Army.

From Accounting:

Q. We have several monthly auto withdrawals and online payments. How do I record these without having to actually write a check?

A. The way I accomplish this it to do a manual check and use an abbreviation for the reference number.