Introduction
This document serves as the first tutorial in a series focused on the financial aspects of Shalom Quail. Due to the vastness of the subject, the tutorials will be broken down into subtopics for clarity and ease of understanding. In this initial tutorial, we will cover the setup of financial categories and the process of booking payments.
Setting Up Financial Categories
Before engaging in any financial activities, setting up financial categories is essential. These categories function similarly to income accounts in QuickBooks and can be customized to fit specific needs. Below are examples of potential financial categories:
- Bar Mitzvah Fees
- Scholarship Funds
- Music Funds
- Tzedakah Fund
- Various Pledge or Dues Categories
Category Field Details
Each category has associated fields that require configuration:
- Tax Deductibility Flag: Indicates whether the category is tax-deductible, which is relevant for producing tax letters.
- Description: Provides details about the category.
- Contribution Portal Visibility: Determines if the category should appear on the contribution portal or be limited to administrative access.
- Transaction Code on Charge: For dues or pledge-related categories, select “pledge”; otherwise, select “other owed.”
- Type: Choose between membership categories or other categories for reporting convenience.
For users integrating with QuickBooks Online, additional fields apply; however, this topic will be addressed separately due to its complexity.
Importing Categories
To initiate booking pledges and payments, categories must be created. Categories can be imported using a provided spreadsheet to streamline the setup process.
Booking a Payment
To book a payment, follow these steps:
- Navigate to
Financial > Financial Transactions. - Search for the family by inputting any part of the formal name (e.g., “Jacobs”).
- Select the correct family from the search results.
- If there are outstanding payments, they will appear in the “Payments to Pledges and Commitments” section.
- For new contributions, enter the description (e.g., “In memory of George Washington”) and select a third party if necessary.
- Choose the appropriate category from the list or use the search function for numerous categories.
- Enter the contribution amount.
- Specify the effective date or leave it blank to default to the current date.
- If multiple contributions exist, continue entering them as needed.
- Specify the funding source (e.g., check, credit card system, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize).
- For payments other than a check, input the reference number provided by payment systems like PayPal.
- Save the transaction.
Note: Payments with no charges on file will automatically create a corresponding debit, eliminating the need for manual entry.
Conclusion
This tutorial covered the setup of financial categories and the process of recording payments. Setting up categories is a prerequisite for any financial transactions within Shalom Cloud. Future tutorials will delve deeper into financial operations and integrations.
See the full video: https://share.shalomcloud.com/nOuy1b6Q?sa=technical_documentation