PowerChurch Software Newsletter - Year End 2017 - Part 1

It has been a busy few months here at PowerChurch and we've got a lot to share! This issue of the PowerChurch Software Newsletter officially announces the release of Version 12 of PowerChurch Plus, a new online training video series, and many updates to existing video series covering all the new and improved features in Version 12. We demo the new Quick Check feature in Accounts Payable, and Jan Jasmin from Vanco Payment Solutions helps you choose the right giving options for your church.

PowerChurch Plus Version 12 Release

PowerChurch Plus Version 12 is one of the most extensive updates we have ever released. It is jam packed with new and exciting features that users and prospects have been asking for. A full list of update features is linked below, but here are a few highlights:

• Accounts Receivable completely redesigned
• Reopen a Closed Month in Fund Accounting
• Record Attendance Counts
• Import data from CSV in various areas of the software

And here are a couple of things you won't want to miss out on for this year-end!

• Print W2/W3 on plain paper
• Print 1096 form
• Canadian Tax Receipts include scanned signature image and secured PDF file attachment

PowerChurch Online has already been upgraded. PowerChurch Plus users can upgrade to Version 12 via download link for $159 ($179 for physical install CD and printed manual in the mail).

View the full list of new and updated features in Version 12.

If you are on a prior version to 11.55 of PowerChurch Plus, then upgrading now would give you multiple releases worth of new features. View the PowerChurch Plus release history.

Printing a Quick Check in Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable checks have always been a three step process: Add a vendor, add an invoice, then print a check. With the new Quick Check feature in Version 12, you can enter the details and go straight to printing a check! Below is a video detailing this and some other new features in Accounts Payable.

Online Training Video Updates

With the redesign of this module in Version 12, we have rolled out a new Accounts Receivable training video series. These videos explain the process of setting up customers, predefined items, payment methods, creating one-off or repeating invoices, accepting payments, creating credit memos, and customer reporting like printing invoices, account statements, and payment statements.

Existing training video series have also been updated with additional topics covering the feature changes in Version 12. These updates alone added almost another hour of online training videos. There are now 12 different training video series available, spanning over 20 hours!

Visit https://www.powerchurch.com/training/videos for more information and to watch the free preview video in each series. Purchase multiple series for additional savings!

Choosing The Right Giving Options For Your Church

by Jan Jasmin - Charitable Giving Evangelist for Faith-based Sales for Vanco Payment Solutions

It’s understandable that leaders whose churches have relied only on traditional giving might be overwhelmed when they begin exploring electronic giving. So many companies offer so many solutions that deciding which ones are right for your church can be difficult.

I always suggest starting your search not at your computer, but on your church campus. Look at all of the places where you collect offerings and payments, then decide what giving options will best serve those purposes. For example, is there a need to collect gifts or payments in these locations:

• Your sanctuary. While fewer members carry checks and cash these days, almost all of them have a phone that can send a text, or a card they can swipe at a kiosk in the lobby. In our Churchgoer Giving Study, 60 percent said they would prefer to give online.

• Your school. Paying for tuition, lunches and afterschool programs doesn’t slow down busy moms and dads on the run when they can set up recurring online payments or pay through a mobile app.

• Your meeting rooms and fellowship hall. It’s easy to leave cash or a checkbook behind when you’re gathering up the family for a weeknight supper or event. A kiosk gives them a quick way to pay and a chance to relax and enjoy the evening.

• Your gymnasium and athletic fields. Sports programs are great for connecting your church with the community. Make it easy to pay for registration, uniforms and photos with a card reader.

Most members will probably respond favorably when given these easy, accessible options. In fact, they’ve told us in our survey that they prefer a mix of options that allows them to give anytime, no matter where they are. They’ve become familiar with online shopping, so electronic giving offers allows them to give to the church the same ways they pay for other things.

You’ll likely find that most of them will use more than one payment or giving method. They may still write a check to pay for an afterschool program, but they may also sign up for an event online, make their weekly pledge at a kiosk or through a mobile app, or respond to a special appeal with a text message.

You may need to convince a number of key people in your leadership who’ve always written checks for the offering plate or paid with cash at events, so it’s important to let them know that electronic giving isn’t meant to replace traditional options. Giving electronically is designed to make it easier for more people to respond more generously to appeals or pay when they’ve left the checkbook at home, and offers you a way to benefit from their growing familiarity with online shopping.

When it comes to funding your mission, it’s important to give your members every opportunity to help. One of our giving experts would be happy to discuss your options with you. Or, download our infographic, Everyday Opportunities for e-Giving, to learn more about offering your members the giving options that work best for them and for your church.

Editor's notes: This article originally appeared in the Vanco Payment Solutions blog at http://blog.vancopayments.com/choosing-the-right-giving-options-for-your-church

PowerChurch Plus and PowerChurch Online feature a very simple and convenient integration with Vanco Payment Solutions. Using Vanco and PowerChurch together will save your bookkeeper a lot of work, as the accounting transactions that are created, actually match what happens in the real world. Other payment processors advertise that they are compatible with PowerChurch, but if reconciling PowerChurch with the bank statement is important to you, Vanco Payment Solutions is definitely the way to go!

https://vancopayments.com/egiving/powerchurch

Forum Q&A

The Support Forum on our website 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.

From General:
Q. When looking at reports, is there a way to incorporate the page up and page down keys instead of having to mouse-click the directional icons at the top of the page? If not, can you consider that in an upcoming update?
A. Version 12 of PowerChurch Plus has now released. It has an updated version of Crystal Reports. I just verified the arrow up and down keys work to scroll within a page, then the page up/down keys work to flip pages. It also remembers your last zoom level and uses that by default.

From Accounting:
Q. Where do you get your W2 forms for PowerChurch?
A. Our forms provider (for checks and W2s and other things) is Dynamic Systems. Their contact information is below. Also, Version 12 of PowerChurch Plus lets you print W2/W3 on plain paper, with forms built-in.
Dynamic Systems - (800) 782-2946 - https://www.dswebtoprint.com/categories/powerchurch

From Contributions:
Q. When we receive a contribution from a church or business how should that be recorded?
A. The advice I always give is that you will need to send them a end-of-year Statement, so I enter them as I would any visitor, with a Family and Personal Profile. Give them an envelope number outside the normal member number series, then enter the contribution.