Entering Visitor Information

[Kristi]

I need suggestions to help make this a little less time consuming.

I sort checks on Friday so I don't have to waste time with the money counters on Monday. Today I'm working on VBS T-Shirt sales, so I have several Visitors I have to enter into the computer.

In January I printed out my Envelope Number List with my visitor numbers. As I get a new name to add I hand write the number here to keep a running list of where I stopped, then I have to flip to my "Working" Envelope Numbers List and write the new entry by hand to includethe new number and name. This is the list I use on Monday when entering Contributions. After that I enter the visitor's information in the Membership Module. (I know they are visitors because of the number I assign and I tag them as visitors.)

Since this VBS collection includes checks and money I have a "Group Collections" form I fill out to keep on file. It lists the checks and money collected for the specific event...VBS T-Shirt Sales. Actually the person in charge of the event should fill this out & turn it in with the money, but they don't.

Other than running a new, lenghty Envelope Numbers List...which I have personal notes I would have to re-write...every week, how can I keep up with ending numbers (PowerChurch automatically keeps up with the regular envelope number) and the Envelope Number List? What does everyone else do?

Help...my hand is tired~God bless you~Kristi

[NeilZ]

Other than running a new, lenghty Envelope Numbers List...which I have personal notes I would have to re-write...every week, how can I keep up with ending numbers (PowerChurch automatically keeps up with the regular envelope number) and the Envelope Number List? What does everyone else do?

Help...my hand is tired~God bless you~Kristi

Kristi,

here's what we do at APC:

I let Powerchurch handle the assignment of envelope numbers over 1000, these numbers we have set aside for visitors and others who are not members, and do not recieve a box of offering envelopes. This assignment is done by our counters when they enter these types of checks.

The member envelopes are assigned by the financial secretary from the stock of envelopes she has for issue. All she does here is take the number from the box, and use it in Powerchurch.

We also have a block in the 2000 number range that we use to assign to current members who have stopped attending for some reason or another. By the PCUSA Book of Order, we must track whether or not these members have attended and/or supported the church through contributions. So we maintain these 2000 block numbers until the Session determines they should be removed from the rolls, or we receive a letter/certificate of transfer.

Each year we purge our numbers in the 1000 block of people who were one time givers, etc. I then reset the Powerchurch counter at 1000 to allow reissue of numbers. Powerchurch will automatically leapfrog any number in use to issue only the unissued numbers.

Hope this helps.

[RevWJones]

Hi, Neil. This topic is interesting. How do you purge the visitors records easily?

[NeilZ]

Hi, Neil. This topic is interesting. How do you purge the visitors records easily?

A rather old topic ... I'd rather a new topic be started to cover this under membership since this was referring to contributions, but:

1. First off, you really need to track your visitors by taking attendance using whatever method works for you.
2. You also need to make sure that you give any visitor who contributes an envelope number in a range outside of your normal congregation. We use the 1000 to 1999 range.
3. There's a report that will give you a list of people who have not given, nor have they attended during a period, the period is one that you can adjust. Run the report, if you have people listed who are visitors, who have not attended in a the period you want, then use that report to simply delete them from the database by deleting the mailing list record.
4. For those that have given a substantial contribution (usually over $50 or 100), yet only attended once, you really need to send them a contribution statement, and you need to hold the record of that contribution for three years (per IRS rules). So, I move them to an archive area of envelopes after the end of the year and a statement sent. Usually a range of 3000 to 3999. This area is then purged yearly by verifying which contributions are over 3 years old, and using that list to remove them from the system. Until that three year period is up, I uncheck all the boxes on the Mailing List record so they won't show up in normal Membership reports.

This sounds complicated, but once the procedure is setup, its very easy.