C O N F I D E N T I A L

Transcription

1 Introduction 12Stone Church receives monies from the congregation for the weekly offerings. The following policy and procedures are specific for the counting of weekly offering. The actual counting of the offering will be completed by non staff members, but will be supervised by a Church staff member. Purpose The purpose of 12Stone Church s Count Team Policy and Procedure is to ensure proper counting, recording, and depositing of the Church s income from the weekly offerings. Responsibilities 1. A designated church staff member is to be present in the building at any time the count process is in place. 2. The Count team is responsible for following all procedures in place for counting the weekly offering. Procedure for Counting Weekly Offering 1. The offering is collected during each service at each campus. Each campus has different procedures for collecting and securing the offering Central Two or more ushers bring the offering baskets into the Work Room, accompanied by an undercover police officer. All checks, cash, and envelopes are placed in as many plastic bags as needed to hold the offering. The ushers will label each bag with the following: name of campus, service time, & the bag number based on the total (Ex: bag 1 of 9, 11am). The usher will then sign their initial on each bag. Once bagged, the ushers (still accompanied by the officer) drop the offering into one of the two accounting storage room safes Hamilton Mill Three to four ushers collect baskets from WC, travel through lobby to workroom. Ushers empty the baskets and separate loose cash, checks, and envelopes then place in 1 or 2 bank bags. The ushers will label each bag with the following: name of campus, service time, & the bag number based on the total (Ex: bag 1 of 9, 11am). The usher will then sign their initial on Revision Date: May 5, 2010 Page 1 of 6

2 each bag. Then the ushers place the bags in the roll top safe On Monday morning, two people meet at the HM campus to retrieve the offering (safe requires two distinct key to open). The plastic bags are placed into 1 large bag. The bag is dated, signed and sealed. The bag is transported to Central campus for processing by the Count Team Flowery Branch The ushers collect the offering baskets and bring them into the workroom. The ushers label each bag with the following: name of campus, service time, & the bag number based on the total (Ex: bag 1 of 9, 11am). The usher will then sign their initial on each bag. They seal the bags and place them into the roll top safe. Two staff members retrieve the offering (safe requires two distinct key to open) after all Sunday services are over. They remove the offering from the safe, place it in one large bag, seal it, and each initials the bag. One staff member takes the bag to Central Campus and deposits the bag in the workroom safe on Sunday afternoon Offering gathered by Count Team On Monday mornings, a minimum of two Count Team members gather the previous Sunday s offering from the workroom safe. Offering is put in a bag and transported to the war room for processing Sugarloaf Campus Two or more ushers collect the offering from the worship center. They are escorted by a police officer with the money to the designated secured area. The ushers label each bag with the following: name of campus, service time, & the bag number based on the total (Ex: bag 1 of 9, 11am). The usher will then sign their initial on each bag. Money and envelopes are placed into a locked safe that will be transported back to Central Campus on a trailer Offering is gathered by two count team members on Monday from the safe (safe requires two distinct key to open) in the resource room. Offering is put in a bag and transported to the war room for processing. 2. Check Processing Revision Date: May 5, 2010 Page 2 of 6

3 2.1. The Count Team members begin by processing the offering and deposits from the workroom safe. This includes miscellaneous deposits and checks received in the mail. Two count team members focus on adding checks and 3-4 count team members count the cash. Checks are removed from the envelopes and are sorted by donor designation (i.e., tithe, Unchained, benevolence etc.) A tape is run for each category. For the remaining checks, which are split between two purposes (ex: tithes and Unchained), a separate tape total is run for these splits. Each purpose is totaled separately, followed by a grand total for that batch of checks. The split amount and purpose is written on the notes line of the check (ex: 50 tithe; 10 unchained) A second team member runs a second tape per batch, and the two tape totals are compared. If there is a discrepancy between the tape totals, the individual check amounts on the tape are compared against the amounts on the checks. A new tape total is run once the error has been found. Once the tape totals are run, the backs of the checks are stamped for deposit. 3. Cash processing 3.1. Cash is processed by service and by campus. If the cash is not in an envelope, it is sorted and placed into its correct denomination pile. Each stack is placed in the bill counter, and a tape total is run for each pile If the cash is in an envelope, it is counted and placed back into the envelope. If there is a name on the envelope but no amount, the amount is written on the envelope to run the tape total. If it is indicated on the envelope that the amount should be split between 2 purposes, different colored highlighters are used to highlight the split amounts written on the envelope. This is done to run separate totals for the cash by purpose. The purposes are also written on the envelopes. A tape of the cash totals by service and by campus from the envelopes is run. The cash is re-counted by a second person. Cash is placed in the bill counter and a tape total is run. The grand total of cash per service, per campus is run. After all services and campuses are completed, one deposit ticket is made for each campus. All cash is placed in a large Brinks bag. 4. Check Scanning Process 4.1. Two to three count team members scan checks into Ministry Revision Date: May 5, 2010 Page 3 of 6

4 Platform using the following steps: Open AR Express Enter in the User Name and Password Set Processing Date to the current date Click Scan Work Set posting date to the date the contribution was given Set business date to the current date Under Application, make a selection. For checks, choose Checks Only. For envelopes, choose Generic Envelope Only In Batch Setup, enter the batch total from the tape Under Location, enter the campus and service time (e.g. FB 9am) Under Designation Type, specify whether cash or checks and the purpose (e.g. HS Missions) Place the checks into the feeder (best not to exceed 25 at a time) Click the Start Feed button. Checks begin to scan When all of the checks have passed through the scanner, click End Batch The software checks for illegible writing or amounts it cannot decipher. A bar to the right shows the progress of the scanning process through each phase and the process is repeated for each batch of checks Batch totals are recorded on the Deposit Control Sheet. The count team member then verifies that the deposits have been correctly entered and signs the sheet The totals for all deposit control sheets are added to arrive at a grand total, which is matched against the total check Revision Date: May 5, 2010 Page 4 of 6

5 deposit in AR Express Two copies of the Deposit Control Sheets are printed for distribution. A.) The Deposit Control Sheet is signed by two count team members who worked on deposit. The Deposit Control Sheet is filed in the Contributions binder. B.) One copy is given to CFO Admin for Demographic report. C.) One copy is given to GL Accountant. 5. Transmit check deposit to SunTrust via Image Cash Letter file (ICL) 6. To create the check deposit to send to Sun Trust (deposits need to be done on each workstation where scanning occurred): 6.1. In AR Express, click on the Deposit Builder The file uploads to FileZilla to send electronically to the bank The Contribution Specialist logs in to access the FileZilla system and transmits the deposit to SunTrust bank. 7. The contribution transactions are then uploaded to Ministry Platform for appropriate Program Designation. 7.1 In AR express click on End processing date. A message will pop up asking if you want the xml file to be created- choose Yes. 7.2 Log into Ministry Platform and open Stewardship Page. 7.3 Click on Batches view. Choose Tools/ XML Import Tool/ Import Batch File From / Browse/ choose current dates folder and click upload. 8. Contributions are assigned to appropriate Program Designations in Ministry Platform by the Contributions Specialist and Count Team members. 9. Contribution Specialist runs batch summary and detail reports in Ministry Platform. Batch totals are entered into pre-established journal entry forms in Shelby Financials. The Contribution Specialist runs a Journal Edit Report, reviews the entry, and forwards it to the General Revision Date: May 5, 2010 Page 5 of 6

6 Ledger Accountant. The General Ledger Accountant reviews the entry and posts it to the General Ledger. The final journal entry is reviewed by the Director of Accounting. Revision Date: May 5, 2010 Page 6 of 6