Using the Contributions Screen

To enter or edit contributions, click on a date in the list, or add a new date. Once a date has been selected or created, you can enter contributions in the window displayed here.

The left side allows you to select a contributor by envelope number or by name. (If your church doesn’t use envelope numbers, you can hide them—click “settings…” on the utilities menu). After specifying the name or envelope number, enter the amount of the contribution, and select a category for the contribution. You can customize and edit the list of available categories by double-clicking on the blue text (inside one of the category selection boxes).

Tip: You can assign envelope numbers to individuals using the general tab of the people screen. On the Contributions screen, double-click on a person's name to open the People Screen and view that person's information.

Finally, if the contribution is tax-deductible, make sure the Deductible check box is marked. (When you double-click inside the category selection box to edit the list of categories, you can also specify whether or not each category is deductible by default). Contributions that are marked as deductible will appear on the individual's contribution statement for tax purposes.

Important tax rule: Any "contribution" in which the contributor receives something in return should not be marked as tax deductible. For example, if a person "purchases" a t-shirt, church dinner, or pays for their child to attend youth camp, the deductible box should be unchecked because the IRS does not consider these items to be contributions for tax purposes. If a person donates $1000.00 to be used towards youth camp, and receives nothing in return for this contribution, then that contribution would be considered deductible. If you have any questions regarding the deductibility of contributions, you should ask an accountant or tax specialist.

Hint: The text that you type into the memo field will appear on the IRS contribution report. You can use this feature to specify what a particular donation was for, or to record check number.

If an individual has given a contribution that is intended to be split among two (or more) categories, you must enter it as two (or more) separate contributions. For example, if John writes a $300.00 check and intends that $200.00 be used as a budget offering and $100.00 for the building fund, you'll have to enter this contribution on two separate rows, entering the amount and selecting the appropriate category for each row. There is no limit to the number of contribution entries a single individual can have for a certain date.

The window on the bottom of the contributions screen will display a running subtotal of all the giving entries for the selected date. When you've entered all the contributions for the current date, you can click the "Deposit this Amount" button to automatically create a deposit entry in your default checking account (on the accounting screen). If you do not use the accounting features in ChurchTrac, you can ignore this button.

To create a giving entry for an individual who has not yet been entered into the database, click the "Add a New Contributor" button at the bottom of the screen.

Contribution Reports
You can access the contribution reports by clicking the report button next to the calendar button on the contribution screen, or the reports button on the toolbar. There are several contribution reports available in ChurchTrac to help you keep track of your church's giving.

Tip: Use the Start date and End date fields to specify what dates to include in each report.

You’ll find the “Giving Analysis” report to be very helpful in determining giving trends in your church or ministry.