Contribution Statements

Posting Contributions

Contributions must be posted on the donors’ records before statements can be generated. Be sure to close the Batches before running all statements.

Administrative Setup

Before you generate statements for the first time, your TouchPoint Administrator will need to customize the header and notice for your statements.

You will want to make sure that you have your donors’ Contribution Statement Types set up correctly. This will ensure that they receive the appropriate type of statement, either Individual or Joint.

Mailing Contribution Statements

Contribution Statements in TouchPoint are designed so that you can use #9 window envelopes. You can choose either the one-window envelopes to display just the mailing address, or the two-window envelopes to display your return address as well. If you prefer to print labels instead of using window envelopes see Export Contributors Only below.

Emailing Contribution Statement Links

For security reasons, we recommend never emailing the actual statement files to your donors. You can, however, notify your donors via email that their statements are available online. You can provide the link to the email recipient’s Statements tab using the following format: https://mychurch.tpsdb.com/Person2/0/Statements where mychuch is replaced with your own database name. To provide a link to a statement for a specified date range, use the format https://mychurch.tpsdb.com/Person2/ContributionStatement/0/2020-01-01/2020-03-31 where, again, mychurch is replaced with your own database name and the start and end dates are those you desire.

Frequency of Statements

Some churches choose to generate quarterly statements, while others generate them only at the end of the year. Because you control the date range, you can generate them whenever you like.

Options for Generating PDF Statements

Individual or Family Statement
  • Go to the person’s record.

  • Click Giving > Statements.

  • Click the year for which you want a statement.

  • Use the Print function from your browser to print the statement.

  • After printing, you can use your browser’s back arrow to return to the person’s record.

Donor-Generated Statement

Anyone who has a user account, including those with MyData and OrgLeadersOnly accounts, can print their own statements as follows:

  • Log on to your TouchPoint database.

  • If you are a MyData user, as soon as you log on you will be on your record. If you are an OrgLeadersOnly or Staff user, select your name from under People in the main menu (it will be the last in the list).

  • Select Giving > Statements.

  • Click the year for which you want a statement.

  • Print using your browser’s print function.

See Exclude Electronic Only section below.

All Statements
  • Go to Administration > Contributions > Statements (Create All).

  • Select the Start Date and End Date.

  • Select the Sort - either Name or Zip.

Note

See further options below. You may choose to run a sub-set as a test by using the Starts With option.

  • Click Run.

  • You will see the date / time you started the process, the Total Contributors (this number will build until it finds all who fit the criteria), the status, which will indicate Running…, the current number of records the system is working on, and the Set #. Set #0 will be the set with everyone included; set #1 will be the one-page statements. You will have sets for each group based on the number of pages in the family’s statements.

Important

Once the process has begun, you can leave the page and continue to work elsewhere in the system. Or you can even close your browser. The statements will continue to run on the server.

When you want to check the progress, return to Administration > Contributions > Statements (Create All). Select the button Previously Run Sets. This will take you to the page indicating the progress. The page will refresh every 5 seconds, which will indicate to you that it is still working.

Once all statements have been generated, you will see a link for All Households (PDF). This will be all statements. If the status still indicates Running…, then it is working on the paged sets of statements. Again, you can leave and return at any point. Just be sure to select Previously run Sets.

Completed Statements

When the statements have totally finished, you will have two or more PDF files.

  • All Households - all the statements in one PDF file

  • Set 1 - one-page statements per family

  • Set 2 - two-page statements per family

  • Set 3 - three-page statements per family

  • You will have more sets if there are families with more than three pages.

This little 2-minute video will show you what to expect.

Further Options

Exclude Electronic Only

Check this box if you do not want to print statements for those who have opted for Electronic Only statements. These My Data users will log on and generate their own statements from the Giving > Statements tab.

Tip

You may want to exclude these donors for the first 3 quarterly statements, but include them for the yearly statement.

In Search Builder, run a search to find those who have opted for Electronic Only, and send them an email letting them know when each quarter’s contributions have been posted, so they will know they can log on and print their statement. The Condition Wants Electronic Statement is on the Contributions tab and should be Equals True.

Sort
  • Leave as (not specified) to sort by Family ID

  • Select name to sort by last name

  • Select zip to sort by zip code

Select Tag
  • If you need statements for just those in a specific tag, select it from the drop-down.

Starts with
  • Leave blank for all statements

  • Enter a letter of the alphabet to print statements only for those whose last name begins with that letter

  • Enter a range such as A-M or Aa-Ab

Caution

Families will be grouped together and the statements will have page numbers (page ? of ?). This is so you can mail all of the family’s statements in the same envelope if you choose. Just be sure to notice the page numbers at the bottom of each page to know when you are at the end of that family’s set of statements.

Export Contributors Only

This will give you an Excel spreadsheet of everyone that will receive a statement. One use for this is to generate mail merge labels (see use cases below) if you do not want to use window envelopes. It will contain the following columns: Name, Address, People ID, Family ID, Spouse ID, Deceased Date, HOHIND (HOH=1, Spouse=2, Other=3), Family Position ID, Age, Joint (True or False), Campus ID.

We recommend that, if you want the export, you run it first (entering the date range you want), and then remove the check mark for the export and run the statements.

Use Cases for Export Contributors Only

Use case 1: Use the export to create mailing labels for the statements if you do not use window envelopes.

Use case 2: Use the export to find those that should have a statement, but for whom a statement did not generate. The reasons someone might not get a statement are: 1) Do Not Mail Flag is set; 2) The person has no address; 3) The person’s Statement Option is set to None.

To find those that did not get a statement (for use case 2) follow these steps after generating the export:

  • Select and copy the entire column labeled PeopleId.

  • Go to Administration > Batch Actions > Tag People Ids. This batch process must be done by the Admin user.

  • Paste the column into the text field, name the Tag, and press Submit.

  • Create a new search using these Conditions:

    • Has My Tag - selecting the Tag you just created - set to False.

    • Contribution Amount History - enter the date range matching that of the statements and Greater Than / Equal To the amount used as the minimum amount for the statements.

  • The results will be anyone that had donations, but for whom a statement did not print. You can then look at the people records and decide if you need to try to contact the donors and update their records.

Contribution Options in the Templates

There are options of items that can be displayed on the statement by modifying the Contribution Statement HTML templates.

Check Numbers and/or Notes

The default for contribution statements is to print check numbers or notes on the statements. However, if your church chooses not to print either or both of these on the statements, they can be removed from the HTML templates. For details, see the sections for Require Check Number On Statement and Require Notes On Statement in the article Migrating to HTML Contribution Statements.

Donors without Addresses

When you generate All Statements, people without an address on their record will, by default, not have a statement generated. However, some churches ask the members to pick up their statements at the church, and they want to print statements even though there is not a street address on the person’s record. To change the default so that these statements will generate, change the setting RequireAddressOnStatement to False. This setting is found on the Finance tab, in the Statements section.

Electronic Statements

Some churches prefer that everyone generate their own statements. Therefore, they want all new people records to have the Electronic Statements option set to True. If you want that option, change the setting ElectronicStatementDefault to True. Then every new people record will have that box checked by default. This setting is found on the Finance tab, in the Statements section.

Envelope Numbers instead of People ID #

By default, statements display the TouchPoint People ID for the contributor on the first page, above the Notice. If you want instead to display the contributor’s envelope number at this location, replace id:{{contributor.PeopleId}} with id:{{envelopeNumber}} on line 58 of the StatementTemplate.

Fund Description instead of Fund Name

By default, statements display {{FundName}} when a fund is referenced. If you want instead to have the fund description, in the HTML template StatementTemplateBody simply replace all occurrences of {{FundName}} with {{FundDescription}}.

Minimum Contribution Amount

The setting named MinContributionAmount allows you to set the minimum contribution amount required for a statement to generate. This setting is found on the Finance tab, in the Statements section.

This is a minimum for a person’s total contributions during the date range you select when generating statements. It is not a minimum for a single contribution.

You can enter the amount you want for the minimum as a whole number (ex. 200).

Tip

At our church, we sent the minimum to $250 for the first 3 quarters (we send statements each quarter), and change it to $5 for the year-end statements.

Note

Contribution statements will still be generated for people with Gift-in-Kind contributions, even if they fall below the amount specific in this setting.

Names for Joint Donors

By default, joint statements will read Mr. and Mrs. John Smith for a married couple giving jointly. However, if you prefer for both names to be listed, change the setting NoTitlesOnStatements to True for the following format for couples receiving joint statements: John Smith and Mary Smith; or Frank Jones and Janet Williams-Jones.

Non-Tax Deductible Contributions

By default, non-tax deductible contributions are displayed on statements (in a separate section). If you want to exclude these from contribution statements remove the sections for Non-Tax Deductible Summary by Fund (lines 56-77), Non-Tax Deductible Contributions (lines 120-150), and Gift-in-kind Contributions (lines 152-176) from the StatementTemplateBody.

Non-Tax Statements

Contribution statements have been designed primarily as tax documents and so, by default, are generated only when the donor has tax deductible gifts in the statement period. If, however, you want to generate statements also for donors who have only non-tax deductible gifts in the period, change the setting Non-tax Statements to True. If you select this option, make sure your statement template includes sections for non-tax deductible items. See the item Non-Tax Deductible Contributions above.

Pledges

If your church tracks Pledges, you have the option to display the pledge or not to display it once the pledge has been met. The default is to not show the Pledge if the person has fulfilled their Pledge and the Fund is still Open. Change the setting ShowPledgeIfMet to True if you want to show the Pledge until you close the Fund.

See also

Pledge Overview

Pledge Only Statements

Contribution statements have been designed primarily as tax documents and so, by default, are generated only when the donor has tax deductible gifts in the statement period. If, however, you want to generate statements also for donors who have no contributions during the statement period but do have open pledges, change the setting Pledge Only Statements to True. If you select this option, be sure your statement template includes a pledge summary section.

Printed Date

By default, statements will print with the current date on the first page, above the Notice. If you want to exclude this date from HTML statements, remove Printed: {{FmtDate now}} from line 58 of the StatementTemplate.

Extra Values Relating to Statements

There are 2 Standard Family Extra Values that can be added to a family, that relate not only to mailing labels, but also to the name and address that display on Contribution Statements. See the help article referenced below for complete instructions.

Mailing Address

Add the Family Extra Value of MailingAddress if you want the statement (and all mailings) to be sent to an address (such as PO Box) that is different from the one on the family’s record.

Couple Name

Add the Family Extra Value of CoupleName if the couple prefers to be addressed differently than the standard naming convention when you combine couples.

Custom Statements for Ministries

If your church has separate ministries and you receive donations for those ministries in your church’s TouchPoint database, you have the option of creating Custom Statements for them. This means that you can have one statement for the standard church’s funds and different statements for any ministries that you have. When you use this option, each statement for a ministry will have the ministry name in the header instead of the church’s name. This is based on the Funds that you use for those ministries. You will identify which funds should report with which ministry in a Text File. See the document listed below for step by step instructions.

Troubleshooting

If you print statements and the statement itself says No Data instead of the normal information included on a giving statement, there are several things you should look for in order to make the necessary corrections.

  1. Does the family have an address? Because our statements are designed to be mailed, statements, by default, will not generate for anyone without a mailing address. Exception: See the setting above for Donors without Addresses.

  2. Is the person’s Contribution Option set to Joint? If so, make sure that they have a Marital Status of Married, that they have a Gender set, and that they have a Position of Primary Adult.

  3. Be sure to check the Marital Status, Gender, and Position of the person’s spouse (see question above), if they are married.



Latest Update

8/29/2023

Added note about gift-in-kind contributions