Trellis

Year-end statements

The January checklist for getting every household a correct contribution statement for last year.

When to use this

In January, when the church sends givers their contribution statements for the year that ended. Most people want them by the end of January for their taxes.

Before you start

  • You need to be an admin or have the Finance role. One step (the EIN) needs an admin, and the People steps (8 to 10) need the Staff role.
  • Giving must be on, with last year's gifts in Trellis. If the church moved to Trellis partway through the year, the gifts from before need importing first (step 3).
  • Set aside an hour or two, more for a large church. Most of it is checking names.

Steps

Get every gift in

  1. Count any last offerings from December. Open Giving, then Offerings, and finish any batch still marked Open. Press Close batch on each.
  2. Record any December checks that arrived late with Record a gift. Set the Date to the day the church received it, in December.
  3. If you used another system for part of the year, bring those gifts in: Giving, Gifts, Import. Check the totals by year against the old system before you post. See Gifts and funds.

Check the totals

  1. Open Giving, then Gifts, and pick last year. Compare the total with your bank deposits or your treasurer's books.
  2. Open Giving, then Statements. In January it opens on last year. Note the unassigned amount in the line under the title: gifts with no name, which go on nobody's statement.

Put names on gifts

  1. On Gifts, scroll for gifts showing "Anonymous", or a name that isn't a link (a name typed on a gift but not tied to anyone in People). If you know who gave one, press Edit, pick the person under Given by, and press Save.
  2. Leave loose plate cash as it is. It's meant to be unassigned.

Tidy households and addresses

  1. On the Statements list, look for two rows that should be one, such as a married couple listed separately. Put them in the same household in People, and they share a statement. See Person records.
  2. Look for the same person listed twice, for example once from an online gift and once from a check. Merge them in People so their gifts come together.
  3. Open a few statements and check the address under the name. Add any missing ones in People.

Check the church's details

  1. An admin opens Giving, then Settings. Under Statements, check the EIN and any Extra wording on year-end statements. Press Save.
  2. Open one statement and read it top to bottom: the church's name, the EIN, the giver's name and address, the gifts, and the total.

Send them

  1. Open each statement and use your browser's Print: print it to mail, or save it as a PDF to attach to an email. Rows marked "no email on file" will need to go by post.
  2. Tell the church that anyone who signs in to Trellis can open their own statement under Your giving. It's the Statement link beside each year.

Sending every statement by email in one go isn't in Trellis yet.

If something goes wrong

  • A giver says a gift is missing. Search Gifts for their name, the check number, or the note. If it's there under someone else or "Anonymous", press Edit and fix Given by. If it isn't there, record it with Record a gift, dated when the church received it.
  • An amount is wrong on a cash or check gift. Press Correct on the gift, give the right amount and a reason. Online gifts can't be corrected in Trellis; refunds are made in the Stripe dashboard and show up on their own.
  • Two people who share a household got separate statements. Put them in one household in People, then open the statement again.
  • The EIN is missing. The Statements page says so at the top. An admin adds it under Giving, Settings.
  • A gift was refunded online. A gift refunded in full comes off the statement and its total. A partial refund shows on the Gifts tab as its own line marked "Refunded in Stripe" and lowers the total by that much.
  • A statement shows last year when you wanted this year, or the other way round. Use the year buttons at the top of Statements.

Who to ask

  • An admin can change Giving settings, the EIN, and the church's Stripe account.
  • Anyone with the Finance role can fix gifts and print statements.
  • For anything that looks like a mistake in Trellis itself, see Something isn't working.

Still stuck? Ask Silas

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