Question

Photo of Joe Carroll

0

Scanning offering envelopes

3

We currently distribute offering envelopes that have a number tied to individuals in our old ChMS. As we migrate to Rock, I'd like to understand both the functionality of the check scanner and whether envelope numbers will be included in future releases of Rock. I understand that scanned checks will automatically be linked to individuals after the initial manual mapping. If a family gives cash in an envelope, is there anything that we can affix to the envelope that will allow us to link it to the giving unit (barcode, number, etc.) using the CR-50 scanner?  If not, is this sort of functionality on the back burner, or do you have any suggestions on streamlining the entry of cash donations?

Thanks

  • Photo of Frank Grand

    0

    Joe,

    Thanks so much for detailing your thoughts and process.  If you haven't already, could you submit this feature as an idea for the core team at rockrms.com/ideas

  • Photo of Rock RMS

    1

    Just to clarify, you'd like the ability to have a family number on the envelope and have the scanner be able to read that number. When the number is matched to an individual once it would then auto assign it in the future (like account numbers on checks).

    We currently don't have a feature like this on the roadmap. That's not to say it couldn't be in the future once we get some of the other large features done (like event registration). Would be interested in knowing more about how this works for you today. Do you purchase envelopes from a specific vendor? Does that vendor use a special magnetic ink (like the MICR numbers on checks). Etc.

  • Photo of Joe Carroll

    0

    Thanks for the quick response.  To better explain our current process, every donor that we can identify is assigned a number in our current system (PowerChurch).   For the most part, the same number is assigned to all adults in the household, but there are cases where a single household has multiple numbers.  To make data entry a little easier, we also order giving envelopes with the numbers printed (plain old ink) in the corner to be used by the donors.  While every donor has a number, only a small subset request envelopes (typically those with higher attendance).  The envelopes do speed up the data entry process as we only have to enter the number, the dollar amount and the fund it should be applied to.  Otherwise, we first have to look up the donor by name to determine their number.

    When ordering the envelopes, I request a specific number of boxes, let’s say 80, to account for all of the families that I expect to ask for them.  Since they are numbered sequentially, there is some yearly maintenance to reassign numbers.  For example, if number 5 is no longer attending, I need to fill in that gap with someone else.

    Going forward, most of the matching would be handled by the check scanning feature and we would be able to move away from ordering envelopes with printed numbers.  For those who give cash, I would envision us being able to print off something in-house (a stub of some type) that could be included with the cash and, when scanned, could map to the giving unit (family or individual) in Rock.

    With the stub approach, I wouldn’t worry about reassigning numbers since the stubs could be printed upon request and it would be independent of the giving envelopes. In Rock, this could simply be an additional attribute on the Person.  The number could be shared across family members, but not outside of the family.  On top of that would be the functionality to generate a barcode (or something similar) that would be used to produce the stubs.  Oh, and of course a way to interface with the scanning device :).