Prepare for Year End
December and January are busy times in the office. You're mailing or emailing contributors' tax statements, printing statements for the pastor and finance committee, and setting up your program to enter contributions for the new year.
To keep track, you can create checklists of projects to complete before year-end and in January. The more you prepare now, the less you have to worry about at the start of the new year. Follow the steps below to create your checklists.
Review report samples
Look at samples of the financial listings, statements, and tax reports to determine which ones you need to print at year-end.
- Click the thumbnail of the report to view a sample. The sample does not use your data but gives an idea of what the report will look like.
Once you decide which reports you'll need, note down or print the samples and selections to use. This way, you'll be prepared when it comes time to print the reports you need at year end.
Create checklists of projects
The following are sample checklists. You can copy these and modify them to fit your needs.
| Tasks to Complete Before January |
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☐ Determine the number of statements you need. Run the Family Count report to determine how many statements to print. This way, you know the number of supplies you need.
☐ Purchase your supplies. Order all the necessary supplies in advance so you have them when you print and mail year-end statements. Here are some items you may need:
☐ Create letterhead and signature images. If you use bitmap letterhead or signatures in your letters and statements, create these images in advance. You can add them to your letterhead and closing styles in PDS. Remember: the larger the file, the longer it takes to print. Try to make the images as small as possible while still printing correctly. ☐ Verify EZ-Mail settings. If you use PDS EZ-Mail to save on postage, CASS certify addresses before mailing. Ensure the addresses meet the Move Update standards, and update your bulk mailing list at least every 95 days. For more on this, visit our website. ☐ Review tax reports. Figure out which statements you need, and list them in your year-end Procedures Notebook. Most use the End of Year Donor Substantiation. ☐ Make some PDS New Year's resolutions. Here are a few resolutions to be more efficient:
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| Tasks to Complete in January |
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☐ Download the latest program update. This ensures that you have the most updated reports, tools, and utilities. In PDS, click . If a newer version is available, follow the steps to update your program.
Note: OnDemand customers – Your program is updated automatically, so don't worry about this step. If your program hasn't been updated, contact PDS Support at 1-877-737-4457 for information on the update schedule. ☐ Make a year-end backup. Consider making a year-end backup that you will not overwrite. This is helpful if someone moved out of your community over five years ago, then gets an IRS summons. You can reprint the contributor's statement, even if you've deleted their record.
Note: OnDemand customers – Your data is automatically backed up daily, weekly, and monthly. However, you can manually create a backup of your data and save it to your local drive or location via OnDemand. ☐ Keep your New Year's resolutions. Perform your weekly backups, and add notes to your Procedures Notebook. Also, include helpful notes on daily duties you perform in PDS. ☐ Add the new fund year. Before posting January's entries, add the new fund period(s). ☐ Print the year-end statements. In the second week of January, print statements for families. ☐ Print the year-end financial reports.
☐ Review family and member statuses.
☐ Make detailed notes. Help yourself and others eliminate stress next year by taking notes on the steps for this year's year-end processes. If you were particularly stumped in a certain area, write it down. Organize your notes, and keep them in your Procedures Notebook for future reference. ☐ Save your checklists. Make sure to keep your checklist for next year. |