Nonprofit News by Soft Trac

If you hold down the shift key while right clicking on a folder, you can choose “copy as path” to get the path name of the file’s location to paste wherever you’d like. This is very useful when trying to get the “real” location of data files, etc.

Ever wonder why things are “missing” in an export file created from a Sage Fundraising 50 report? Take, for example, a donor profile report that references a series of donations in the onscreen view. When you export that information to a format like Excel, suddenly the donation information is “missing”.
It’s actually not MISSING, it’s just left out of the export file by design. Of course, knowing what would and wouldn’t be in the report in advance might have helped, right? You can find out in advance what will be in the export file by going to help>product guides>reports guide>[appropriate report category]>[appropriate report name] and checking the section where it says “Export File” in Sage Fundraising 50.
If you find that the export information isn’t going to include everything you need, then try a custom constituent or financial export file. Remember, the constituent file will show one record for every constituent meeting the criteria, while the financial report will show a record each time the criteria are met, which can mean multiple listings for each constituent.
Happy reporting.

Q: How do I figure out which donors have given for x number of years in a row?
A: The easiest way to find out if someone has given for a given number of years in a row is to go to the Donor Card in Sage Fundraising 50. Then, query on the “yearly total” amount, using the qualifier “is greater than 0″ for the first year you want to check on. Then, go to the next year you want to query on in the list, again using the qualifier “is greater than 0″. Repeat until all years you wish to inquire about have been included in the query.

We’ll be presenting a session on how to buy software (not just our software, but any software) at the Organizers’ Collaborative Grassroots’ Use of Technology conference on June 28 in Lowell, MA. Please make plans to join us. Find more information here: . Hope to see you there.

I came across a situation the other day where an organization had issued a payroll check to an employee who proceeded not to cash it and the organization had lost contact with the individual. The point of this story isn’t why they didn’t cash it (which in itself is a whole other discussion) but rather what do you do when you’ve issued a check to someone and it doesn’t get cashed, you lose touch with the person and can’t locate them regardless of the many attempts.

As tempting as it is to just void the check and forget about it, there are proper procedures that should be followed. Each state will have different rules and you should check with your specific state for details, but in the State of Maine there is the “Maine’s Unclaimed Property Act”.

In Maine, if you have property belonging to another person and you’ve held it for the required dormancy period (which ranges from 1 to 15 years depending on the property) it should be reported as unclaimed property to the state.

For specific details on the required dormancy period or how to report unclaimed property to the State of Maine visit http://maine.gov/treasurer/unclaimed_property/report_property/index.html

As for what to do in Sage MIP Fund Accounting will depend on whether it is an AP check or a Payroll Check.

If it is an AP check, you would want to void the check, referencing it as a lost check. This will clear it out of your bank reconciliation. This entry will debit cash and credit AP. Now you need to reverse the invoice. Then enter a new invoice to the Treasurer, State of Maine or your state authority referencing the unclaimed property and the appropriate information about the original check. When you cut the check to the Treasurer it will clear out AP leaving you with the net of a debit to the expense and a credit to cash.

If it is a Payroll check it is a little more complicated since you don’t want to void the check because it will impact your tax reports which were reported correctly. So you’ll need to create a journal entry debiting cash and crediting a liability such as Due to State. Then when you are ready to send the money in to the state, you’ll enter an invoice debiting the Liability “Due to State” and crediting AP. When you cut the check the AP will be debited and cash credited. You still need to clear the PR check in Bank Reconciliation, so you would clear the PR check along with the JV entry in the same month so they would net zero.