Close the month

A month is closed when every payout dated in it is posted or skipped. Constat tells you where each month stands, and gives you a reconciliation report to print for your finance committee or auditor. These steps are for churches on Planning Center Giving and QuickBooks Online. For another giving platform or ledger, write to [email protected].

The month-end email

On the 1st of each month, after the nightly sync, Constat emails a Month-end summary for the month before, when that month had payouts. It says whether the month is closed or how many payouts are still open, with the month’s gross giving, fees, net to the bank and the number posted. It links to the month on the Review page and to the month’s reconciliation report.

When the month still has payouts marked Needs Payout Report, the email asks for this period’s payout report and says where to export it in Planning Center. Upload it on the Review page and those payouts tie out to the penny. Turn it on or off for yourself in Settings, Notifications.

The reconciliation report

Open it from the email, or from Insights, where Close status by month shows each month as Closed, open or No payouts; click Report on a month to open its report. The report lists every Planning Center payout and batch deposit dated in the month, checked against the bank deposit and QuickBooks. At the top are the totals: Payouts and deposits, Posted, Outstanding, Gross, Fees, Refunds, Other income and Net to the bank.

Each row shows the deposit date, its status and tie-out, the DocNumber of what is in QuickBooks (linked, so you can open it there) and a short note. Rows that still need something are marked Outstanding, in words as well as color, and stay marked when printed:

• payouts held, ready, failed or deleted in QuickBooks;
• posted payouts not checked against a payout report yet;
• posted payouts that differ from their payout report.

Skipped payouts are listed but left out of the totals. Any member of the church can open and print the report with the Print button. Reviewers and above also see Download for your ledger, a journal CSV of the month’s posted payouts with accounts, debits and credits and no donor names.

Closing a month

• Upload the month’s payout report so every online payout is checked.
• Approve and post what is ready. See Approve and post a payout.
• Skip anything that should never post. A skipped payout stays listed and is never posted.

If a posted deposit differs from the payout report, compare the two in QuickBooks and correct it there if QuickBooks is wrong. Constat never changes a deposit that has already posted.

Once your books are closed, set the closing date in QuickBooks. With Hold payouts dated on or before the closing date turned on in Settings, Posting, nothing posts into a closed period.