Diocese of Lincoln ConnectNow Standard Operating Procedures
Version 1.2 December 6, 2016
CONTACT FOR THE DIOCESE OF LINCOLN Name: Kevin M. Ostdiek, Special Projects Coordinator Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Phone: 402-488-0921 ext. 1010
ConnectNow Standard Operating Procedures ...... 5 Electronic Recordkeeping Responsibilities (SOP #1) ...... 6 Family Directory ...... 6 Staff Directory ...... 7 Offertory and Contribution Pledges and Transactions ...... 7 Sacramental Details ...... 7 Data Entry Standards When Adding a New Family (SOP #2) ...... 9 Entering Family and Member Names ...... 9 Entering Family or Member Roles ...... 10 Table of Roles Within a Family Record ...... 11 Non-Catholic or Non-Participating Family Members ...... 12 Entering Addresses ...... 12 Entering Phone Numbers ...... 13 Entering Email Addresses ...... 13 Entering Birth Dates ...... 14 Entering Member Religion ...... 14 Entering Member Language ...... 15 Entering Member Ethnicity ...... 15 Entering Member Marital Status ...... 15 Assigning Registration Status to Family and Member (SOP #3) ...... 17 Determining the Registration Status ...... 17 Assigning the Family Group ...... 17 Assigning Member Statuses ...... 18 Registration and Status Scenario Chart ...... 20 Families Registered at a Different Parish (SOP #4) ...... 21 Importing a Family into the Parish ...... 21 Importing (Moving) Members into and out of a Family (SOP #5) ...... 22 Importing a New Member into a Family ...... 22 Importing the Only Member of a Family ...... 22 Removing a Member Record from a Family Record ...... 23 Tracking Divorced or Separated Couples (SOP #6) ...... 25 Modifying a Divorced or Separated Family Record ...... 25 Aids for Communicating with Divorced Parents ...... 25 Divorced and Separated Scenario Chart ...... 26 Sacraments (SOP #7) ...... 27 Sacramental Register Information ...... 27 Entering Sacramental Records in ConnectNow ...... 28 Parish Responsibilities When Entering Sacramental Records ...... 28 Entering the Parish Name and the Celebrant on Sacramental Records ...... 28 Entering the Proper Faith on Baptismal Records ...... 29 Adoptions ...... 29 Entering a Record of Reception for Persons Baptized in a Different Faith ...... 29 Entering Marriage Records for Both Spouses ...... 30 Baptismal Certificates and Sacrament History ...... 31
2 Offertory and Contribution Entry (SOP #8) ...... 32 Detailed Contribution Posting ...... 33 Quick Entry Contribution Posting ...... 33 Posting Contributions Made By Cash or Check ...... 34 Posting Contributions to Multiple Funds ...... 35 Posting Contributions of Grain or Livestock ...... 35 Closing Batches and Creating an Audit Trail ...... 36 Posting Tuition Payments ...... 36 Adding and Editing Funds (SOP #9) ...... 37 Configuring Lookup Tables (SOP #10) ...... 38 Lookup Tables That Can Be Changed By Parishes ...... 38 Lookup Tables That Cannot Be Changed By Parishes ...... 38 Maintaining Staff Directory Information (SOP #11) ...... 40 Adding Staff and ConnectNow Access ...... 40 Password Creation ...... 41 Removing Staff Access ...... 41 Suggested Access Rights ...... 41 ConnectNow Access Rights Table ...... 42 Religious Education (Optional Module) (SOP #12) ...... 43 Non-Parish Members ...... 43 Basic Information ...... 43 Tuition (Optional Module) (SOP #13) ...... 44 Ministry Scheduler (Optional Module) (SOP #14) ...... 45 Setting up Ministry Scheduler ...... 45 Adding Ministers and Assigning Roles ...... 45 Scheduling Ministers ...... 46 Using IQ to Create Customized Reports and Queries (SOP #15) ...... 47 Appendix ...... 48 Appendix A – ConnectNow Lookup Lists ...... 48 Career Types: ...... 48 Education: ...... 52 Ethnic Background: ...... 52 Faith: ...... 53 Family Group: ...... 53 Language: ...... 53 Suffix: ...... 54 Title: ...... 54 Religion: ...... 54 Position Type: ...... 55 Appendix B – ConnectNow Report Information ...... 56 Kenedy Statistics Report Inclusion Rules: ...... 56 Parish Statistics Report Inclusion Rules: ...... 60 Appendix C – Common Staff Permissions ...... 66 Examples of Access Rights within ConnectNow ...... 66
3 Appendix D – ConnectNow Procedures ...... 69 Adding a Priest to the List of Celebrants ...... 69 Adding Non-registered Parishioners to a Parish Roster ...... 70 Creating Mailing Labels with Envelope Numbers ...... 71 Filtering Out Non-parishioners from the Family / Member List...... 72 Registering New Parishioners in ConnectNow ...... 73 Updating Family and Member Records ...... 77 Setting up Outgoing Emails in ConnectNow ...... 79 How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in an Open Batch ...... 79 How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in a Closed Batch ...... 81 How to Process a Check Returned for Non-Sufficient Funds ...... 83 How to Process Contributions using the Quick Entry Process ...... 87
4 ConnectNow Standard Operating Procedures ConnectNow is a cloud-based, integrated parish census data system that allows for the sharing of parish records with the diocese. The program allows entered data to be used and formatted in multiple ways for tracking census, sacraments, giving, and other information as well as facilitating reporting of this information, merging of duplicate records, and other functions by more than one parish. It is critical, therefore, that data be entered in a consistent and appropriate manner to ensure quality data and performance throughout the system. The quality of reports and advanced functions depend on the accuracy and consistency of data entry as well as proper setup of information.
This document provides parishes with the Diocese of Lincoln’s standard operating procedures. It will guide the entering of data and monitoring of the quality of entries to ensure accurate information and reporting.
Please follow these standard operating procedures as outlined and contact the Chancery office with any questions or comments.
Kevin M. Ostdiek, Special Projects Coordinator Email: [email protected] Phone: 402-488-0921 ext. 1010 Direct Line: 402-904-8050 Cell: 402-613-1381
5 Electronic Recordkeeping Responsibilities (SOP #1)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines record keeping requirements for electronic records. Each parish must ensure that their records are complete and accurate within the ConnectNow system.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: It is required that the following information be fully maintained within the ConnectNow system for all registered members of the parish. Records for registered families, and their members, must be kept complete and accurate at all times. Unregistered records should be maintained, to the best of the ability of the parish, but the responsibility to keep them complete and accurate rests on the parish in which they are registered.
The information that must be maintained within each ConnectNow Module is listed below. Parishes are encouraged to maintain accurate information in fields that are not listed here, but only these fields are required.
Family Directory All of the other ConnectNow modules pull data from the Family Directory, including: Offering and Pledges and Staff Directory, as well as the optional modules: Ministry Scheduler, Religious Education/Tuition and IQ. You must maintain a complete record of all family members that are living in the household.
The following list of fields must be maintained for all registered families and members. (For more information regarding what information should be entered into these fields and how that information should be handled, see SOPs #2-6).
Family Details Page Other Address (if different from Home and Family Group Mailing) Registration Status Send Mail Registration Date Member Details Page Last Name Gender First Name(s) Title Formal Mailing Name First Name Informal Name Nick Name (if applicable) Formal Salutation Last Name Informal Salutation Suffix (if applicable) Email Address Maiden Name (if applicable) Primary Phone Role Envelope Number Status Primary Address (to indicate which address Birth Date mail is sent to) Date of Death (if applicable) Home Address (all fields) Religion Mailing Address (if different from Home) Language Marital Status
6 Staff Directory All parish staff, including volunteers who use ConnectNow, should be added and maintained in the Staff Directory by the Pastor, Parish Administrator, or (if agreed upon by the Special Projects Coordinator) Chancery Staff. It is very important to maintain the security of this information for the protection of each member’s information.
The following fields must be completed for all ConnectNow users. (For more information regarding what information should be entered into these fields and how that information should be handled, see SOP #11).
Assignments Tab Access Rights Tab Username End Date / Assignment Deleted Email Address Primary Assignment Parish Assignments Grant Login Privileges (for all Parish Assignments) Positions Tab ConnectNow Access Position Details (for all Parish Assignments) All individual module and action choices (for all Parish Assignments)
Offertory and Contribution Pledges and Transactions All parish offertory income must be entered into ConnectNow. This should include regular gifts by cash or check as well as gifts of grain, livestock or stocks and bonds. Pledge campaigns must also be maintained within the ConnectNow platform with all income recorded.
The following list of fields should be completed for each Fund, Batch and Contribution that is made to the parish. (For more information regarding what information should be entered into these fields and how that information should be handled, see SOP #8 and SOP #9)
Fund Management Contribution Posting Fund # Batch Description Fund Tax Deductible Payment Type Require Pledge Posting Date Enable Import Env # or Post To (depending on how entered) Fund Permissions Amount Check Number (if applicable) Batch Management Memo (when necessary) Batch Description Cash Total Fund Date Opened Pledge Total (if applicable)
Sacramental Details Parishes are required to maintain complete and accurate sacramental details for all sacraments performed in the parish in the hard copy Sacramental Register and to keep the Register current based on changes as they occur. Entries should always be made in a timely manner in the Register.
7 Specific information for reporting and certificate purposes must be entered into ConnectNow; however, not all data in the Register is added to ConnectNow. These electronic ConnectNow entries DO NOT replace the physical Sacramental Register. As with Register entries, ConnectNow entries must be made in a timely manner for reporting purposes.
A list of the required fields for each sacramental record is listed below. (For more information regarding exactly how to enter information into these fields and how that information should be handled, see SOP #7).
• Baptism: Completed, Completed On (date), Parish, Celebrant, Faith of Baptism, Sponsors, Registry Vol., Registry Page, Registry # • Reconciliation Prep: Completed, Completed On (date), Prep Year (if known), Parish o This information is used only for religious education tracking purposes – see the Important Information about Certificates section of Sacraments (SOP #7). • First Eucharist: Completed, Completed On (date), Prep Year (if known), Parish, Celebrant, Registry Vol., Registry Page, Registry # • Confirmation: Completed, Completed On (date), Prep Year (if known), Parish, Celebrant, Confirmation Name, Sponsor, Registry Vol., Registry Page, Registry # • Marriage: Completed, Completed On (date), Prep Year (if known), Parish, Celebrant, Marital Status, Spouse, Best Man, Maid of Honor, the Canonical, Former Marriage, Mixed Religion, and Disparity of Cult fields, Registry Vol., Registry Page, Registry # o Creating a marriage sacrament record for one spouse will automatically create the record for the other spouse, as long as they are properly entered into the Spouse field. For more information about this – see the Entering Marriage Records for Both Spouses section of Sacraments (SOP #7). • Anointing of the Sick: • Holy Orders: Completed, Date, Parish, and Celebrant on each tab and all fields on the Diaconate tab except Laicization Date • Funeral: Completed, Completed On (date), Parish, Celebrant, Date of Death, Next of Kin, Cemetery Name, Registry Vol., Registry Page, Registry # • Rite of Reception: Completed, Completed On (date), Prep Year (if known), Parish, Celebrant, Registry Vol., Registry Page, Registry # o The Rite of Reception record should be created in addition to the Baptismal record if the member was baptized in another faith. For more information about this – see the Entering a Record of Reception for Persons Baptized in a Different Faith section of Sacraments (SOP #7). • Religious Profession: Completed, Completed On (date), Parish, Celebrant, and Religious Order
8 Data Entry Standards When Adding a New Family (SOP #2)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when a parish is adding a new family to the family directory that is not registered at another parish or when editing the data of an existing family. Data entry standards are used to ensure the proper formatting of mailing lists, letters, and emails.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: The standards outlined in this procedure will be adhered to by all parishes, to ensure the integrity of the data throughout the entire diocese and reduce the number of duplicate records in our database. Each parish is responsible for maintaining the data for their own parishioners, but must remember that their data is shared by every parish in the Diocese of Lincoln. Every effort should be made to maintain quality and current information for all of your parishioners.
When adding a new family, proper spelling and punctuation should be used at all times. Mistakes with regard to spelling and punctuation will cause duplicate records. During the process of adding a new family, the system performs an automatic lookup to see if that family is already within the database. When doing a name search, less is more. Starting with a simple last name search is recommended.
After entering the family name that is to be added to the database, always check to see if the family is already listed or listed incorrectly in your database. If the family is listed, but misspelled, go into the family details page and correct any errors. Always check your entries for accuracy before leaving the record.
When adding addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses you have an option to publish or not publish them in reports. These fields will not affect your ability to contact your parishioners, but does affect the information that is available within the Parish Directory reports. You can make a decision for your parish and make all entries the same or you can ask individual members for their preference.
Entering Family and Member Names When adding a family that is not present in the database, be sure to follow these guidelines so that all records in the diocese are entered consistently and correctly:
• It is extremely important to add family and member names correctly, in all fields on the Member and Family Details pages, both for consistency and to respect the preferences of the person / couple being entered into ConnectNow o Therefore, the question should be asked of the person or couple when registering them about how they would like to see their names appear on letters and mailings. o Pay particular attention to the “First Name” field on the Family Details page, and the “Auto Fill” fields to ensure that the names appear as the person or couple desires when sending correspondence to them.
9 o Use the “Nick Name” on the member records to indicate the name that a person uses in daily conversation or correspondence, while keeping the legal first name in the “First Name” field. If this is the same name, you can leave “Nick Name” blank and their first name will fill in for all informal uses. • Capitalize the first letter of each first name as well as the first letter of the last name. o Do not use all capital letters for names in any field as this will negatively impact the appearance of the name on mail merge letters and other communications to that person or family from your parish and the diocese. • When entering the first names of couples on the Family Details page, both the husband’s and wife’s names should be listed. In the case of an interfaith couple, the Catholic member’s name should be listed first. • Do not use characters such as hyphens or forward slashes to indicate a couple in any field. Couples should always be listed using the word ‘and’ to separate first names or titles. • Do not use an ampersand (&) in place of the word ‘and’ in any field. • The Titles and Suffixes that are supplied in the dropdown list are listed in Appendix A. o If you encounter a title that does not appear in the Title field, please contact the Diocesan Administrator ([email protected]) so we can create a consistent entry for you and the entire diocese. o It is extremely important to enter clergy, military, non-Catholic, and civic titles correctly so that they will appear in the name fields accurately: ▪ For men: Mr. John Smith, Sr.; Capt. John Smith; Rev. John Smith, III, etc. ▪ For women: Mrs. Jane Smith MD etc. • Do not use spaces in names beginning with Mc, Mac etc. Use: McDonald, MacDonald Not: Mc Donald, Mac Donald. • Do not use space in hyphenated names. Use: Mary Owens-Jones, not Mary Owens – Jones. • Remember to complete all name fields on both the Families and Members tabs, including the “Auto Fill” fields.
Entering Family or Member Roles When entering the Role (or Type) for the members of a family, the following guidelines will help to clearly identify each member’s role in the family:
• Every family record MUST have one of the following roles for the program to work properly: Head, Husband, or Wife. • All married couples need to be added as role Husband for the man and Wife for the woman, regardless of the faith of the spouses. • Head is only used for families with only one Catholic adult member listed such as a single person or single parent. • Two single adults that live together, such as brother and sister, should have separate family records, both with roles of Head. o This relationship should be documented in the “Notes” section of the Family Details page, and/or in the Sacrament Remarks field of the General tab of Member Details. o Keep the families separate so that the pledge, offertory, and role data is accurate.
10 • Daughter and Son are used for children, as well as for Foster Daughter, Foster Son, Stepdaughter, and Stepson, based on circumstance. • Other family member roles are based on the relationship of the family member to the Head, Husband or Wife. For instance, if the husband’s mother moves in with them, her role would be Mother because she is the Mother of the husband, not Grandmother to the children. • Unknown should only be used until you can investigate and identify the proper Role. • This field’s options cannot be changed. If you have questions about the most appropriate choice in a given situation, please contact the Diocesan Administrator at CBL- [email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010. • The following table contains more information regarding when certain roles ought to be used:
Table of Roles Within a Family Record Role Description / Uses A Non-Head member of a co-habitating couple, or an adult member of a family whose Adult role is not otherwise listed, such as a brother, sister or cousin that is residing with the family, and not part of any other family Daughter A daughter living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Father A father living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Foster A foster daughter living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Daughter – the use of this role is optional, “Daughter” could be used as a viable alternative A foster son living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family – the Foster Son use of this role is optional, “Son” could be used as a viable alternative A grandchild (gender unknown) living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any Grandchild other family (this role should only be used until the sex of the child is determined) Granddaughter A granddaughter living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Grandfather A grandfather living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Grandmother A grandmother living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Grandson A grandson living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Head* A Single person family, or a Single Parent. This should not be used for married couples The Husband of a married couple. This should not be used when a legal marriage has Husband* not occurred. Mother A mother living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family Son A son living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family A stepdaughter living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family – Step Daughter the use of this role is optional, “Daughter” could be used as a viable alternative A stepson living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any other family – the Step Son use of this role is optional, “Son” could be used as a viable alternative A stepchild (gender unknown) living with the Head, Husband or Wife, not part of any Stepchild other family (this role should only be used until the sex of the child is determined) – the use of this role is optional, “Son” or “Daughter” could be used as an alternative Only use when the Role is not known, until the family can be contacted and an accurate Unknown role determined The Wife of a married couple. This should not be used when a legal marriage has not Wife* occurred.
11
Non-Catholic or Non-Participating Family Members All members of a family should be entered into the family record, regardless of their religious affiliation. • Enter spouses that are non-Catholic with a Role of “Husband” or “Wife”, regardless of whether they participate in Church activities, as well as spouses that choose not to participate in any religious activities. • All children that are currently living with the family should be entered in the family record with the correct role, so that you create an accurate representation of the family. • Choose each person’s faith in the Religion field. (See Appendix A for a list of all religions listed. If a particular religion is not listed, contact [email protected] to have it added.) • For family members who are of a different faith, choose a Status of “ActOther”. • A Status of “Inactive” can be used at the request of a family, but should generally not be used for members of an “Active” and registered family. • More information can be found in the Assigning Registration Status to Family and Member (SOP #3) section of this document.
Entering Addresses There are three address sections that can be completed for a family: • Home is the default address and should consist of the main physical address of the family, whether or not they receive their mail at that address. • Mailing should be used for post office boxes, places of business, office addresses, or any other address at which the family chooses to receive their mail instead of their Home address. • Other is used for a secondary location such as a temporary address for someone that spends certain times of the year in another residence.
If addresses are entered into Mailing, make sure the Primary Address field is set to reflect this selection. When using an Other Address, you can enter a date range during which the family will be living at that address. This will prompt the system to make the Other Address the Primary Address during that time frame.
Standardized Address format A standardized address contains fully spelled out city, street and other names, while using the Postal Service standard abbreviations (sample and table below) for common words. • For both mailing and street addresses, use upper and lower case – not all capitals. • Post Office equipment reads mail from the bottom of the address to the top. o The most important information (the zip code) should be last thing in the address line. o When using two street address lines, the critical information should be in line two and less critical information (like the name of a nursing facility) should be in line one. • Numbers for apartments, suites, rooms, etc., should be included in the same line as the Street Address, not on a separate line. 12 • For more information on the proper formats for addresses, visit USPS address guidelines. • The table below contains several common abbreviations for street/roadway names. For the complete list visit Street Suffix Abbreviations
Street Suffix Abbreviations For Use For Use Avenue Ave Pike Pike Boulevard Blvd Pine Pine Circle Cir Plaza Plz Court Ct Port Prt Drive Dr Rapids Rpds Heights Hts Road Rd Highway Hwy Route Rte Isle Isle Shores Shrs Junction Jct Square Sq Lane Ln Station Sta Mount Mt Street St Park Park Terrace Ter Parkway Pkwy Trail Trl
Entering Phone Numbers You must make sure that all 10 digits of the phone number are present. You should either enter all 10 digits of the phone number including the hyphens for all phone numbers.
There are multiple phone number fields that can be filled for the family and members: • Primary Phone: Located on the Family Details page. Should contain the main phone number at which the family can be contacted. • Emergency Phone: Located on the Family Details page. Should contain the phone number to be used if a member of the family experiences an emergency while at the parish. • Home Phone: Located on the Member Details / Contact tab. • Cell Phone: Located on the Member Details / Contact tab. • Work Phone: Located on the Member Details / Contact tab. • Fax: Located on the Member Details / Contact tab.
Entering Email Addresses Because of the ease and widespread use of electronic communications, it is very important to include email addresses for both family records and member records when they are known. Using email as your first choice of communication assists in lowering postage costs and keeping additional information updated. Also, people don’t generally change their email address when they move.
It is possible for people to have multiple email addresses; therefore when adding a new family or member be sure to ask: 13 • What email to use for family communications • What email to use for individual member communications • Do you want only electronic communications • Do you want only paper communications • Is it okay to show this information on reports
Using the information that was gathered from the previous questions, you should enter email addresses into the following fields: • Family Record Email o This field is located on the Family Details page, directly below the Auto Fill Name/Salutation fields o This is the email address for the family. o ConnectNow’s email utility will use the address in this field when you email a family or a group of families. • Member Record Email o This field is located on the Member Details page. o This is the email address for an individual family member and allows each member to have a unique email address. o ConnectNow’s email utility will use the address in this field when you email a member or a group of members. o This field shares data with the Email Address field on the Assignment/Position Details screen. A change on one screen will carry over to the other screen.
It is possible to enter more than one email address in these fields. This can be done by placing a semi- colon after the first email address and then immediately starting to type the next email address without entering a space. Up to five email addresses can be entered into a field in this manner.
Entering Birth Dates Birth dates are considered to be critical information. They allow the system to calculate the age of your parishioners, which in turn allows your parish and the diocese to report your census figures and sacraments accurately. Therefore, birthdates are required for all parishioners. Errors in reporting the number of children or adults on your parish statistics reports is likely caused by parishioner records that do not have a birth date entered.
Entering Member Religion The Religion field on the Member Details page is used to determine Mixed Marriages on reporting within the ConnectNow platform and the total number of Catholics within your parish. The religious affiliation for all family members within your parish must be collected and entered so that reporting is accurate.
A list of all of the Religion options available within ConnectNow is listed in Appendix A of this document. If you need to have a religion added to this list, contact the Diocesan Administrator at [email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010.
14 Entering Member Language The Language field on the Member Details page can be used by the Chancery staff to determine what language should be used on materials sent to your parishioners. When Spanish or Vietnamese materials are available for mailings, staff will use this field to determine which version to send to a family.
It is important to enter the correct language for all members of your parish that speak Spanish or Vietnamese as their primary language. Doing so will allow staff members within your parish and at the Diocese to better serve your parishioners.
A list of all of the Language field options available within ConnectNow is listed in Appendix A of this document. If you need to have a language added to this list, contact the Diocesan Administrator at [email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010.
Entering Member Ethnicity The ethnic identity of your parish members can be tracked with the Ethnicity field on the Member Details page. Currently, this field does not drive any reporting; although it may do so in the future.
A list of all of the Ethnicity field options available within ConnectNow is listed in Appendix A of this document. If you need to have an ethnicity added to this list, contact the Diocesan Administrator at [email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010.
Entering Member Marital Status Entering the correct Marital Status for each member of the family is critical for creating a correct representation of the family within ConnectNow. Every effort should be made to enter the Marital Status as correctly as possible and use the Notes page on the Family Details page and the General Remarks field on the Marriage Sacrament record to explain any particular details which cannot be explained given the limited choices in this field.
For purposes of creating the family and member records in ConnectNow, you should enter the Marital Status to match the legal status of the couple, unless there is a compelling reason not to do this. The following is a list of options available for the Marital Status within the Member’s Detail page:
• Annulled (see note below) • Separated • Divorced • Single • Married • Widowed
The following guidelines will help you determine what marital status to use, especially when confronted with unusual situations:
• “Annulled” should not be used due to the private nature of the annulment process; rather, a member that has received a declaration of nullity should be listed as “Single.”
15 • “Married” should be used for couples currently in a marriage, even if the ceremony took place in another church or civilly. • A member that is cohabitating should be listed as “Single” if they have not pursued marriage in any form, regardless of the presence of children within the family. • “Divorced” and “Separated” can be used in the case of a couple that has separated temporarily, or legally, but not received a Declaration of Nullity within the Church. o Details of the marriage and separation should be added in the notes section, particularly if the spouses are moved into separate family records within ConnectNow. • A member whose spouse has died should be listed as “Widowed”, unless they marry again, at which point, their status should be changed to “Married”.
16 Assigning Registration Status to Family and Member (SOP #3)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when a parish is adding a new family. Each record must specify the family’s status as well as the member’s status. There are several scenarios that could occur within a parish that must be identified. A proper family status and member status combination will describe an individual’s unique standing within that parish.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: The scenario chart, at the end of this procedure, lists how families and members are to be represented within ConnectNow in your parish. To ensure that the proper family and member status is used, complete the Registration Status, Family Group and Member Status fields as accurately as possible. Follow the guidelines explained below and use the scenario chart for help in determining the proper status in various situations.
Determining the Registration Status The “Registration Status” field is a checkbox located on the Family Details page. When adding a new family or importing a family from another parish, you will use this checkbox to designate which parish this family is registered in.
Each family can only be registered in one parish at a time within ConnectNow. Registering a family in your parish will unregister them in any other parish in which they have a registered record. If you have a family which requests to be registered in two parishes, you will need to determine which parish they are registered in and how to maintain contact with them in the other.
You should only register a family that lives in your parish’s boundaries or has received permission to attend your parish while living outside its boundaries. Unregistered family records in your parish can be categorized using the Family Group field to identify why they have a record in your parish.
If you have any questions about how to do this, please contact the Diocesan Administrator for assistance ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010).
Assigning the Family Group The Family Group is used to help you classify the family records that exist within your parish, whether they are registered or unregistered. The choices in this field are controlled at the diocese, so if you would like to have another choice added, or if you have any questions about which choice to use, please contact the Diocesan Administrator for assistance ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010).
This is the list of the current choices for the Family Group along with a brief description of when each description would apply to a family:
17 • Active – All active families, by default this would include all registered families, and possibly some unregistered families in special circumstances. • Alumni – An unregistered family who attended the parish school in the past. • Associated Non-Parishioner* – An unregistered, possibly non-Catholic family that has a relationship with the parish. This may also include non-registered Catholic families that participate in more than one aspect of the parish life (such as contributing financially and receiving sacraments.) • Contributor Only – An unregistered family that contributes to the parish financially. • Deceased – A family in which all members have passed away. • Friend* – An unregistered family which has a non-specified, friendly relationship the parish. • Inactive – A family that is not active in parish life, usually unregistered, but possibly a registered family in special circumstances. • Ministry Only – An unregistered family that has a record in the parish because a member participates in a ministry there. • Moved – An unregistered family that was formerly registered in the parish, but has now moved away. • Religious Ed Only – An unregistered family that is attending religious education classes in the parish. • Sacrament Only – An unregistered family that has a member who received a sacrament in the parish. • School Only – An unregistered family that has a member attending the parish school. • Staff – An unregistered family that has a member who works as a staff member in the parish. • Unknown* – An unregistered family record with no known relationship within the parish. • Visitor* – An unregistered family which has visited the parish and possibly participated in more than one aspect of parish life (such as contributing financially and receiving sacraments). • The options in this field cannot be changed.
Family Groups with an asterisk (*) are not to be used. One of the other, more precise definitions should be used instead, whenever possible.
Assigning Member Statuses When entering each family member, a Status should be given to each so that their individual status and participation in parish activities can be accounted for. This field should reflect any changes that occur in the participation level of the family or an individual member of a family.
• Active – Should be used for the status of all members of a “Registered” family unless one of the following statuses is more relevant to that member’s status. It can also be used for members of an “Unregistered” family in cases where that family member is an active participant in your parish, such as the student in your parish school from a “School Only” family. (NOTE: An “Active” member of an “Unregistered” family will not be included in the census figures for the parish.) • Inactive – Should be used for the status of all members of “Unregistered” families that are not deceased. It can also be used for members of “Registered” families who do not participate in the activities of the parish and should not be included in the census figures for the parish, such as a child that is attending college and not living currently living with his or her parents. 18 (NOTE: This status should only be used for a “Registered” family member after consulting with the Pastor to make certain that he would prefer them to be listed this way.) • ActOther – Should be used for the status of all non-Catholic members of a “Registered” family. This field allows for the proper classification of Mixed Marriage couples, and ensures that non-Catholic members are not included in the census figures for Catholic Members of the parish. • Deceased – Is used for members of the family that have passed away. (NOTE: After changing a member’s status to “Deceased” you will be able to enter a “Date of Death”.) • The options in this field cannot be changed.
The chart on the following page can be used to help you determine the correct Registration Status, Family Group and Member Status for many common situations. If you cannot determine how to classify a family / member in your parish, please contact the Diocesan Administrator for assistance ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010).
19 Registration and Status Scenario Chart
Currently Member Scenario Family Group Registered Status 1. Standard, active registered family Active Yes Active 2. Unregistered contributor Contributor Only No Inactive 3. Visitor, active in another church Visitor No Inactive 4. Visitor, not active in church Visitor No Inactive 5. Registered family that has moved away Moved No Inactive 6. Clergy / religious, in Active Ministry Active Yes Active 7. Clergy / religious, visiting parish for Ministry Only No Inactive purposes of administering sacrament(s) 8. Clergy / religious, living in parish but not Active Yes Active in Active Ministry 9. Staff, registered parishioner Active Yes Active 10. Staff, unregistered parishioner Staff No Active 11. Staff, unregistered, Non-Catholic Staff No ActOther 12. Non-Catholic, member of registered Active Yes ActOther Family No (unless Student: Active 13. School Family, not registered School Only registration is Rest of family: required to attend) Inactive Active (Unless 14. Registered Family, Not Active in Parish Active Yes determined by Pastor) 15. Non-registered Family, receiving Sacrament Only No Inactive sacraments Religious Ed No (unless Student: Active 16. CCD or RCIA Family, not registered Only registration is Rest of family: required to attend) Inactive Deceased – 17. Deceased (Married) Stays what it was Stays what it was (Must enter Date of Death) Stays what it was. (Marital 18. Spouse of Deceased Stays what it was Stays what it was Status must be changed to “Widowed”) Deceased – 19. Deceased (Single or spouse already Deceased No (Must enter deceased) Date of Death)
20 Families Registered at a Different Parish (SOP #4)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when a parish is adding a new family already registered at another parish within ConnectNow. When a new family is added into a parish’s database, the system asks you to perform an automatic look-up in the diocesan family directory to determine if that family is already registered at another parish.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: When adding a family into the parish database, do a name search to see if that family appears in another parish’s database. It is possible, at this point, to find the family in the list of search results. To avoid duplication of records, it is extremely important to do an accurate name search before entering a family.
Importing a Family into the Parish A parish may “import” a family from another parish into their database, without registering them (see SOP #5) for the purposes of: • Posting contributions (see SOP # 8) • Adding a member(s) to Time and Talent (see SOP #14) • Sending contribution envelopes (see SOP # 8) • Adding a student to a Religious Education class (see SOP #12 & SOP #13)
Only the parish of registration is able to modify family and member detail information. All updates to this information must be sent to the parish of registration for addition or deletion.
Example: A student is entered into your parish’s religious education class for Confirmation preparation but their family is registered at another parish. The parish of the religious education class can “import” the family into their database and code them based on the Registration and Status Scenario Chart in SOP #3. Once the child is confirmed, this parish will enter the sacramental record into ConnectNow and this will be accessible by the parish of registration.
If the family wants to change registrations, simply enter a check mark in the Currently Registered Family box on the Family Information page. By doing so ConnectNow will unregister them at the parish they are currently registered with.
Currently, there is no notification from ConnectNow to the prior parish of registry for families changing parishes. Therefore, it is requested that whenever you register a new family that was previously registered in another parish, that you call or email that parish to let them know of the actions that you are taking. This communication will also allow the prior parish of registry to pass along any information about the family that could be useful to the new parish.
21 Importing (Moving) Members into and out of a Family (SOP #5)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when moving a member from one family to another or removing a family member (such as an adult child) and setting them up as their own family.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: There will be situations where one family member becomes part of another family. The process to move members out of one family record and into another is called Importing. This same process is used when a child from a family is old enough to be setup as their own family, with a couple unique processes.
Importing a New Member into a Family To import a member into a family you need to be on a Member Details screen within the family to which the person will be moved. • Click on Import tab and type the person’s last name in the Search field and click on the Search button. • Locate the person you wish to import, select their name and click “Accept”. • Answer “Yes” to the question, “Are you sure you want to import “Name” into this family?” • The member’s information is moved into the new family and they now have a member tab within that family record. • Enter information in the “Notes” section of the Family Details page of the old family record explaining the move and where the record went. For example: “Lisa married Tom Wendler on 8/26/2014.” • Also enter information in the “Notes” section of the Family Details page of the new family record. For example: “Lisa Smith was moved from the John Smith family record on 8/26/2014 because of her marriage to Tom Wendler.” • Whenever possible, tie the two records together using the Member Details / General tab o You can search for and tie a child to their parents in this manner o Be sure that you enter a short, but fully descriptive comment as to the nature of the change in the “Notes” section of the Family Details page. • Change the name and address fields in both the new family and member record as necessary. • Update the new member tabs to reflect any sacrament changes, especially if the move was precipitated by a wedding or a divorce. • If you are moving husbands or wives due to a change in marital status, don’t forget to move the children attached to the family record, also; as well as anyone else who should be reflected in the new family record.
Importing the Only Member of a Family Importing moves the member record, ConnectNow will not allow the only member of a family to be imported out of that family. Hence, if you are trying to import the only member in the family you will need to choose one of two possible ways to merge this member into the new family:
22 • Option 1 (Preferred): Merge the record into the new family instead of importing the member. This brings in all of the family information from the merged family including sacramental and offering records. o To merge the families, send an email to the Diocesan Administrator (CBL- [email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010) requesting that the families be merged together. o In this email, include both Family Names, both Family DUIDs, and information to indicate which record should be retained and which record should be merged into the other. • Option 2: Use a placeholder member record (i.e. – a record that will be removed once this process is complete) to retain the family record, and thus keep the offering records separate from the family the member is merged into. o In the family of the record that will be imported, click on the “Add” tab and create a new family member that will serve as a placeholder within this family record. o Follow the instructions above for importing a new family member for the single member of this family. o Be sure that proper information is added to the notes field to indicate the exact process which was completed and why the family record has been retained. o The financial giving record stays with the old family record because donations are not recorded by individual member.
Parishes should never delete any historical information from family or member records, including the old member record.
Removing a Member Record from a Family Record When a child reaches adulthood, or in the case of a divorce, it may become necessary to setup a family record for a member that is being removed from an existing family. In the case of an adult child who is getting married, it may be possible to follow the instructions above to import them into their spouse’s family record without using this process. However, if the removed member will comprise a single person family, or you are doing this process in order to create a new family, you will need to use this process. • Create a new family for the member, following the data entry protocols in SOP #2. • In the new family, create a placeholder record with the same first name as their complete record, but containing only minimal information for the member. • In the new family, click on Import tab and type the person’s last name in the Search field and click on the Search button. • Locate the member’s record that you wish to import on their previous family record, select their name and click “Accept.” • The Import tab will not show the information for the record that you imported. Click on the “Import” button to complete the move of this record into the new family. • The member’s information is moved into the new family and they will now have two member tabs within the new family record. • Send an email to the Diocesan Administrator ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010) requesting that the two member records in this family record be merged together. 23 o Be sure to include the Family Name and Family DUID, as well as the two Member DUIDs for the records that need to be merged together. • You may now continue setting up this family as necessary to indicate its current status within your parish. o If you are cleaning up family records to indicate their current state, you may list the adult child or divorcee’s record as unregistered and inactive. o If you do not know the member’s current address, leave it as the previous family’s address until better information can be obtained. (NOTE: Never remove the mailing address from a family record. Old addresses can be used to find a forwarding address, or can aid in the identification of a family that has moved to another parish.) o Be sure to add notes to the record to indicate which record they were removed from, why this action was taken and any other relevant information regarding the move.
Every effort should be made to keep your family records as current as possible, so that your communication with all parish families reflects their correct makeup. When you leave old records within a family, it can cause confusion and duplication of records within the diocesan database.
24 Tracking Divorced or Separated Couples (SOP #6)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when entering and / or editing records for families that have been altered due to a divorce or separation.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: A divorce or separation can be a very sensitive process which needs to take into account the sacramental nature of the marriage which is in jeopardy, the living situation of all family members, possibility of an annulment being granted, and other contributing factors. This procedure is not meant to be an unalterable rule, but rather is a set of guidelines which can give you direction in determining how to track a family as their unique situation develops.
Modifying a Divorced or Separated Family Record When a husband and wife become divorced or separated, the legal status of their marriage should be taken into account when you enter or edit their information. This follows the same general guidelines outlined in Entering Member Marital Status (SOP #2). The original family record should be kept together whenever possible, but in many cases will need to be split apart to facilitate communication with each spouse. When it is necessary to split a family into two different records, follow the instructions outlined in Removing a Member Record from a Family Record (SOP #5).
If there are children in a family which is being split, they should only be listed under one spouse’s family. The question should be asked of the parents, which spouse is the custodial parent. If joint custodians, the question should be asked which parent’s family profile should contain the child(ren)’s record(s).
All other necessary information must be logged in the notes section of both family records. This can include information on the sacramental vs. legal status of the marriage, contact information for the other spouse, annulment information, information on children / custodial conditions, and whatever other information will help the Pastor or parish employees properly communicate with this family.
Aids for Communicating with Divorced Parents There will be situations when you need to maintain contact with both parents after a divorce or separation. This can be difficult when one spouse does not have any record of their children listed in that family. Creating a Member Workgroup for divorced parents is the recommended way to handle this situation. A workgroup or workgroups should be created for parents that do not have the children listed in their family record. This will allow for quick identification and communication of information regarding the couple’s children to both parents.
25 Divorced and Separated Scenario Chart The following chart can be used to help you determine the correct steps to take for a couple that has divorced or separated. These are only meant to be guidelines, so if this chart does not contain the information you need to deal with a particular family’s situation, please contact the Diocesan Administrator for assistance ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010).
Scenario Family Record Family Workgroups Children’s Member Record Divorced/Separated with Create a new unregistered If this spouse wishes to Children should be listed children. One parent family record for the spouse continue to receive under the family record leaving parish that is leaving and import communications from you requested by the parents. their member record out of about their children’s the original family record activities at the parish add into the new single family this family record to a record. Divorced Parents Workgroup. Divorced/Separated with Create a new registered If this spouse wishes to Children should be listed children. Both parents family record for the continue to receive under the original family staying in the parish spouse’s record that will not communications from you record. contain the children (as about their children’s determined by the parents) activities at the parish add and import their member this family record to a record out of the original Divorced Parents workgroup family record into the new as well as any other single family record. workgroups to which they previously were a part. Divorced/Separated with no Create a new unregistered NA NA children. One person family record for the spouse leaving the parish that is leaving and import their member record out of the original family record into the new single family record. Divorced/Separated with no Create a new registered Review your family NA children. Both staying in family record for the spouse workgroups to see if this your parish that is moving to a new new family record should be address and import their added to any workgroups member record out of the they were previously a part of when in their combined original family record into family record. the new single family record.
26 Sacraments (SOP #7)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when entering information regarding the sacraments conferred within the parish.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: Parishes are required to maintain complete and accurate sacramental details performed in the parish in the hard copy Sacramental Register and to keep the register current based on changes as they occur. Entries should always be made in a timely manner in the register.
Once the register has been updated, all sacramental information should be entered into ConnectNow to facilitate reporting to the Chancery office, and eliminate as much extra paperwork for the parishes as possible. Additionally, certificates for sacraments can be printed directly from ConnectNow. Thus, entering sacramental information into ConnectNow will help reduce the cost and time spent creating these certificates.
Sacramental Register Information Specific information for reporting and certificate purposes must be entered into ConnectNow; however, not all data in the register is added to ConnectNow. These electronic ConnectNow entries DO NOT replace the physical Sacramental Register. As with register entries, ConnectNow entries must be made in a timely manner for future reporting purposes.
No information marked “confidential” in the Sacramental Register should ever be entered into ConnectNow, nor any reference to, or information about, adoptions.
Details of sacraments are to be considered highly confidential information and are not for public knowledge. Direct access to the Sacramental Register is claimed only by the pastor and his designated employee / volunteer. Designated persons need written authorization from the pastor and proper training on basic recordkeeping before working with the register. Once written authorization is given to delegates, the person is required to sign an oath of confidentiality, which is called a Statement of Agreement. This same process applies to staff given access to ConnectNow.
Do not share any sacramental history or records with anyone other than the person who received the sacrament, the priest, the guardian, or a parish/diocesan representative. If your parish has any questions about documenting sacraments, canonical questions, or the hard copy Sacramental Register, please contact the diocese.
Entering historical sacramental details for members is not required, but is encouraged. One recommendation is to enter the registry information into ConnectNow whenever sacramental information is requested (such as for a parishioner / former parishioner who is getting married). This will allow you to create consistent certificates for all sacramental records, whether recent or not.
27 Entering Sacramental Records in ConnectNow Remember, the hard copy Sacramental Register is for parishes to document sacraments performed at that parish. For easy cross referencing in ConnectNow always complete the Registry Volume, Registry Page, and Registry Number fields. (Note: Cross referencing must happen when any certificates are created from ConnectNow.)
Sacramental records cannot be deleted, so it is important to do a thorough search for an existing record. When you click on the “Create New … Record” button in the “Sacraments” section of the Family Directory tab, you will be asked to search for and select the member whose record you are creating. If you are entering the sacrament record directly from the Member Details page, any record that is tied to the member record will appear, thus letting you know if they already have a record. (Note: A sacrament record that was not properly tied to the member record may not appear on the Member Detail page, or may appear as incomplete, you should investigate anything that looks suspicious before starting to create a new sacrament record, to avoid creating a duplicate record.)
Parish Responsibilities When Entering Sacramental Records It is the responsibility of each parish to record all sacraments which take place within its boundaries (although, some exceptions are possible for confirmations). If a person receiving a sacrament is not a registered parishioner, a “Sacrament Only” family record must be either imported or created within that parish for that family. A parish may also choose to create a sacramental record for parishioners who have moved into their parish from outside the Diocese of Lincoln in order to create a complete picture of their sacramental history; however, this is optional.
A list of the fields that are required when entering each sacrament records is located in Sacramental Details section of this document (See SOP #1). Information regarding certain information that is specific to sacrament records is below.
Entering the Parish Name and the Celebrant on Sacramental Records Both the Parish and the Celebrant fields on a sacrament record are selected from a list of possible options. You should take care to make sure that these are entered properly, or the fields will appear to be blank when searching for these fields.
To enter a Parish, you must click on the “…” button at the right of the field. This will open up a search screen of every Catholic Parish in the United States. You can search for and find your parish in this window and select it using the radio button to the left side.
• If the marriage took place in a different country you will need to leave this field blank and enter that parish name in the “General Remarks” field. • If the marriage took place in a church of a different faith, you will either need to enter the parish in which the marriage was blessed into this field, or leave this field blank and include an explanation in the “General Remarks” field.
The Celebrant field is a dropdown list that is controlled on the Administration tab of ConnectNow. If the celebrant is not listed, you will need one of the parish or diocesan administrators to enter their name into the list before you can complete the entry of the sacrament. If you are a parish administrator, you can add a new celebrant to the list in the Lookups section of the Administration
28 tab. A complete description of the procedure for adding a Priest’s name to the list of celebrants is contained in the Adding a Priest to the List of Celebrants section of the appendix. (See Appendix D.)
Entering the Proper Faith on Baptismal Records There are two places for noting the faith of each person: the member record on the member information tab within their family record, and in the details of the Baptismal record. Both of these places should be updated with correct information. The process for selecting the proper faith on the Member record is explained in Entering Member Religion (SOP #2). When creating a Baptismal record for a parishioner, the following instructions should be used: • You can access an existing Baptismal record, or create a new record by one of two ways: o On the Sacraments tab of the Family Directory, search for the Baptismal record of the parishioner. If an existing record is found, click to edit it, if one is not found, click the “Create new Baptism record” and select the parishioner from the search window. o On the Sacraments tab of the Member’s Detail page, if a record already exists, you can click on the “Details” link to open the full record. If no information exists in the Baptismal record fields, you can begin to enter some of the basic information for that sacrament. Once this is done, Save the record and the “Details” link will appear for you to open the full Baptismal record. • On Baptism record page, select the Faith of Baptism from the dropdown list. o If the person was baptized in a Catholic Church, you may leave the religion as Catholic or choose between the specific Catholic Churches: Byzantine or Ukranian. o If the person was baptized in another Christian religion, change the selection to the appropriate faith. ▪ Use the choices that are available in the drop-down box. ▪ Only use Christian or Other if no other specific choice applies. ▪ Unknown should only be used as a place holder while you are getting this information from the parishioner.
Adoptions Adoptions are very complex and can be extremely confidential. The parish must follow the criteria set by the USCCB for registering baptisms of adopted children. No notes, identification, or comments about adoption should exist in ConnectNow, regardless of the reason. When adoptions are involved, please follow the requirements for entering information properly into the hard copy Sacramental Register. Contact the Diocese for further explanation as needed.
Entering a Record of Reception for Persons Baptized in a Different Faith When a person has been validly baptized in another faith, and then chooses to join the Catholic Church, both a Baptismal record and a Rite of Reception record are created. The Rite of Reception record is not available from the Member Detail Page, and must be entered from the Sacraments tab within the Family Directory.
The Baptismal record should be created to reflect the original baptism, this should include the Faith at Baptism, and (as close as possible) the date of the baptism. The Celebrant and Parish Name will not be able to be entered into the proper fields, but they can be added to the notes. All other 29 information can be completed as completely as possible, and the “General Remarks” field should be used to complete the record and tie this baptism to the Rite of Reception record.
Once the Baptismal record is created, create the Rite of Reception record, using the Completed On date, Celebrant and Parish in which the member was received into the Catholic Church. You should also add information to the “General Remarks” field to complete this record and tie it to the Baptismal record that you created.
Entering Marriage Records for Both Spouses Because of the way that ConnectNow Marriage records are tied to each Member Detail Page, it is very easy to enter two marriage records for a couple. When this happens, you will be unable to edit the Family and Member Detail pages, receiving an error message stating, “a precious marriage record has not ended yet.” This problem can be avoided by following these steps when creating a marriage record:
• Choose one spouse on which you will enter the marriage record for both. • From the Sacraments tab in Family Directory search and find the spouse you have chosen, or on that spouse’s Member Details, go to the Sacrament tab, check the “Completed” box, Save the record and then click on the Details page. • Fill in the Completed On date, Prep Year, Parish, Celebrant and Marital Status information. • In the “Spouse” field, click on the button to search for the other spouse. (This will ensure that you only create one record for both spouses, and do not encounter any errors.) • You may also use the button to enter in the Best Man and Maid of Honor, if they have a record within your parish, too. If they are not parishioners, you can type their names in. • You should check all of the appropriate boxes for the type of marriage that you are entering: o Canonical should be checked for all marriages that are conducted within the Catholic Church, or in which a priest has convalidated a marriage that is celebrated elsewhere. (NOTE: If a marriage is recorded in the Sacramental Register, it would be Canonical.) o Mixed Religion should be checked if one of the spouses is not Catholic, but belongs to another Christian Faith. o Disparity of Cult should be checked if one of the spouses is not Christian. o Former Marriage should be checked only if the marriage record that you are working in has ended either due to the death of one spouse or through the annulment of that marriage. . If an annulment is granted, the Annulment ID should be entered into that field on this marriage record. . In both cases, a “Date Ended” should be entered. • Registry Vol., Registry Page, and Registry # should be entered to tie this sacrament record to its location in the parish’s Sacramental Register. • Any special notes that do not fit into another field can be entered into the “General Remarks” field. o This should include the location of the marriage if it was not conducted within the church building. o This should also include information regarding marriages between spouses that have been divorced but are still considered to be married by the church.
30 Baptismal Certificates and Sacrament History Unlike other certificates, the Certificate of Baptism is a canonical document which indicates the person’s canonical status in the Church. When completed it must be verified against the Sacramental Register and include full and accurate notations on the reverse side.
Parishes should not delete any sacramental history from individual records in the Sacramental Register or ConnectNow; however, parishes should NOT enter confidential or inappropriate data from the Sacramental Register into ConnectNow. If confidential or inappropriate information has been entered into ConnectNow it must be removed. If you have questions regarding this issue, please call the diocese to notify us about the situation.
31 Offertory and Contribution Entry (SOP #8)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when a parish is entering offertory information into the ConnectNow system. There are two methods to enter contributions: Detailed Contribution Posting and Quick Entry Contribution Posting. Both methods are described here.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: All deposits should be entered into the correct fund using the batch function. (The process for creating funds is explained in SOP #9.) Do not post checks to family or member records outside of a batch. It is recommended that parishes use the Declining Batch field when creating their batches. The batch function is a mechanism for verifying accuracy when entering multiple checks. The Declining Batch field allows for greater precision when posting contributions.
When you create a new batch, you will need to choose which method you will be choosing to enter contributions into it: Detailed Contribution Posting or Quick Entry Contribution Posting. Depending on which posting method you are using and your progress within the posting process, there are four possible statuses that a batch could be in. The different statuses and an explanation of what can be done in that batch is: Open – A batch opened for Detailed Posting that can still be edited using the Detailed Posting process and has not been closed. Additional contributions to an “Open” batch are made from the Detailed Posting page. Corrections can be made through the Contribution List page. Quick Entry – A batch opened for Quick Entry Posting that has not been committed and can still be edited in the Quick Entry Posting process. All additional contributions or edits must be made in the Quick Entry Posting page, until a Quick Entry batch is committed. Committed – A batch that was opened in the Quick Entry process, but has been since committed. Batches in this status are not “Closed,” but cannot be edited in the Quick Entry process. They can, however, be edited or added to within the Detailed Contribution Posting page, just as you would an “Open” batch. Closed – A batch from either the Quick Entry Contribution Posting or the Detailed Contribution Posting process that has been completed. Contributions in a “Closed” batch can no longer be edited. Corrections must be done using a Correction Batch. It will be necessary for you to know which status a batch is in when you look for it on the Batch Management page. You will need to filter for the proper status, or select “All” to display all of the batches.
The collection date of the batch should be tied to the Sunday date of the weekend, not Saturday. Deposits should match the entire amount of the collection baskets. For example, monies collected for the weekend of April 5th and 6th should have a batch name similar to, “Weekly Collection 4/6/20**.” The date entered as the posting date for all weekend Masses in this example would thus be “4/06/20**.” If a donation envelope is received at the rectory on Wednesday, April 9th, and it was designated for the weekend of 4/06/20**, post it with the weekly offertory batch, but with a posting date of 4/09/20**, since it was not received and posted until a later date; then, include it with your next deposit. 32
When posting payments, it is recommended that you turn on the audio on your computer so you can hear any error warning sounds caused from keying into the wrong field. Without having your sound on and turned up, you will be without one of the main accuracy-inducing features of this platform.
In order to prevent any changes to the contributions in a batch, whether accidental or malicious, it is strongly recommended to close the batch once it has been completely entered and reconciled to the bank deposit. Before you can close a batch, the Cash Total must equal the amount of all contributions in the batch and the Cash Balance must be $0.00. It is recommended that all batches are closed within 30 – 45 days of their creation, at the maximum.
Detailed Contribution Posting The Detailed Contribution Posting process allows you to change the details of each contribution from the same screen that you are using to post payments. All options and filters are presented on the Detailed Posting page and allow to make changes to these more readily than in the Quick Entry Posting process.
Contributions entered using the Detailed Contribution Posting process are saved to the donor’s record immediately once you have saved the record. When you enter information into a field, the system will verify this information which will take a second or two when you move between fields. This causes the Detailed Contribution Posting Process to be a slower than the Quick Entry Process.
Additionally, any corrections made to a contribution posted through this process can only be edited or deleted by going to the Contribution List page. There, you can set filters to find the contribution(s) that need to be edited or deleted and make changes to them, along with a reason for the change, to create an audit trail for these changes. After making changes to a contribution on the Contribution List page, you must return to the posting page to continue adding new contributions. Instructions for editing a contribution in a batch in a Detailed Contribution Posting batch can be found in the How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in an Open Batch section of Appendix D.
Once a Detailed Contribution Posting batch has been closed, no contributions can be added, edited or deleted. Instructions for how to make a correction to a contribution in a Closed batch can be found in the How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in a Closed Batch section of Appendix D.
Quick Entry Contribution Posting The Quick Entry process will allow you to enter contributions quickly without having to wait for the system to verify information before you can enter the next field. Contributions are not immediately added to the donors’ records, and you will be able to quickly edit or delete these entries without having to go to the Contribution List page. You will have to “Commit” the Quick Entry batch before these contributions are posted completely to the donors’ records and are viewable on the Contribution List page.
Until you commit a Quick Entry batch, you can edit or delete any contribution from the Quick Entry Contribution Posting page without adding a reason for the change or deletion. However, once you 33 commit a Quick Entry batch, the contributions are added to the donors’ records and will become viewable within the Contribution List page. A Quick Entry batch that has been committed, essentially becomes an “Open” batch in the Detailed Posting process. You will be able to add more contributions on the Detailed Posting page and edit current contributions on the Contribution List page.
A batch in the “Quick Entry” status cannot be “Closed” until it has been committed, or all contributions will be lost. Once a Quick Entry batch with a “Committed” status has been closed, no contributions will be able to be added, edited or deleted from it. Full instruction for how to create, enter contributions, and commit a Quick Entry Batch are located in the How to Process Contributions using the Quick Entry Process section of Appendix D.
Posting Contributions Made By Cash or Check All regular payments, in parishioner envelopes, should be posted with a Payment Type of either “Cash” or “Check” to properly reflect how their payment was made. When posting check payments, all check numbers should be entered into the appropriate field so that you will better be able to locate and track each individual payment.
• Loose checks from parishioners can also be posted to the parishioner’s record with a Payment Type of “Check.” • If a loose check is from within the state of Nebraska and the contributor is not found in the diocese, it is recommended that you build a family detail record for that contributor. o If this family contributes at another parish in the diocese, once their record is created it can be used by multiple parishes, thus capturing their giving history. ▪ The Family Group would be listed as “Contributor Only”. ▪ The Registration Status would be “Unregistered”. ▪ The individual Member Status as “Inactive”. ▪ Enter the Last Name, First Name(s); Mailing Name and address from the front of the check into these records. • When visitors from out-of-state contribute checks they are to be copied and posted to Loose Cash. o You may decide to follow the in-state guidelines for out-of-state contributors who are frequent guests / contributors to your parish. However, the decision to do so remains solely with each parish. • All contributions to the parish must be associated with a family or member: o Parishioner contributions can be posted to each family by either searching for their names, or by entering their Envelope # (recommended). o Non-member contributions can be posted to their “Contributor Only” record once it has been created by searching for the family. o To post loose cash that is not tied to any particular contributor, an Unregistered, Inactive family named “Anonymous”, “Loose Cash”, “Loose Plate” or another similar name should be used. o Checks from non-contributor, out-of-state families can be posted with “Loose Cash”, or in a separate “Loose Checks” family, if you would like to keep these items separated. • ACH or e-Tithing contributions should be batched separately from offertory contributions. 34 o Use a posting date that matches the actual date the ACH transaction took place – go by the bank’s date so they match to the parish bank statement. o Batching by fund will also allow you to use the “Import” function within Offering if your electronic contributions can be presented in a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file or to clone a batch and reuse them. • When the batch is complete and closed, print a batch detail report and attach the matching deposit slip to this report for a complete audit trail on these contributions o The Batch Detail Report can be found on the Batch Management screen under Quick Reports o This process should apply to every batch.
Posting Contributions to Multiple Funds It may occur that a family submits one payment, from which portions of the payment are designated for several different funds. You can enter portions of payments to as many different ConnectNow Funds as necessary within the same batch by changing the Fund field before posting each new payment. When entering a split payment, make sure that you note the check number on every posting to different funds.
Whenever you change funds, while posting in a batch, remember to change the Fund field back to your default fund, as the system will not automatically return to the Fund designated as the Default Fund for that batch. When you are done posting a batch with contributions to multiple funds, the batch total and tape will match the Contribution Detail Summary Report. All three totals will agree, even though the multiple funds are detailed individually on the report.
Example of posting split payments: On 1/21/20** Sue Brown encloses check #4756 for $40.00 in her weekly envelope and puts it in the 9:00 AM Mass collection. On the envelope she has designated $20 is for the regular offertory and $20 to the building fund. The check is bundled and totaled as part of the Weekly Collection batch. When posting the batch, post $20.00 on Check Number 4756 to the Offertory Fund for Sue Brown. Then, change the Fund to the Building Fund and post the remaining $20, also to Check Number 4756 for Sue Brown. When you are done posting both pieces of this contribution, change the Fund back to Offertory Fund, to correctly post the next parishioner’s contribution.
Posting Contributions of Grain or Livestock Gifts of farm produce, such as grain or livestock, should be posted into a separate batch that contains only these types of contributions. The contribution should not be posted until the grain or livestock has been sold, so that the total amount of the gift is known and is not subject to change. When posting these gifts, the Payment Type should be listed as “Soft Gifts.” The net amount of the gift should be entered into the Amount field. By entering the net amount of the gift after it has been sold, you should avoid adding or adjusting any fees, from the handling or selling of the grain, after you have posted the gift. Details of the gift, which may include the exact nature and size of the gift of grain or livestock, the agent that received the gift, etc., should be entered into the Memo field for this transaction.
35 Closing Batches and Creating an Audit Trail Every financial transaction requires a physical audit trail that supports and explains it. Therefore, the system will require a reason for every time you edit the information in a batch or a payment. These reasons create an audit trail for alterations within the batch while it is open. This should be sufficient for dealing with any entry mistakes and other errors made during the posting process.
The diocese does recommend that all batches be closed when entry and most adjustments to the contributions are complete (by clicking the Close Batch command when editing a batch). This can be done as quickly as after a batch is reconciled with a bank statement, or be delayed until after the Year End Statements have been sent to your donors and allowed sufficient time for them to report any errors. Closed batches cannot be altered in any way and will require adjustment postings to be applied in the event they need to be changed (for returned checks, incorrect postings, etc.). These adjustment postings will create a further audit trail explaining the change(s).
To correct a posting that was entered in error, or to handle NSF or other returned checks, please follow the ConnectNow instructions located in the How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in an Open Batch, How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in a Closed Batch and the How to Process a Check Returned for Non-Sufficient Funds sections of Appendix D. When closing an adjustment batch, print a batch detail report from the Batch Management screen under Quick Reports. Attach any correction documentation to this report to complete the audit trail for these adjustments.
Parishes should never delete any transactional history from family or individual records. All financial contributions must be kept secure and unaltered.
Posting Tuition Payments The Tuition portion in the Religious Education module is the only exception to using a batch for all contributions because it only allows for individual posting by family. If you are using the Tuition section to invoice religious education fees, you must post tuition payments here and not in the Offertory module, or the program will be unable to accurately track tuition balances. The process for working in the Tuition module is explained in Tuition (SOP #13).
36
Adding and Editing Funds (SOP #9) DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when a parish is adding or editing funds within the Offering Module of ConnectNow.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: All parish offertory income is entered into ConnectNow, such as weekly envelopes, loose contributions, building maintenance collections, diocesan (except CSA / DDP, Joy of the Gospel and the Bishop’s Appeal for Vocations contributions) and national collections, plus religious education fees, etc. • A Fund in ConnectNow refers to an account in the Parish Chart of Accounts and the names entered into ConnectNow should closely match those in the Chart of Accounts. • Only the Pastor or the ConnectNow Parish Administrator can access the Fund Management tab, and only the Pastor or authorized person, responsible for recording the parish finances (bookkeeper) is authorized to decide when to add a new Fund. • Fund Permissions should be closely controlled so that only users that need to add, edit or review the contributions to a fund have access to that information: o Access to Offering is controlled within the Staff Management portion of the Administration tab; however, access to individual funds is controlled within the Fund Management tab. o Parish Administrators can access all funds, and can determine to which funds other staff members or volunteers have access by clicking on the Fund Permissions button on the Fund Management tab. • To clarify the creation and naming system relating to Funds: o In order to properly track contributions to pledges, those Funds that require the tracking of pledges can be setup annually on a calendar year basis (January - December), or for the entire length of the campaign, depending on the nature of the different campaigns. All pledge funds should have the name of the campaign and the year in the title. Examples of different pledge fund names would be: Teacher Salary Enhancement 2015, Teacher Salary Enhancement 2016 or Building Campaign 2017-2019. o Funds that do not involve pledges and are only for contributions can be set up without a year being specified in the name, such as Christmas Decorations or Guardian Angel Fund and can be used from year to year. o Funds cannot be hidden, merged, or deleted. If you no longer need / want a fund to be used, the Pastor or Parish Administrator can edit the fund and add and “End Date”. No new contributions can be entered into a fund after its end date has passed. ▪ Adding an End Date to a fund will not remove it from the list of funds, only make it unusable, so you may also choose to edit the name and add “USE NO MORE” to the front of the title to further dissuade users from trying to use that fund. For example, “Teacher Salary Enhancement 2014” could become “USE NO MORE Teacher Salary Enhancement 2014” once it has ended.
37 Configuring Lookup Tables (SOP #10)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the setup and maintenance which can be performed within lookup tables within ConnectNow. These changes enable a parish to create accurate records for their parishioners, using current information in the dropdown boxes on the family, member and sacrament pages.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: There are certain lookup tables that have been configured specifically for overall diocesan needs that cannot be altered within the parish. These lookup tables are kept consistent for all parishes so that reporting is accurate and consistent across the entire diocese. Other lookup tables can be modified within the parish in order to provide the information that will be most helpful to each individual parish.
All of the lookup tables can be accessed by the Pastor or Parish Administrator on the Administration tab, in the Lookup section. New options can be added to these lists within this tab, and the order in which they appear can also be maintained and adjusted.
Lookup Tables That Can Be Changed By Parishes The following Lookup tables can be updated and changed by individual parishes. The Pastor or Parish Administrator can update these tables according to the needs of the parish(es). • Schools • Celebrants
The list of schools can be updated to include all local, parochial and public schools in order to track where the children of the parish are receiving their education. This is optional, but is recommended by the diocese.
Creating a list of Celebrants is required for the proper tracking of sacramental records within ConnectNow. If you do not have a list of Celebrants, you will not be able to identify the presiding priest on sacramental records. This list should include current, recent and previous pastors in the parish, along with current and past Bishops of the Diocese of Lincoln, so that all sacramental records and certificates that are requested are complete and accurate if they are printed from ConnectNow.
Regular ConnectNow users (non-Parish Administrators) will be able to use the information from these tables when entering information into member / sacramental records. However, they will not have access to update either of these tables. They must contact the administrator within their parish, or the Diocesan Administrator ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010) to add or remove entries in these tables.
Lookup Tables That Cannot Be Changed By Parishes Several lookup tables cannot be altered by the Pastor or Parish Administrator. These tables are maintained at the diocese so that there will be consistency across all parishes. This is important for the accurate reporting of information in these fields.
38 If you feel that there should be a modification to any of these tables you may contact the Diocesan Administrator ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010) so that the modification can be discussed and if implemented, uniformly applied to all parishes.
The following is the list of Lookup Tables that cannot be altered within a parish: • Career Types • Ethnic Background • Education • Faith • Family Group • Language • Suffix • Title • Religion • Position Type
All options available within these tables are viewable within the appendix of this document. (See Appendix A – ConnectNow Lookup Lists).
39 Maintaining Staff Directory Information (SOP #11)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure describes the process to be followed when a parish is setting up the Staff section while in Family Directory. This procedure also applies to when new staff members join and when staff members leave. It is very important for parishes to keep their staff list current and accurate.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: All staff members, Lay Trustees and Financial Council members for a parish should be added to ConnectNow. This can be done by the Pastor or another Parish Administrator, using the Administration tab within ConnectNow.
Every Staff record must contain a valid email address. The email address is necessary for ParishSOFT Support and the Diocesan Administrator to communicate important information about ConnectNow to all users. The email address that is entered should be valid and accessible by the user from the computer that they use to access the ConnectNow platform. Lay Trustees, Finance Council members and other staff that do not have access within ConnectNow will not be contacted by email concerning system updates, but may be used by diocesan personnel to contact them regarding other important matters. If a staff member’s email address changes, the Pastor or Parish Administrator must update this field in the Staff record.
Each staff member or volunteer must have their own individual username and password so that access to information can be limited and actions within the system can be tracked to the correct person. (Note: No username and password should be setup as a generic user within a parish, or shared between users.)
Adding Staff and ConnectNow Access Add all staff members (whether they are parishioners or not) into the staff directory. • Choose a Staff Type/Position. This field is prefilled with choices approved by the diocese. If your parish needs an additional job title, contact the diocese. • Complete all the Name fields. o The Logon Username should be filled in with First Initial, Middle Initial, Last Name • All staff, including volunteers who will be using ConnectNow, must be added. o If a staff member does not use ConnectNow, uncheck the box that says Grant Login on the Staff Management screen. This will remove their ability to access the program but their name and information will still remain in the staff list. • After the individual is added to the staff list the system administrator must then select the correct access permissions for that user on the Access Rights screen. o The Parish Administrator box should only be used for a select few staff members who are authorized to change permissions for everyone. The table below will help you determine proper permissions for some Staff Types. o The Parish Administration check box will allow a staff person to change permissions for all staff. This choice should only be given to the very few persons authorized to change permissions, one of whom must be the Pastor. • When selecting Access Rights for each staff position always provide the fewest permissions needed for that person to do their job.
40 o This means that you should not give more permissions and access rights than the person really needs to complete their job. o If you are in doubt whether someone needs another level of access, always default to lesser permissions. If they need that permission, it will become clear in time, and you can add it later.
Password Creation The first time someone logs in, they will need to use a temporary password. Once the new staff record that includes an email address is saved, the temporary password to be sent to the new user in an email from the parish. The user must then login using the temporary password and follow the prompts to immediately change the password to something secure but memorable, known only to them. • All staff needing access to ConnectNow must have a unique password that is not shared with others. • Staff should always log in under their own username and not share with anyone else. o All volunteers that will have access to ConnectNow must be added with their own unique username and password. o No username or password should ever be set up as a “generic” user, or shared with another user within the parish. This rule must be strictly followed. • Whenever an employee or volunteer loses or forgets their password, a new temporary password can be created and sent to them using the “Reset Password” button on the Assignments tab of the user’s access record.
Removing Staff Access When a staff member or volunteer ends their work with the parish or no longer needs access to ConnectNow, you can either schedule the user’s last day by using the “End Date” field on the Access Rights tab of their Staff record, or by checking the “Assignment Deleted” checkbox on the same tab. If you use the “Assignment Deleted” checkbox, the “End Date” field will be automatically dated with the current date. If the employee returns to employment within the parish or another parish in the diocese they can be reinstated with new permissions. • No user should ever delete any historical information from family or member records. Therefore, by default all “Delete” permissions in the Family Directory should be removed. • First responsibility for managing permissions, access rights and identities belongs to the Pastor, since he is the supervisor for all parish staff. • The Pastor will have an administrative account within the parish’s database for the purpose of managing users and passwords. o The Pastor may designate another employee to share the role of Parish Administrator and handle these duties when he is away from the parish, or otherwise busy; however, he should always have this access, as well.
Suggested Access Rights The table on the following page is an example of Access Rights for several key job positions that you may use when setting up users within your parish. If you have suggestions for this table, send the diocese ([email protected]) any feedback concerning these and any other positions that are not listed.
41 Keep in mind that if a parish has one person filling multiple roles, that employee should be given the fewest rights necessary to complete all of their functions. It is more prudent to give fewer rights and add more as it is determined they are needed, than to give too many rights and encounter problems.
If you need help setting up a new user’s access rights, you may contact the Diocesan Administrator ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010) for help in determining what access level should be given to that employee or volunteer. If the Pastor or Parish Administrator are not available, the Diocesan Administrator can create these permissions. There are sample access rights for several common parish roles in Appendix C.
ConnectNow Access Rights Table Organization Family Ministry Religious Staff Position Offering Tuition IQ ConnectNow Admin Directory Scheduler Education View Add / Edit Pastor Yes All All All All All All Print Import View Business Add / Edit Yes All All All All All All Manager Print Import View Parish Add / Edit View View ConnectNow No All None All Secretary Print Print Print Access Import View Religious Ed View Add / Edit ConnectNow No None None All Add / Edit Coordinator Print Print Access Print Stewardship / View ConnectNow Volunteer No None All None None None Print Access Coordinator View View ConnectNow Bookkeeper No All None All All Print Tuition Access Lay Trustee No None None None None None None None Finance No None None None None None None None Council Custodial No None None None None None None None Services
42 Religious Education (Optional Module) (SOP #12)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when setting up and editing Religious Ed classes if your parish has opted to purchase this additional module. This procedure is not a substitute for training on this module and you should review the training materials for the Religious Education module on ParishSOFT’s training website (http://help.parishsoft.com/training/) for more complete instructions.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: All Parish religious education classes should be entered into this module with appropriate information concerning time and location of the class, catechist or teachers and students that are attending. This pertains to CCD programs, adult study courses, and any other religious education opportunities that are being offered.
Parishes should never delete any religious education history from individual records. This information is carried with the Member Record, even if they have moved away from your parish, and should be kept so that other parishes, or Diocesan employees can gain a complete picture of that individual and their education history.
Non-Parish Members If your parish allows non-parish members to attend religious education classes, these individuals must also be entered into the ConnectNow system. See SOP #2 for instructions on how to properly code an unregistered family and its members who are attending religious education classes within your parish.
Basic Information • The diocese encourages consistency in naming sessions and classes. By doing so, sessions and classes can be easily cloned (copied) from year to year as needed. o Classes should be named by grade, or topic if there is no grade (such as adult education, confirmation, etc.). o If multiple sessions of a class are offered on different days of the week, the day of the week should be included in the name. o When adding new classes, click the “Add New” button before keying the information. This prevents your existing class from being overwritten. • You can add students to a class in the same way that you add families or members to a workgroup in the Family Directory. • When entering class detail, remember to follow proper protocol when completing the Leaders fields. Although not labeled as such, the fields represent: o The first leader listed is the Main Catechist o The second leader listed is the assistant or co-leader o The third leader would be a class helper or aide • To enter the rooms that will be used for classes, you will need to have a Parish Administrator add the appropriate room names / numbers to this lookup table on the Lookups sections of the Administration tab.
43 Tuition (Optional Module) (SOP #13)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when invoicing and receiving payments for religious education tuition, if your parish has opted to purchase the additional Religious Education module.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: The Tuition section is used to invoice and track religious education bills and payments. Tuition is a separate module from the Religious Ed module and is self-contained – everything from billing to reports are located together. The diocese encourages parishes to use Tuition for their religious education class needs. The Parish Administrator can restrict access to this information as needed.
If you invoice religious education fees from Tuition, all tuition payments must be posted here to allow proper tracking of balances.
Tuition is the only exception to batch posting because it is limited to individual posting by family.
44 Ministry Scheduler (Optional Module) (SOP #14)
DESCRIPTION: This standard procedure outlines the process to be followed when a parish is setting up the optional Ministry Scheduler module within the ConnectNow platform.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: Ministry Scheduler provides your parish a systematic way to organize, schedule and track ministers, organization members, and volunteers within your parish. Each organization or group of volunteer activities can be setup within the Configuration tab.
Once the basic setup is completed, ministers (which can also be referred to as volunteers or organization members) can be added within the Minister Directory tab. Teams can be created, preferences set and finally a schedule can be created on the other tabs within Ministry Scheduler.
Setting up Ministry Scheduler The four areas that can be used to organize your ministers (volunteers) are: Groups, Minstries, Roles, and Events. These settings can be created on the Configuration tab. The definitions of how each area is used in Ministry Schedule is: • Groups are major independent entities within the parish that share a common interest, goal or concern. Examples would be: Liturgy, Parish Life, Parish Bazaar, etc. • Ministries are distinct subgroups within the Group. A ministry shares in the main interest of the Group to which they belong but have a specific focus or concern. Examples of ministries within the Liturgy Group would be: Ushers, Servers, Acolytes, Lectors, Extraordinary Minsters of Holy Eucharist, etc. • Roles are the special job assignments or duties within a ministry. Examples of roles might be Lead, Choir Director, President, etc. While a Role denotes a specific assignment within a ministry, it is not taken into account when creating a schedule for that Ministry. • Events are the meetings, gatherings, events, or tasks that the ministry takes part in. Examples of Events would be weekend or Holy Day Masses, other worship services, events within a parish festivals, organization meetings, etc.) o Each Ministry Group requires at least one Event. If an Event is not applicable to the Ministry, then a single event should be entered with a value of “N/A”.
Adding Ministers and Assigning Roles • On the Minster Directory tab, you can add and assign parishioners to Ministry Groups and Ministries. o Each parishioner may be assigned to multiple Groups, and even to multiple Ministries within a Group. o A parishioner can only have one Role per ministry. If you choose another Role, the new choice overwrites and eliminates the prior Role. o In order to capture the “interested” status to a ministry, a parish may create a Ministry Role field with Interested, Actively Involved, etc., or they can use the Comments field within each minister’s detail. o The Ministry Roles field is not used when using the Scheduling functions. • To aid in the creation of groups of ministers or volunteers who prefer to work together or would prefer to not work together, you can create Teams on that tab. 45 o A Team is a group of ministers or volunteers that has a preference of either working together or avoiding working at the same events. Examples could include a group of Ushers that always work the same Mass time together, or a husband and wife that never want to be scheduled at the same Mass so that one of them is left in the pew with their children. • The preference tab can be used to setup the preferences for minsters / volunteers. o You can create preferences for Masses or events that a parishioner prefers to work. o Preferences can be created for other ministers / volunteers that a parishioner likes to work with, or does not like to work with.
Scheduling Ministers The Scheduling Options and Scheduling tabs can be used to create schedules for ministers / volunteers at parish Masses and / or events. The Schedule Options tab allows you to setup the parameters of the schedule to be created, including the time frame that the schedule will cover and how many ministers / volunteers will be needed at the event.
The Scheduling tab allows you to automatically create a schedule which takes into account all of the groups, teams, preferences, etc., that you have setup. Once this schedule is created, you can still manually change any of the people that are scheduled. You can then filter your completed schedule and create reports that can be sent to the members of the Group or Ministry that is working that event.
46 Using IQ to Create Customized Reports and Queries (SOP #15) DESCRIPTION: ConnectNow provides many different reports for parishes to use. However, at this time most reports are “canned” with a set format and containing only certain information. If a parish wishes to create a custom report because they cannot find a report in ConnectNow that matches their needs, they may be able to do this within the optional IQ module.
PROCEDURE DETAILS: The IQ (or Intelligent Query) module is an “add-on” module that can be purchased at an additional cost to the parish. The IQ module allows users to create and share custom queries and reports by selecting the information that they would like to include, and what criteria or conditions are used to control the report. These queries and reports can then be saved for reuse in the future and shared with other users both inside and outside of a user’s parish.
Existing queries can be found using the My Queries button to search both your personal queries and all existing global queries. New queries can either be created from scratch or by modifying and saving an existing query under a new name.
When creating a new query from scratch, you can either select all of the columns (ConnectNow information fields) that you want to include in your results at one time, by using the Column Picker section of the screen, or you can select each column individually using the “Add New Column” function under the Results Columns section of the screen. You can choose to call a result column by a different name than it is assigned within IQ, choose to reorder your columns, and pick which field your results are ordered by within the Results Columns section.
You can also set the conditions, or criteria, which will determine what information is included in your query by using the Query Conditions section of the screen. By including or excluding data in certain columns, you can choose to create as many conditions as you need to get precisely the information that you are looking for.
Once you have set the columns that you want returned and determined the conditions of your query, you can click Execute Query to run your query and see the results. The results can then be exported to Excel, used to setup a new workgroup, applied to a mail merge or to create an email address list.
If you would like more information about the IQ module, or if you would like to schedule a training session on any aspect of how to use this module, you may contact the Diocesan Administrator (CBL- [email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010).
47 Appendix
Appendix A – ConnectNow Lookup Lists
DESCRIPTION: Below are the options available in each of the dropdown lists for use in ConnectNow. If you encounter an entry that does not appear in one of these lists, please contact the Diocesan Administrator ([email protected] or 402-488-0921 x1010) so we can create a consistent entry for you and the entire diocese.
Career Types: 911 dispatcher Assembler Bus Driver Account Executive Assistant Manager Business Account Manager Assistant Principal Business Analyst Account Specialist Assistant Supervisor Business Manager Accountant Associate Professor Business Owner Accounting Clerk Athletic Trainer Buyer Accounting Manager Attorney Cabinet Maker Accounts Payable Audiologist Cafeteria Worker Activities Director Auditor Cafeteria Manager Actuary Auto Body Tech Campus Minister Adjudicator Auto Dealer CAN Adjustor Auto Tech Car Dealer Administrative Assistant Auto Underwriter Cardiac Sonographer Administrator Bailiff Cardiologist Admissions Baker Cardiovascular Tech Advertising Bank Manager Caretaker Advertising Consultant Bank Teller Carman Advertising Manager Banker Carpenter Advisor Barber Case Manager Agent Bartender Case Worker Agricultural/Farm Beautician Cashier Agronomist Beauty Operator Catering Air Guard Billing Cement Finisher Aircraft Mechanic Biologist CEO Alltel Body Shop Manager Certified Medical Assistant Ameritas Book Binder CFO Analyst Bookkeeper Checker Anesthesiologist Brakeman Chef Anesthetist Branch Manager Chemist Appraiser Broker Chief Deputy Arborist Builder Child Care Provider Architect Burlington Chiropractor Artist Burlington Northern CIO 48 Civil Engineer CPA Engineer Claim Representative CPS Worker Environmental Specialist Claim Team Manager Credit Manager Equipment Operator Claims Adjuster Crew Leader Esthetician Claims Analyst Custodial Estimator Claims Auditor Custodian Event Coordinator Claims Examiner Customer Relations Executive Claims Manager Customer Service Manager Executive Assistant Claims Processor Customer Service Rep Executive Director Cleaner Data Analyst Executive Secretary Clerical Data Control Fabricator Client Services Data Entry Factory Worker Climatologist Data Processing Family Support Worker CNA Dental Assistant Farm Manager Coach Dental Hygienist Farmer Collections Dental Student Field Engineer Communications Dental Tech Finance Computer Analyst Dentist Finance Manager Computer Consultant Dept. Manager Financial Advisor Computer Engineer Deputy Sheriff Financial Analyst Computer Graphics Design Engineer Financial Consultant Computer Operator Designer Financial Officer Computer Programmer Development Financial Planner Computer Sales Development Director Finish Carpenter Computer Scientist Diesel Mechanic Fire Inspector Computer Specialist Dietician Firefighter/EMS Computer Support Direct Support Professional Fitness Instructor Computer Tech Director Fleming Foods Concrete Worker Disabled Florist Conductor Dishwasher Food Service Worker Conservationist Dispatcher Foreman Construction Foreman District Court Fork Lift Driver Construction Manager District Court Judge Framer Construction Supervisor District Manager Fund Raiser Construction Worker Doctor Funeral Director Consultant Draftsman Gallop Contractor Driver Garbage Man Controller Drywaller General Foreman Cook Duncan Aviation General Manager Coordinator Editor Geologist Correctional Officer Educator Glazier Corrections Case Worker Electrical Contractor Golf Course Superintendent Cosmetologist Electrical Engineer Goodyear Counselor Electrician Government Employee Courier Electronic Technician Graduate Student 49 Grant Writer Iron Worker Marketing Director Graphic Artist Isco Marketing Manager Graphic Designer IT Marketing Rep Grocer Janitor/Sexton Marketing Specialist Groomer Jeweler Mary Kay Consultant Grounds Keeper Journalist Mason Guidance Counselor Juvenile Probation Officer Massage Therapist Hair Stylist Kawasaki Material Handler Handyman Kitchen Worker Materials Manager Head Cook Lab Manager Meat Cutter Health & Human Services Lab Supervisor Mechanic Health Worker Lab Technician Mechanical Engineer Heavy Equipment Operator Laborer Media Specialist Historian Land Surveyor Medical Assistant Home Builder Landscape Architect Medical Doctor Home Health Care Landscaper Medical Records Homemaker Laundry Medical Sales Hostess Law Clerk Medical Secretary Housekeeper Lawn Service Medical Technician Housewife Lawyer Medical Technologist Human Resources Coord. Legal Assistant Medical Transcriptionist Human Resources Worker Legal Secretary Medication Aide Human Resources Manager Legislative Aide Membership Director HVAC Librarian Mental Health Tech Industrial Engineer Licensing Rep Mental Health Therapist Information Technology Lincoln Benefit Life Merchandiser INS Lineman Meter Reader Inspector Loader Microbiologist Installer Loan Accounting Military Instructor Loan Advisor Minor Insurance Loan Assistant Mortgage Broker Insurance Adjuster Loan Officer Mortician Insurance Agent Loan Processor MRI Insurance Broker Locksmith Music Teacher Insurance Claims LPN Musician Insurance Rep Machine Operator Nail Tech Insurance Sales Machinist Nanny Insurance Underwriter Mail Clerk National Guard Interior Designer Maintenance Supervisor Neonatologist Interpreter Maintenance Worker Network Administrator Interviewer Management Network Analyst Investigator Manager Network Engineer Investment Broker Manufacturing Nurse Investment Manager Manufacturing Engineer Nurse Practitioner Investment Sales Market Manager Nursing Assistant 50 Occupational Therapist Postal Clerk Records Technician Office Administrator Postal Worker Recruiter Office Assistant Postmaster Regional Manager Office Clerk Preschool Teacher Registered Nurse Office Manager President Registrar Office Supervisor Priest Remodeler Officer Principal Reporter Operations Printer Research Analyst Operations Manager Probation Officer Research Coordinator Operator Process Operator Research Director Ophthalmologist Processor Research Scientist Optician Product Manager Research Technician Optometrist Product Specialist Residence Director Orthodontist Production Manager Resident Coordinator Outpatient Scheduler Production Worker Resource Developer Owner Professional Respiratory Therapist PA Professor Restaurant Worker Painter Program Coordinator Restaurant Owner Painting Contractor Program Director Retail Manager Para Legal Program Manager Retail Sales Para-Educator Program Specialist Retired Paraprofessional Programmer Revenue Officer Parole Officer Project Coordinator Right of Way Agent Parts Manager Project Engineer Roofer Pastry Chef Project Manager Route Driver Pathologist Project Specialist Route Salesman Patient Advocate Property Manager Sales Associate Personal Banker Psychologist Sales Clerk Personal Trainer Psychotherapist Sales Consultant Pharmaceutical Rep Public Relations Sales Coordinator Pharmacist Publisher Sales Manager Pharmacy Technician Purchasing Agent Sales Representative Phlebotomist Purchasing Manager Scanning Coordinator Photographer Quality Assurance Scientist Physical Therapist Quality Control Secretary Physician Quality Engineer Secretary/Bookkeeper Physician Assistant Quality Manager Security Guard Pilot Radio Announcer Self Employed Pipefitter Radiologist Senior Loan Officer Planner Radiology Tech Server Plant Manager Railroad Service Advisor Plasterer Real Estate Agent Service Agent Plumber Real Estate Investor Service Manager Police Officer Realtor Service Rep Postal Carrier Receptionist Service Technician 51 Service Worker Substitute Teacher Training Specialist Sheet Metal Worker Superintendent Trainman Shipping/Receiving Clerk Supervisor Transportation Shop Foreman Supply Clerk Travel Agent Shop Manager Surgeon Truck Driver Skilled Trade Surgical Technician Underwriter Social Service Worker Surgical Technologist Unemployed Social Worker Surveyor Unit Director Software Developer Systems Analyst Unit Secretary Software Engineer Systems Engineer UNL Software Support Tax Manager UPS Soil Scientist Teacher US Armed Forces Specialist Teacher & Coach Utility Operator Speech Pathologist Teacher Aide Veterinarian Speech Therapist Teacher/Homemaker Vice President Staff Accountant Team Leader Video Producer Staff Assistant Tech Support Waiter/Waitress Staff Secretary Tech Writer Warehouse Manager State Farm Ins. Technician Warehouse Supervisor State of Nebr. Telemarketer Warehouse Worker State Trooper Telephone Technician Web Designer Stay at Home Mom Teller Welder Steel Worker Territory Manager Well Driller Stockbroker Therapist Wellness Coordinator Stocker Tile Setter Woman Religious Store Manager Tool Designer Woodworker Structural Engineer Toolmaker Writer Student Train Master X-Ray Technician Stylist Trainer Sub Contractor Training Consultant
Education: 13+ Years Doctorate Masters Associate Grade School Other Bachelors High School Unknown
Ethnic Background: African American Asian Indian Filipino Aleut Cambodian German American Caucasian Guamanian/Chamo American Indian Chinese Hawaiian American Indian–tribe name Cuban Hispanic Asian – Other Ecuadorian Hispanic American Asian American Eskimo Irish
52 Italian Other Spanish Japanese Other Hispanic Swedish Korean Other Pacific Islander Undisclosed Laotian Philippine Unknown Mexican Polish Vietnamese Mexican American Puerto Rican White Nondisclosed Samoan
Faith: Baptist Lutheran Other Ukranian Catholic Byzantine Catholic Methodist Presbyterian Unknown Catholic Mormon Protestant Christian Orthodox Roman Catholic Greek Orthodox Orthodox Christian Russian Orthodox
Family Group: Active Friend Sacrament Only Alumni Inactive School Only Associated Non-Parishioner Ministry Only Staff Contributor Only Moved Unknown Deceased Religious Ed Only Visitor
Language: Afrikaans Danish Greenlandic Ainu Dongxiang Guarani Akkadian Dravidian Gujarati Ancient Greek Dutch Hausa Arabic English Hawaiian Asturian English/French Hawaiian Pidgin Eng Aymara English/German Hebrew Bahasa Indonesia English/Italian Hindi Basque English/Polish Hmong Bengali English/Spanish Hungarian Breton English/Vietnamese Icelandic Burmese Estonian Ingush Catalan Faroese Irish Gaelic Chichewa Farsi Italian Chinese Finnish Italian/English Church Slavonic French Japanese Cornish French/English Konkani Creole Friulian Korean Croatian Galician Ladin Czech German Lakhota Dakota Greek Latin 53 Latvian Rhaeto-Romance Tagalog Lithuanian Romanian Tamazight Malay Romany Tamil Manx Gaelic Russian Thai Maori Sanskrit Tibetan Marathi Scots Gaelic Tok Pisin Mongolian Serbian Turkish Norwegian Shiyeyi Urdu Pashto Slovak Vietnamese Pidgin (PNG) Slovene Vietnamese/English Polish Spanish Welsh Portuguese Swabian Yiddish Portuguese (Brazilian) Swahili Yoruba Quechua Swedish
Suffix: CK IV OSF/S SND CMRM Jr. OSF/T Sr. CPPS MD OSFS VF CSSR MS OSU VG Esq. OD PhD VJ II OFM Conv RSM III OSF SJ
Title: Br. Dr. Miss Rev. Brother Fr. Most Rev. Rev. Mr. Capt. Gen. Mr. Rev. Msgr. Col. Judge Mrs. Sr. Deacon Master Ms Very Rev.
Religion: Apostolic Church Evangelical Non-Catholic Assembly of God Greek Orthodox Nondenominational Bahai Hindu None Baptist Jehovah Witness Orthodox Buddhist Jewish Other Christian Catholic Lutheran Presbyterian Christian Reformed Lutheran – Missouri Synod Quaker Church of Christ Mennonite Russian Orthodox Church of God Methodist Seventh Day Adventist Congregationalist Mormon United Church of Christ Disciple of Christ Muslim Unknown Episcopalian Nazarene
54 Position Type: Administrative Assistant Evangelization Principal – High School Administrator Finance Committee Provincial Adult Education Finance Manager RCIA Altar & Rosary Finance/Pastoral Council Rector Assistant Pastor Guidance Counselor Respect Life Assistant Pastor (Order) In Residence Retired Athletic Director Instructor Sacristan Bereaved Judicial Vicar School Council Bishop Librarian Scout Leader Business Manager Liturgy Coordinator Secretary Byzantine Rite Priest Maintenance Secretary – Diocesan Cafeteria Worker Manager Secretary – Elementary Campus Minister Marriage Preparation Secretary – High School Catechist Migrant Ministry Secretary – Parish Cemeteries Music Director Seminarian Chaplain Musician Senior Status (Priest) Chaplain Emeritus Nurse-Parish Seniors Choir Director Nurse-School Separated/Divorced Classroom Aide Office Clerk Singles Clerk Office Manager Social Justice Coach Order Priest Social Services Coach – CYO Organist St. Vincent de Paul Computers Other System Admin Custodial Services Outside Diocese Teacher Day Care Parish Chaplain Teacher – Elementary Deacon Pastor Teacher – High School Dean Pastor (Order Priest) Teacher – Substitute Development Director Pastoral Administrator Teacher/Guidance Diocesan Director Pastoral Admin-Order Priest Transportation Diocesan Employee Pastoral Associate Ukranian Rite Priest Dir., RCIA Pastoral Council Unknown Dir., Young Adult Pastoral Council Facilitator Vicar General Dir., Youth Ministry Pastoral Leader Vocations Director Director President Vocations DRE President Designate Volunteer DRE/CRE Principal – Assistant Young Adult Episcopal Vicar for Admin. Principal – Elementary Youth Minister
55 Appendix B – ConnectNow Report Information
Kenedy Statistics Report Inclusion Rules: The following table contains a complete listing of the rules used to determine which records are included in each field of the Kenedy Statistics Report within the Family Directory / Reports tab:
Category Statistic Requirements Baptism To be included as a baptism, a record must meet these requirements:
• The place of reception is the same as the organization you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the sacrament record matches your parish's Organization ID). OR • The place of reception is not specified (the Parish ID in the sacrament record is blank) and your parish created the baptism record. AND • The status of the sacrament is "Completed." (The Completed checkbox in the sacrament record is checked). • The date of the sacrament (the Completed On field in the sacrament record) falls within the date range specified by the user in the report setup (Filter Options).
Infant A record is included in this category if it meets the requirements for Baptisms, plus all of the following are true:
• The Birth Date field (on the Member Details screen) contains a birth date. • The Completed On field in the Baptism record contains a date. • The age of completion is between 0 and 6 years (this is a system- calculated value based on the values in the Birth Date and Completed On fields).
Minor A record is included in this category if it meets the requirements for Baptisms, plus all of the following are true:
• The Birth Date field (on the Member Details screen) contains a birth date. • The Completed On field in the Baptism record contains a date. • The age of completion is greater than 7 and less than 18 years (this is a system-calculated value based on the values in the Birth Date and Completed On fields).
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Adult A record is included in this category if it meets the requirements for Baptisms, plus all of the following are true
• The Birth Date field (on the Member Details screen) contains a birth date. • The Completed On field in the Baptism record contains a date. • The age of completion is greater than or equal to 18 years (this is a system-calculated value based on the values in the Birth Date and Completed On fields).
Not A record is included in this category if it meets the requirements for Specified Baptisms, plus the following is true:
• The Birth Date field (on the Member Details screen) is blank (not specified). AND / OR • The Completed On field in the Baptism record is blank (no specified).
Received into Full A record is included in this category if all of the following are true: Communion • The place of reception is the same as the organization you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the sacrament record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The status of the sacrament is "Completed." (The Completed checkbox in the Rite of Reception sacrament record is checked). • The date of the sacrament (the Completed On field in the sacrament record) falls within the date range specified by the user in the report setup (Filter Options).
First Communions A record is included in this category if all of the following are true:
• The place of reception is the same as the organization you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the sacrament record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The status of the sacrament is "Completed." (The Completed checkbox in the First Eucharist sacrament record is checked). • The date of the sacrament (the Completed On field in the sacrament record) falls within the date range specified by the user in the report setup (Filter Options).
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Confirmations A record is included in this category if all of the following are true:
• The place of reception is the same as the organization you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the sacrament record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The status of the sacrament is "Completed." (The Completed checkbox in the Confirmation sacrament record is checked). • The date of the sacrament (the Completed On field in the sacrament record) falls within the date range specified by the user in the report setup (Filter Options).
Marriages To be defined as a marriage, a record must meet all of these requirements:
• The marriage location is the same as the organization you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the sacrament record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The status of the sacrament is "Completed." (The Completed checkbox in the sacrament record is checked). • The Completed On field in the marriage record contains a date (is not NULL or blank). • The Date Ended field in the marriage record does not contain a date (is NULL or blank). • The Marital Status field in the marriage record is not NULL.
Catholic A marriage record is counted as Catholic if it meets the requirements for Marriage Marriages plus all of the following are true:
• For the groom: The religion specified in the Faith of Baptism field in the marriage record is “Catholic.” • For the bride: The religion specified in the Faith of Baptism field in the marriage record is “Catholic.” • The Marital Status field in the Marriage record is set to "Married".
Interfaith A marriage record is counted as Interfaith if it meets the requirements for Marriage Marriages plus all of the following are true:
• For the groom: The religion specified in the Faith of Baptism field in the marriage record specifies a religion (the field is not blank or NULL). • For the bride: The religion specified in the Faith of Baptism field in the marriage record specifies a religion (the field is not blank or NULL). • The religion specified in the Faith of Baptism field in the marriage record is “Catholic” for one spouse, but not both. • The Marital Status field in the Marriage record is set to "Married".
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Not A marriage record is counted as Not Specified if it meets the requirements for Specified Marriages plus all of the following are true: Marriages • The Marital Status field in the Marriage record is set to "Married". AND • The religion specified in the Faith of Baptism field in the marriage record is not specified (is blank or NULL) for at least one spouse. OR • One of the spouses has no record in the organization that you are working in.
Total A count of the total number of marriages in all groups (Catholic, Interfaith, Marriages and Not Specified). To be counted, the Marital Status selection in the marriage record is set to "Married".
Registered Parishioner A record is included in the Registered Parishioner Households category if all Households of the following are true:
• The family has a record in the organization that you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the Family Details record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The Registration Status field in the family's record is marked "Yes" (the Registration Status checkbox on Family Details page is checked).
Individual Catholics A record is included in the Individual Catholics category if all of the following are true:
• The family has a record in the organization that you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the Family Details record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The Registration Status field in the family's record is marked "Yes" (the Registration Status checkbox is checked in Family Details). • The Status field in the member record is not set to Deceased. • The Religion field in the member record is set to “Catholic.”
Total Deaths A record is counted as a death if all of the following are true:
• The Owner Org ID of the record is the same as the Organization ID of the organization you are working in. In other words, the organization owns the member's record. • The value in the Date of Death field on the member's record falls within the date range specified by the user in the report setup (Filter Options). A possible bug can cause people who are alive to be counted if the user doesn't supply a Start / End date in the report setup.
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Religious Educations A record is included in the Religious Educations category if it meets these requirements:
• The member has a record in the organization you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the Family Details record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The member is enrolled in a class in the (optional) Religious Ed module that has a start date that falls within the date range specified by the user in the report setup (Filter Options). Elementary A record is counted in the Elementary Students category if it meets the Students requirements for Religious Educations and the following is true:
• The Grade Level field in the member's class record in the optional Religious Ed module is set to one of the following: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8.
High A record is counted in the High School Students category if it meets the School requirements for Religious Educations and the following is true: Students • The Grade Level field in the member's class record in the optional Religious Ed module is set to one of the following: 9, 10, 11, 12 or High School.
Total K - 12 A total count of the students in these categories: Elementary Students and High School Students.
Parish Statistics Report Inclusion Rules: The following table contains a complete listing of the rules used to determine which records are included in each field of the Parish Statistics Report within the Family Directory / Reports tab:
Category Statistic Requirements Households To be included as a household, a record must meet these requirements:
• The family has a record in the organization that you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the Family Details record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The family record was not deleted (the value in the system entered, database table field, Date Closed field is NULL).
Registered A record is included as Registered if it meets the requirements for Households and the following is true:
• The Registration Status field in the family's record is set to "Yes" (the Registration Status checkbox on the Family Details page is checked.)
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Un A record is included as Registered if it meets the requirements for Registered Households and the following is true:
• The Registration Status field in the family's record is set to "No" (the Registration Status checkbox on the Family Details page is not checked.)
Not A record is included as Not Specified if it meets the requirements for Specified Households and the following is true:
• The Registration Status field in the family's record is set to NULL.
Total A total count of the households in the categories: Registered, Unregistered, and Not Specified.
Households Without A record is included as Households Without Children if it meets these Children requirements:
• The family has a record in the organization that you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the Family Details record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The Registration Status field in the family's record is set to "Yes" (the Registration Status checkbox on the Family Details page is checked.) • The member is alive (the Status field in Member Details is not set to Deceased). • The member record was not deleted (the value in the system entered, database table field, Date Closed field is NULL).
Single A record is included in the Single household category if it meets the requirements for the Households Without Children and all of the following are true:
• The family record contains one member. • The member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. OR • The family record contains two members whose role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • Both member records with a Role of Head, Husband, or Wife are of the same gender. AND • The family contains no children (that is, it contains no member whose role is set to any of the following: Daughter, Foster Daughter, Foster Son, Grandchild, Granddaughter, Grandson, Son, Step Daughter, Step Son, or Stepchild).
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Catholic A record is included in the Catholic Couples household category if it meets Couples the requirements for the Households Without Children and all of the following are true:
• The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Male. • The male member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Female. • The female member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family contains no children (that is, it contains no member whose role is set to any of the following: Daughter, Foster Daughter, Foster Son, Grandchild, Granddaughter, Grandson, Son, Step Daughter, Step Son, or Stepchild). • All family members are Catholic (the Religion field in each individual's Member Details record is set to “Catholic”).
Interfaith A record is included in the Interfaith Couples household category if it meets Couples the requirements for the Households Without Children and all of the following are true:
• The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Male. • The male member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Female. • The female member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family contains no children (that is, it contains no member whose role is set to any of the following: Daughter, Foster Daughter, Foster Son, Grandchild, Granddaughter, Grandson, Son, Step Daughter, Step Son, or Stepchild). • At least one family member is not Catholic (the Religion field in at least one individual's Member Details record is set to a religion other than “Catholic”).
Households With Children A record is included as Households With Children if it meets these requirements:
• The family has a record in the organization that you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the Family Details record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The Registration Status field in the family's record is set to "Yes" (the Registration Status checkbox on the Family Details page is checked.) • The member is alive (the Status field in Member Details is not set to Deceased). • The member record was not deleted (the value in the system entered, database table field, Date Closed field is NULL).
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Single A record is included in the Single household category if it meets the requirements for the Households With Children and all of the following are true:
• The family record contains one member with the Role set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. OR • The family record contains two members whose role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • Both member records with a Role of Head, Husband, or Wife are of the same gender. AND • The family has children (that is, it contains at least one member whose role is set to the following: Daughter, Foster Daughter, Foster Son, Grandchild, Granddaughter, Grandson, Son, Step Daughter, Step Son, or Stepchild).
Catholic A record is included in the Catholic Couples household category if it meets Couples the requirements for the Households With Children and all of the following are true:
• The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Male. • The male member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Female. • The female member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family has children (that is, it contains at least one member whose role is set to the following: Daughter, Foster Daughter, Foster Son, Grandchild, Granddaughter, Grandson, Son, Step Daughter, Step Son, or Stepchild). • All family members are Catholic (the Religion field in each individual's Member Details record is set to “Catholic”).
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Interfaith A record is included in the Interfaith Couples household category if it meets Couples the requirements for the Households With Children and all of the following are true:
• The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Male. • The male member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family record contains a member whose gender is set to Female. • The female member's role is set to one of the following: Head, Husband, or Wife. • The family has children (that is, it contains at least one member whose role is set to the following: Daughter, Foster Daughter, Foster Son, Grandchild, Granddaughter, Grandson, Son, Step Daughter, Step Son, or Stepchild). • At least one family member is not Catholic (the Religion field in at least one individual's Member Details record is set to a religion other than “Catholic” or the religion is defined NULL).
Household Members An individual is included in the Household Members category if these requirements are met:
• The member has a record in the organization that you are working in (the value of the Parish ID in the Family Details record matches your parish's Organization ID). • The member is alive (the Status field in Member Details is not set to Deceased). • The member record was not deleted (the value in the system entered, database table field, Date Closed field is NULL).
Children (0 - 6) An individual is included in the Children (0 - 6) category if it meets all of the requirements of the Household Members category and the following are met:
• The age of the member is between 0 and 6 years (this is a system- calculated value based on the values in the Birth Date and the current date).
Boys A member record is defined as Boy if it meets all of the requirements of Children (0 - 6) and all of the following are met:
• The member record’s Gender is set to Male. • The member's role is set to one of the following: Foster Son, Grandchild, Grandson, Son, Step Son, or Stepchild.
Girls A member record is defined as Girl if it meets all of the requirements of Children (0 - 6) and all of the following are met:
• The member record’s Gender is set to Female. • The member's role is set to one of the following: Daughter, Foster Daughter, Grandchild, Granddaughter, Step Daughter, or Stepchild. 64
Not A member record is defined as Boy if it meets all of the requirements of Specified Children (0 - 6) and all of the following are met:
• The member record’s Gender is set to Unknown.
Total A total count of children (totals the numbers in the categories: Boys, Girls, Children Not Specified).
Total Souls Male A member record is defined as Male if it meets all of the requirements of the Household Members category and the following are met:
• The member record’s Gender is set to Male.
Female A member record is defined as Female if it meets all of the requirements of the Household Members category and the following are met:
• The member record’s Gender is set to Female.
Not A member record is defined as Not Specified if it meets all of the Specified requirements of the Household Members category and all of the following are met:
• The member record’s Gender is set to Unknown.
Total Souls A total count of member records (totals the numbers in the categories: Male, Female, Not Specified).
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Appendix C – Common Staff Permissions
Examples of Access Rights within ConnectNow The following are a draft of example Access Rights for certain job positions. Access Rights will vary based on Arch/Diocesan and Parish policies and standard operating procedures. If an organization has one person filling multiple roles, it is best to give them the fewest rights they need to complete all their functions. It is prudent to give fewer rights and add more as it is determined they are needed.
Pastor, Parish Administrator and/or Business Managers: These are the positions that most often need Organization Admin rights to oversee the management of the database:
Secretary: If this person is also responsible for Offering, Ministry Scheduler, and/or Religious Education/Tuition, you will want to provide Add/Edit rights for the modules they are responsible for. View or Print rights may only be needed in Ministry Scheduler, Religious Education or Tuition if this persons needs to look up information and/or print reports for these modules.
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Religious Ed Coordinator: Depending on your organizations standard operating procedures this person may also need rights to Add/Edit under Family Directory.
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Bookkeeper: Depending on your organizations standard operating procedures this person may also need rights to add/edit under Family Directory. Remember Fund Permissions must also be given from within the Offering module.
Liturgy Coordinator (Or Ministry Scheduler): Depending on your organizations standard operating procedures this person may also need rights to Add/Edit under Family Directory.
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Appendix D – ConnectNow Procedures
Adding a Priest to the List of Celebrants The follow procedure is how to add priests’ names to your list of Celebrants in the Sacramental Records portion of ConnectNow. This can only be done by someone who has Administrator access within the parish.
1) Go to the Administration tab in ConnectNow and then the Lookups section. a. If you are not a Parish Administrator, you will not see the Administration tab, and will not be able to perform this task.
2) On the left side of the screen, select Celebrants from the list of tables to bring up the list of Celebrants for the parish on the right side of the screen.
3) Click on the button in the tool bar at the top of the Celebrants list on the right side of the screen to add a new priest to the list.
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4) Once you’ve entered the priest’s name in the box, click “Save”.
5) Repeat for all of the priests that need to be entered into the list of celebrants.
Once you the priests have been entered into the Celebrant’s list, you will be able to choose them as the celebrant for the baptismal records.
Adding Non-registered Parishioners to a Parish Roster These instructions are for creating a new family record in a parish that they are not registered in. This will mostly be done so that parish can track contributions, pledges or create sacrament records for these non-registered families.
1. Within the ConnectNow Family List for the parish, click on the button to set up the new family. 2. You will be prompted to search for the family you want to add. a. Be sure to search and see if a record exists for this family in another parish. i. This is especially important when the family is registered in a nearby parish, as you will be able to import a copy of that family record and not have to enter much data for this family.
3. If you find a matching record in another parish, click the button and then select “As Unregistered” from the dropdown list. a. Change the Family Group to “Contributor Only” or another appropriate group. b. You will have only limited access to make changes to the family data, but you can make any other appropriate changes at this time. c. “Save” the changes that you made to the family record and “Close”.
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4. If you do not find a family record in another parish, click on the button and enter the member information and address. a. Be sure to uncheck the checkbox. b. Change the Family Group to “Contributor Only” or another appropriate group. c. All fields that are marked with a red asterisk (*) must have information in them. d. Enter all of the family and address information that you have for the new family. e. When you enter the Role for the members of this family, be sure to select “Head” for single people (or single parents) and “Husband” and “Wife” for married couples, as the system will not allow you to save the new record without one of those roles.
f. Once you have entered the name, role and address, click the button. g. You can now enter more information on the Member Details pages. i. Be sure to click “Save” after updating each member’s page – changes are not kept once you have left a page. h. If you are assigning an Envelope # to this family: i. Be sure to save the record and close out after entering all other information. ii. Re-open the record. iii. Select the “Envelope #” field without going into any other field iv. Enter the number that you want. v. Save and close your changes without Tabbing or clicking into any other field.
Creating Mailing Labels with Envelope Numbers These instructions are for quickly creating a set of labels out of ConnectNow that includes the Envelope Number. They can be modified to create other types of mailing labels out of lists of families or members in your parishes.
1. In ConnectNow filter the Family or Member List for the group of parishioners that you want to create labels for. 2. Using the “Export to CSV” button, export the list to an Excel spreadsheet. a. Once the spreadsheet is saved, put it in the order that you want the labels created (i.e. – sort it by Envelope # or last name, or other field.) b. Save the sorted file. 3. Open a new Word Document and go to the “Mailings” tab. 4. Click on the “Start Mail Merge” button and from the dropdown list, choose “Labels…” a. From the new window, select the type of label that you want to print – most commonly, “30 per Page.” b. Click “OK” to close this window. 5. Click on the “Select Recipients” button and from the dropdown list, choose “Use an Existing List…” a. From the new window, browse to the Excel spreadsheet that you just created containing the parishioners for which you want labels. b. Click the “Open” button to begin using this file. 6. Start creating your first mailing label using the “Insert Merge Field” into the first label on the form: a. Use the “Mailing_Name” for the family name on the label b. Type a couple spaces and the pound sign and then add the “Envelope_” field to the label 71
c. On the second line, add the “Primary_Address” field d. On the third line, add the “City”, “StateRegion” and “Postal_Code” fields, separated by a couple of spaces e. To add the +4 ZipCode, after the “Postal_Code” field, type a hyphen and then add the “Plus_4” field f. You may have to go to the “Home” tab and alter the spacing or fonts to make the labels look exactly as you want them to g. When you’re done the 1st mailing label in the template should look something like this:
h. As you are creating your 1st label, you can click on the “Preview Results” button to see what the 1st label will look like, and then continue to tweak the label until it looks right to you. 7. When you have the 1st label complete, click the “Update Labels” button to repeat this format on every label. a. Again, you can click on the “Preview Results” button to make sure that all of the labels are created as you would like them to be. 8. When you are satisfied that the labels are correct, click on the “Finish & Merge” button to complete the process. a. From the dropdown box, you can choose to “Print Documents…” which will immediately send the merged documents to the printer. b. I recommend selecting the “Edit Individual Documents…” choice, as this will allow you to review the labels one last time before printing, make minor changes to individual labels, and save the file for future use. 9. You can then print the labels and close out of the files.
Filtering Out Non-parishioners from the Family / Member List Please note that filtering your Family and Member Lists works the same way. However, the filters for each list are independent of each other, and you will need to do the following steps in both lists. You will also see that there are many other filtering options available in both lists that are not discussed in this document.
1. From the top of your Family Directory, click on the “Filter” button:
2. From the drop down box, select “Registered”. 3. From the drop down box, select “Active”.
4. You can make both of these the default settings by click on the button to the right of each field. (This means that every time that you open your Family or Member List, it will
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default to only showing you’re the “Registered” and “Active” records in your parish. This is recommended. 5. Click on the button to begin filtering your list. 6. If you want to filter your list a different way, you can change these settings, however, your
default settings will stay the same until you click on the button again (which will then set the default to be whatever that field is currently showing.)
Registering New Parishioners in ConnectNow These instructions are for creating a new family record in a parish that they are not registered in. This will mostly be done so that parish can track contributions, pledges or create sacrament records for these non-registered families.
1. In the Family List for the parish, (if you handle multiple parishes, be sure that you are in the correct one) click on the button to begin the process for entering the new family. a. You will be prompted to search for the family you want to add. i. Be sure to search and see if a record exists for this family in another parish, as this will save you a lot of time. (It also prevents duplicate records from being created if the family has moved from another parish within the Diocese of Lincoln.) ii. You may find it useful to ask for their previous address or parish when you take their registration information to aid you in this search. b. If you find a matching record in another parish, click the button and then select “As Registered” from the dropdown list.
c. If you do not find a family record in another parish, click on the button to begin entering all of the family information from scratch. i. You will be taken to a new screen in which to enter the basic family information. ii. You will need to enter the information in every field that has an asterisk (*) by it. iii. When entering a new family, you will need to enter at least one family member’s information on this screen, and by clicking the “Add Another” link, you can enter all members of a family at this time. iv. The “Type” field is the Role that each family member has within the family, in relation to the parents. 1. Couples are to be listed as Husband and Wife, while single people (with or without children) would be listed as Head. 2. Children would be listed as Son or Daughter or appropriate. 3. If other family members residing with the family, their “Type” is always determined by their relationship with the main person / couple (although it may be more appropriate to create a separate family for these parishioners in most cases.) 4. You will not be able to save the new family record if at least one person is not chosen as Head, Husband or Wife. v. Click on the “Auto Fill Family Names” to fill in the name(s) that will be seen in the Family List, and which can be used on correspondence to your parishioners. (This is a big time-saver, if the member names are entered correctly) vi. Enter the family’s address information in the appropriate fields. 73
vii. When done with your initial entry on this screen, click on the button. 2. You will now be taken to the “Family Details” screen, in which you can enter / change the basic family information. a. If you are importing the family from another parish, be sure that the checkbox is checked. (This will automatically be checked if you are created a record from scratch.) b. Make sure that the Family Group is set to “Active”. c. All fields that are marked with a red asterisk (*) must have information in them. d. You can make any changes to the Name and Address fields that are necessary at this time. i. You can enter up to three different addresses for the family: Home, Mailing, and Other. ii. In the “Primary Address” field, you should choose which address should be used by the system when sending mail. iii. You should keep “Home” and “Mailing” addresses separate (PO Boxes should be entered into “Mailing,” and the physical address into “Home,” not as two separate lines within the same address.) iv. “Other” can be used for vacation homes for families that winter in the South or other temporary situations. e. An envelope number can be entered for the family to help track their giving. i. Be sure to save the record and close out after entering all other information. ii. Re-open the record. iii. Select the “Envelope #” field without going into any other field iv. Enter the number that you want. v. Save and close your changes without Tabbing or clicking into any other field. f. Review the checkboxes in the lower right corner to ensure that the family’s information is handled according to their wishes. (The “Publish” fields controls the information that can be viewed by other parishioners in the “My Own Church” system or in a Parish
Directory.) g. Save the record before leaving the Family Details page and working on the members’ pages. h. Next to the Family Information tab on the Family Details page is a tab for “Notes” on the family. i. Use this to make notations about the family or family member that cannot be included in any of the fields. 3. Click on the “Member Details” tab to enter or update the information for each member of the family, starting with those members that were either imported with the family, or that your created during the initial entry of information in Step 2. a. All fields that are marked with a red asterisk (*) must have information in them. i. The “Role” field defines each family member’s relationship to “Head,” “Husband” or “Wife.”
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1. Couples are to be listed as Husband and Wife, while single people (with or without children) would be listed as Head. 2. An unmarried couple that is cohabitating could be listed in the same family as “Head” and “Adult” for purposes of tracking children, otherwise they should be listed in separate families whenever possible. 3. Children would be listed as Son or Daughter or another appropriate role (Stepson, Niece, etc.,). 4. If other family members are residing with the family, their “Type” is always determined by their relationship with the main person / couple (although it may be more appropriate to create a separate family for these parishioners in most cases.) 5. You cannot save a family record if at least one person is not chosen as “Head,” “Husband” or “Wife.” ii. The “Gender” field will be auto-populated based upon the Role if that field is gender specific. (i.e. – Husband and Son would cause “Male” to be populated, while Wife or Grandmother would populate “Female.” Adult or Other will not populate anything in this field.) iii. Status can be set for each family member: 1. By default, all members of a Registered family should be “Active” unless otherwise noted. 2. “ActOther” can be used for a non-Catholic spouse or child that attends the parish. 3. “Inactive” would be used for members of a family that is not registered in your parish. 4. “Deceased” would be used for a member of the family that has died. iv. First Name should be the full, formal first name of the member. 1. Any nicknames that are used by the person should be entered into the “Nick Name” field. v. Last Name should be entered as the member’s legal last name, so that it would appear correctly on an envelope or other correspondence. 1. There should never be any asterisks or other symbols used to note a non- Catholic member of the family 2. Hyphenated last names can be entered for any member of the family, even if they are the only member that uses that form of their last name. 3. Only enter a maiden name or parent’s different last name in this field if it is part of the member’s legal, hyphenated, last name. Otherwise, that information can be entered in the “Maiden Name” field or in the “Notes” section of the Family Details page. b. Enter as much other Member information as you can: i. The “Birth Date” field allows you to search for members by their age, birthdate or birth month. ii. “Birth Place” can be entered if it is known. iii. “Date of Death” will only accept a date if the “Status” field is set to “Deceased” for a member. iv. The “Religion” field should be used to note all non-Catholic’s within the family. (It should default to “Catholic” for everyone.) v. “Language” should be used to note the dominant language spoken by that member.
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1. This field can be used to determine what language is printed on correspondence to this member / family. 2. “Spanish” or “Vietnamese” should be chosen for someone who does not speak or understand the English language well. 3. “English/Spanish” or “English/Vietnamese” should be chosen for someone who is fluent in both languages. 4. This field should not be used to indicate someone who is a native English speaker, but who has become fluent in other languages, unless they directly indicate that they want to receive correspondence in a different language. vi. “Marital Status” should be used to indicate the legal / sacramental status of the family’s marriage. Due to the limited options available in this field, it is recommended that you use the “Notes” section, as well as the Marriage record to indicate the proper status of the couple. vii. The “Envelope #” field on the Member record is only used if that member is making contributions separately from the family, and if a unique envelope number has been assigned to them outside of their family envelopes. c. The Tabs at the bottom of the record can be used to track other useful information for each member of the family: i. Individual contact information can be entered on the “Contact” tab, such as email address(es) and cell or work numbers ii. Several key fields can be entered on the “General” tab to help you sort out your members and create links to their extended family. 1. Click on the icon next to the “Father Name” field to find the father for each child in the family (This can only be done after the father’s member record has been created.) a. You can also use this field to create link between adult children and their father if he has a record within the diocese. 2. Click on the icon next to the “Mother Name” field to find the mother for each child in the family (This can only be done after the mother’s member record has been created.) a. You can also use this field to create link between adult children and their father if he has a record within the diocese. 3. You can enter the Mother’s maiden name if it is known. 4. You can enter their “Grad Year” to help you classify students by which class they are in. 5. The school that a child is attending can be entered into the “School” field to help you group them together for targeted communications. 6. Nothing should be entered into the “Soc Sec #” field. 7. Any Additional Notes can be added in the “Member Notes” field. iii. The “Sacraments” tab provides you a ‘Read Only’ view of the members’ sacramental record information, but you cannot enter or edit this information on this tab. d. As you finish entering each member’s information, be sure to save each page. i. Once you move to a new member’s detail page, you will lose all unsaved information. e. To enter the information for a new family member, click on the tab and enter the member information from scratch. 76
f. When you are done entering / updating all of the information for all members of the family, click the button to close out of the family record. 4. Once you have entered all of the family members and their detailed information, you should enter in the Sacramental records for each of the members. a. If you have imported the family record from another parish, you should be able to see what sacramental records have already been entered for the family. b. If you need to enter any (or all) of the sacramental records for the new family, you need
to go to the section of the Family Directory. i. Before you can enter a new sacrament, you have to search for it. Select the sacrament that you want to enter for a new parishioner, using their last name and possibly their first and maiden names, and then click the button. ii. If the sacrament record does not appear for the person, you can begin entering their sacraments by clicking on the “Create new … record” button. iii. This will bring up another search box in which you can find the parishioner. Once you have found the correct parishioner, click on the radio button next to that name and then . iv. Enter all of the information that you have for Sacraments that have been completed: 1. Make sure that the “Completed” checkbox is checked. 2. Enter the date of the sacrament if it is known. 3. Select the Parish in which the sacrament took place. 4. Select the Celebrant of the sacrament. (If the celebrant isn’t in the list, an Administrator in your parish can add them to your list of Celebrants in the Administration / Lookups tab.) 5. Enter all of the details of the sacrament to the best of your ability. 6. Since these sacraments did not take place in your parish, you will not enter any Registry information. v. Repeat this process for all family members. 1. Baptismal records should be entered for all members of the family. 2. Confirmation records should be entered for all members of the family. 3. Marriage records should be entered for parents. 4. First Communion records should be entered for dependent children. vi. Be sure to save each record as you finish entering it. 5. You can also add the family and members to any Family Workgroups or Member Workgroups that are appropriate. a. If your parish uses map codes to group families based on their address, you can add them to the appropriate group. b. If you collect information on ministries / organizations / activities that the new family would like to be involved in, you can add them to those workgroups.
Updating Family and Member Records This procedure is for updating an existing Family or Member Record within the Family Directory tab of ConnectNow.
1. From the Family List, search for and find a record that needs to be updated. Click on the name in the list to open it. 77
2. Click on the button to begin updating the Family Details page. At the top of the Window, you will see the following tabs:
3. You will start on the Family Information tab. If you need to unregister the family, uncheck the checkbox to unregister the family in your parish. 4. From the drop down box, select the status that best describes the family: a. Moved – if they’ve moved from your parish b. Deceased – if all members of the family have passed away c. Contributor Only – if they still occasionally visit your parish and make contributions d. Sacrament Only – if they only have a record in your parish for a sacrament (Marriage, Baptism of a child, etc.) e. Inactive – if they have ceased being active parishioners and do not fall into one of the other categories f. Visitor – if they visit your parish but do not fall in one of the other categories 5. When you have made the changes to the family record, click the button. 6. After saving the family record, you can go to the “Notes” tab to add any comments that are required to document why you took the steps you did or to add notes about the family. Then you will need to save that page, too. 7. On the “Member Details” page, you can move between all members of a family by clicking on each person’s tab. 8. Whenever you begin editing a member’s record, you will need to click on the button, and when you finish with that record, you will need to click on the or the buttons to save your work. 9. You will need to update the drop down box for each family member: a. Active – for family members that are active parishioners b. Inactive – for family members that are inactive, or for members of a family that has moved out of your parish c. Deceased – for family members that have passed away d. ActOther – for members of a Family in your parish that are not Catholic Note: ParishSOFT is planning to tie in the Member status to the Family Status, so that in the future, you will not have to manually update each family member to inactive if they move out of your parish, you should only need to update the Family Group, and then confirm that all members will be in this same status. We have asked ParishSOFT to prioritize this update. 10. If you are marking someone as “Deceased”, you will be able to add the “Date of Death” only after you have changed their “Status” to ‘Deceased.’ (This death will then be noted on your statistics reported.)
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11. After updating a member record, you will need to click . When you have updated all member records for a family, you can click .
Setting up Outgoing Emails in ConnectNow To implement the email connection between ConnectNow and a parish’s outgoing email server, Support has to add their outgoing email server settings to CN. This will allow customers to send out email through ConnectNow (i.e., from Religious Ed, Family Directory, etc.)
ParishSOFT Support needs to know 3 things: 1. The parish’s domain: this is the part of their email address after the @. a. For example [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] here mychurch.com, ourlittlechurch.net, and thebestchurch.org are the domain names 2. Whether the parish’s outgoing email SSL encrypted? 3. What port does the parish’s outgoing email use?
If the pastor or parish secretary does not know this information they can ask their email provider for this.
Once Support has this information, they will add it to the database, and then email the parish contact that it is ready.
How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in an Open Batch From time to time, you may post a contribution and later discover, for example, that a posted amount was incorrect, or that the payment was attributed to the wrong donor or envelope number. If you posted the contribution within a batch or outside of a batch, you can edit the contribution to correct the error. The following restrictions apply to editing a changing a contribution: ● Only authorized users (those with View and Add/Edit access rights as well as permission to access the associated fund) can edit contribution records. ● If the batch containing the contribution is closed, you cannot change the posted contribution. For instructions on changing a contribution in a closed batch, see How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in a Closed Batch. ● If the contribution is associated with a fund whose end date is in the past, you cannot edit the record. 1. If you manage several organizations, select the desired organization from the Organization list. 2. Click to display the Contribution List page. 3. Use the column heading filters to help you locate the contribution you want to correct. For example, to locate the contribution by the donor's envelope number, type the envelope number in the Env # field. The list updates automatically, and then shows you a list of contributions matching your search criteria, as shown in the illustration below. Note that a
79 search returns both broad and exact matches for the value entered. In illustration below, the value 60 returns 60 as an exact match plus other values that include 60, such as 601.
4. Select the checkbox to the left of the contribution record you want to change. Then, click in the toolbar. The Edit Contribution window is displayed. For example:
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The details from the donor's census record appear at the top in the Donor Record section. This portion of the record cannot be editing here. 5. In the Amount field, type the correct contribution amount. In the previous illustration, the $200.00 contribution amount is incorrect. It should be $20.00. To correct the amount, change $200.00 to $20.00 in the Amount field, as shown in the following illustration:
6. In the Reason field, supply a reason for the change.
7. Click to save the correction.
8. Click to exit. You return to the Contribution List page.
How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in a Closed Batch If a payment or contribution is posted incorrectly within a batch that is now closed, use these procedures to reverse the transaction and correct the mistake.
Reversing the Transaction To reverse a transaction in a closed batch, you must first create a new batch that contains the reversal amount. Then, post this batch to reverse the original payment to the fund. Follow the steps below:
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Step 1: Create a Batch Containing the Reversal Amount 1. If you manage several organizations, select the desired organization from the Organization list. 2. Click . The Batch Management page is displayed:
3. Click . The Create new batch window is displayed. The Fund field defaults to the last fund selected. The Date Opened field defaults to today's date. An asterisk (*) indicates a required field. See Batch_Details for descriptions of the fields. 4. Do the following: In the Batch Description field, type a descriptive name for the batch. For example, "Batch_Correct Transaction". In the Cash Total field, type a negative payment amount to credit the original amount posted. For example, if the original amount entered in error was $100.00, type -100.00. In the Fund list, select the name of the fund that the original payment was posted to. In the Date Opened field, select the batch open (batch creation) date. Today's date is displayed as the default. (optional) Type a comment to explain the transaction. It is helpful to type something to jog your memory, such as "Original amount posted in batch incorrectly". Following is an example of the information in the setup for batch created to offset an amount of $100.00 that was entered incorrectly. Note the negative dollar amount in the Cash Total field:
5. Click . A confirmation window is displayed to let you know that the batch was created and to let you review the details of the batch. Note the negative amount is shown in the Cash Total field:
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6. Verify the details of the batch. Then, do one of the following: If the details are correct, click to exit the window. The batch is added to the Batch Management page. Note that the Cash column displays the reversal amount in parentheses (to indicate that it is negative). If the details are not correct, you can fix them before you post the batch. To do this, click , and make the necessary changes. Click , and then click to exit the window. The batch is added to the Batch Management page. Note that the Cash column displays the reversal amount in parentheses (to indicate that it is negative). 7. You are now ready to post the batch that contains the reversal amount. Go to Step 2. Step 2: Post the Batch to Credit the Original Posting In supported browsers, you can use the Tab key or the Enter key to advance the cursor from one entry field to the next. 1. Click . The Contribution Posting page is displayed. The cursor is positioned in the Env # field in the Posting section. Note that the settings in the Batch Information, Posting Filters, Default Posting Data, and Posting Options fields all default to the last selections you made for these fields. You may need to go back to change these selections for this transaction.
How to Process a Check Returned for Non-Sufficient Funds Unfortunately, at some point, you may receive a contribution from a check that is later returned by the bank due to non-sufficient funds (NSF). In such situations, you can correct the mistake by reversing the transaction. This topic shows you how.
Reversing an NSF payment is a two-step process. First, create a batch that contains the NSF amount. Then, post the batch to reverse the original payment to the fund. Step 1: Create a Batch for the NSF Amount 1. If you manage several organizations, select the desired organization from the Organization list. 2. Click . The Batch Management page is displayed:
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3. Click . The Create new batch window is displayed. The Fund field defaults to the last fund selected. The Date Opened field defaults to today's date. An asterisk (*) indicates a required field. See Batch_Details for descriptions of the fields. 4. Do the following: In the Batch Description field, type a name or description for the batch. For example, "NSF-Batch". In the Cash Total field, type a negative payment amount that reflects the original payment. For example, if the check was for $100.00, type -100.00 in this field. In the Fund list, select the name of the fund that the original payment was posted to. In the Date Opened field, select the batch open (batch creation) date. Today's date is displayed as the default. (optional) Type a comment to explain the transaction. It is helpful to type something like "Reverse NSF Check 201 dated 7/27/2012". Following is an example of the information in the setup for an NSF batch:
5. Click . A confirmation window opens. In the window, a message is displayed to let you know that the batch was created and enable you review the details of the batch. Note the negative amount is shown in the Cash Total field:
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6. Verify the details of the batch. Then, do one of the following: If the details are correct, click to exit the window. The batch is added to the Batch Management page. Note that the Cash column displays the reversal amount in parentheses (to indicate that it is negative). If the details are not correct, you can fix them before you post the batch. To do this, click , and make the necessary changes. Click , and then click to exit the window. The batch is added to the Batch Management page. Note that the Cash column displays the reversal amount in parentheses (to indicate that it is negative). 7. You are now ready to post the batch that contains the reversal amount. Go to Step 2. Step 2: Post the Batch In supported browsers, you can use the Tab key or the Enter key to advance the cursor from one entry field to the next. 1. Click . The Contribution Posting page is displayed. The cursor is positioned in the Env # field in the Posting section. Note that the settings in the Batch Information, Posting Filters, Default Posting Data, and Posting Options fields all default to the last selections you made for these fields. You may need to go back to change these selections for this transaction.
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2. In the Posting Filters section: In the Family Registration Status list, select Both. In the Family Group list, select All Groups. 3. In the Default Posting Data section: 1. In the Batch list, select the batch containing the reversal amount (the one you created earlier in Step 1. Create a Batch for the NSF Amount). The Batch Information section updates to show you the details of the batch you selected. 2. In the Fund list, select the fund the original contribution was made to. 3. In the Payment Type list, select the payment method used for the original transaction. 4. In the Posting Options section, select whether you are posting the payment reversal to a family or member. Then, indicate how you want to search for the donor (for example, by name or by envelope number). You are now ready to post the payment reversal. 5. In the Posting section, complete the following: 1. In the Posting Date field, select the date of the original posting. 2. Do one of the following: If posting by envelope number, type the "Loose Cash" family's envelope number in the Env # field. If posting by last name or Family DUID, tab to the Post To field and type the last name or Family DUID. Select the donor from the Post To list. c. Tab to the Amount field. Type the dollar amount of the adjustment. For example, $- 100.00. d. In the Check Number field, record the check number if the original payment was made by check. e. For thorough record keeping, in the Memo section, record the reason for the transaction. For example, "NSF Check 201". The following illustration shows you an example of a posting for a check returned for non- sufficient funds:
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6. Click to post the transaction to reverse the original payment. The Last Contribution Posted section at the bottom of the page updates to show that the reversal amount was posted. For example:
How to Process Contributions using the Quick Entry Process This procedure is to explain how to create and work with a Quick Entry batch in the Offering Module of ConnectNow. This process is designed to improve the speed with which you can enter all of the donations to your parish. However, there are a couple of nuances which may make this process a little confusing. The Detailed Posting process is still available for your use as an alternate method of entry and can whenever it is more convenient or easier for you.
Creating a Quick Entry Batch: 1. In the Offering tab, on the Batch Management page, click the button. 2. In the “Create new batch” window, add information to the following fields:
a. In the Batch Description field, add an appropriate name for the batch. b. Either enter the Cash Total for the batch (if known) or leave this field as $0.00 (if the batch has not been counted.) c. From the Fund dropdown list, select the fund that most contributions will be posted to within the batch. d. Make sure that the Date Opened reflects the current date, or the date of the first contributions to be posted in the batch. 87
e. In the Batch Type field, select “Quick Entry Posting” from the dropdown box. f. Your new batch will look something like this: 3. Click the button to complete the creation of the batch. 4. Click the button to close the batch window and return to the Batch Management page. 5. To see the new batch within the list of your other batches, change the filter in the Status column from “Open” to “Quick Entry” or “All”. 6. The new options within the Status list, and an explanation of what each status means follows:
a. Quick Entry: Shows only batches opened through the Quick Entry Posting process that can still be edited in that process. b. Committed: Shows only batches opened through the Quick Entry process that have since been committed, so that they cannot be edited in that process. (Batches in this status can be edited using the Detailed Posting page.) c. All: Allows you to include all batches within the Batch Management list, no matter whether they were opened for Quick Entry Posting or Detailed Posting d. NOTE: A batch that still has a status of “Quick Entry,” will not populate a “Batch Detail” report, but a batch with at status of “Committed” will. 7. After you have created a Quick Entry Posting batch, you can begin working with it by clicking on the “Posting” page and choose the “Quick Entry Posting” option. This will bring up the Quick Entry Posting batch list:
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8. Click the radio button at the left of the batch that you want to work in. Then click on the button to open the batch in the Quick Entry Contributions Posting Page:
9. You should note several features of this page: a. Both the button at the top right, and the button at the bottom of the page will close you out of the posting page and bring you back to the Quick Entry Batch list. i. Whenever you leave the posting screen, all completed line items will be saved. ii. Closing the posting screen will take you back to the Quick Entry Posting Batch list. iii. You can reopen any Quick Entry Batch that has not been committed by choosing it from the list of batches and clicking the button. b. The “Total,” “Balance,” “Transactions,” Valid / Invalid parishioners, and Family / Member contribution counts at the top of the page, provide a snapshot of the contributions that you have entered into the batch. c. The “Fund,” “Date” and “Type” fields will reflect the choices you made when creating the batch and should be set to the primary choices for most of the contributions you are going to post in the batch; however, you can change any of these fields at any time while posting contributions. i. Whatever is showing in these fields when you finish entering a contribution is what will be saved for that line item. ii. If you need to edit one of these fields for a contribution after you have moved to a new line, you can click on the button to the right of that item and make the necessary changes. d. You can delete any contribution by clicking on the button to the right of that item.
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e. Clicking on the button will open a window in which you can set options to help you enter the contributions the way that you would prefer:
i. The “Lookup By” dropdown box lets you post your payments by either the Envelope Number of your parishioners or by their Last Name, or both. ii. Choosing the check box next to the “Check Number” or “Memo” options will add those fields to the line for each contribution that you enter. iii. The “Posting Filters” lets you filter the list of records that are searched when posting. It is recommended that you keep the Family Reg. Status as “Both” and the Family Group as “All Groups”. 10. Once you have completed this setup, you will be ready to begin entering your contributions.
Entering and Editing Contributions in a Quick Entry Batch: 1. Once you have your Options and Filters for your Quick Entry Posting batch set where you want them, you can begin entering the information for your contributions. 2. When you are entering using the Envelope #, the entry fields will look like this on your screen (Note: This view does not show the Check # or the Memo field. You can choose whether to hide these fields or add them to the line items as desired. If you choose to show these fields, you can leave them blank when a check number or memo is not needed for a contribution.):
a. Enter the Envelope # of the contribution you want to post. b. Press the Tab or Enter key to move to the next field. c. Enter the Amount of the contribution. i. For whole dollar amounts, you do not have to enter the “.00” to complete the entry. The system will update that when you commit the batch.
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d. Press the Tab or Enter key to move to the next line and begin entering the next contribution. i. The system will verify the Envelope # that you entered in the background after you move to the next line ii. The verification will occur while you are continuing to enter the next contribution. You do not need to wait for it to verify this before moving on. iii. A Valid Envelope # will appear like this:
iv. An invalid Envelope # will look like:
v. You can either choose to go back and correct an invalid Envelope # immediately, or continue to enter your entire batch before going back to correct all of them at once. 3. When you are entering using the Last Name, the entry fields will look like this on your screen (Note: This view shows the Check # field. You can choose whether to hide this and the Memo field or add them to the line items as desired. If you choose to show these fields, you can leave them blank when a check number or memo is not needed for a contribution.):
a. Start typing the last name of your parishioner. Once you have entered enough to limit your list of options, you can stop and a box of possible Families and Members will appear below the field:
b. From the list of names, use your mouse to move the cursor over the correct Family or Member and choose them by clicking on the correct name that you are posting for. i. Be careful when using your mouse to choose the correct Family or Member. If your cursor moves off of the box for more than a second before making a selection, the box will disappear and you will have to retype the name to get the box back. ii. If your cursor is located where the box appears, the box will only appear for a second and will then disappear, forcing you to retype the name to get the box back. 91
iii. Records in the list that begin with the icon, are Family records. iv. Records in the list that begin with the icon, are Member records. v. Once you have made a selection, the last name of the record that you chose and the cursor will appear in the Last Name field again. c. Press the Tab or Enter key to move to the next field. d. Enter the Amount of the contribution. i. For whole dollar amounts, you do not have to enter the “.00” to complete the entry. The system will update that when you commit the batch. e. Press the Tab or Enter key to move to the next field. f. Enter the Check # of the contribution or leave this field blank. (If this field is viewable.) g. Press the Tab or Enter key to move to the next line and begin entering the next contribution. i. The system will verify the Family or Member that you chose in the background after you move to the next line ii. The verification will occur while you are continuing to enter the next contribution. You do not need to wait for it to verify this before moving on. iii. A Valid Family or Member will look like this:
iv. An invalid Family or Member Name will not be accepted, and will appear like this within the list of contributions:
v. You can either choose to go back and correct an invalid Family or Member immediately, or continue to enter your entire batch before going back to correct all of them at once. 4. If you select to enter contributions by “Both” the Envelope # and the Last Name in the Options and Filters window, your line item entry fields will look something like this (Note: This view shows the Check # field. You can choose whether to hide this and the Memo field or add them to the line items as desired. If you choose to show these fields, you can leave them blank when a check number or memo is not needed for a contribution.):
a. If you enter an envelope number in the first field, when you press Tab or Enter to move to the next field, your cursor will skip over the Last Name field and move to the Amount field. i. Selecting a contributor can be done by following the instructions in Step 2 of this procedure.
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b. If you leave the Envelope # field blank, when you press Tab or Enter to move to the next field, your cursor will move to the Last Name field and you will be able to select a Family or Member by their name. i. Selecting a contributor can be done by following the instructions in Step 3 of this procedure. 5. You can leave the Quick Entry Contribution Posting screen at any time by clicking either the button at the top right, and the button at the bottom of the page. a. Whenever you leave the posting screen, all completed line items will be saved. b. Closing the posting screen will take you back to the Quick Entry Posting Batch list. c. You can reopen any Quick Entry Batch that has not been committed by choosing it from the list of batches and clicking the button. 6. If you need to change the Fund, Date or Type for any contribution, this can be done by changing the appropriate field before pressing the Tab or Enter key to move to the next line. a. Whatever selection is showing in these fields when you move to the next line will be saved for that payment. b. The saving of these 3 fields only affects the line that you are working on, it will not save this information for any other contributions that you have already entered. 7. To edit the Envelope #, Last Name, Amount, Check # (if available) or Memo (if available) fields, you can simply tab or click into the field that you want to edit and start typing the correct information. a. If you change the Last Name field, as you type, you will go through the same process for selecting the correct Family or Member record as entering a name for a new contribution. b. You do not have to enter any reason information in when making changes during the Quick Entry process. c. Your changes will be saved when you press the Tab or Enter key to move off of that contribution. 8. To edit the Fund, Date or Type of a contribution that has already been entered, click the button at the right of the line in question. a. That will bring up a box in which you can change the Default Posting Data for that Line Item: b. Within the new window, you can make the correction(s) that you need to make and then click the button to close the window and save your changes. c. When making changes to the Default Posting Data for a Line Item, you will only be changing that information for the line item in which you chose the button.
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9. To delete a contribution within a list of items, click on the button to the right of the item that you want to delete. a. There is no dialogue box to confirm that you want to delete an item in the Quick Entry Contribution Posting screen. Once you click the button, that contribution will be removed immediately. 10. You can delete all contributions from a Quick Entry batch at one time, rather than deleting each line item. a. Close out of the Quick Entry Contribution Posting screen and return to the Quick Entry Batch list. b. Select the radio button next to the batch that you want to delete all contributions from. c. Click the button. d. From the new dialogue window, confirm that you want to delete all of the transactions in that batch. 11. You can also delete a Quick Entry batch without deleting every contribution within that batch, as long as the batch has not been committed, yet. a. From the Batch Management screen, check the box to the left of the Quick Entry batch(es) that you want to delete. b. Click the button. c. From the new dialogue window, confirm that you want to delete the selected batch(es). (Note: This will delete all transactions that have been entered in this batch.)
Committing and Closing a Quick Entry Batch: 1. Before you can commit a Quick Entry batch, you must make sure that it is balanced and that there are no errors. a. If a batch is not in balance, at the bottom of the Quick Entry Contribution Posting screen, you will see the following message: . i. This message will go away when the Balance is $0.00. ii. You can balance a batch by either editing or adding contributions to the batch until it balances, following the steps in the previous procedure. iii. You can also balance a batch by editing the “Cash Total” amount in the batch record, as accessed through the Batch Management page. b. If a batch is balanced, but you have one or more errors within the line items of that batch, you will see the following message: . i. This message will go away once you have removed all of the errors within the batch. ii. Errors in a Quick Entry batch are usually caused by an Envelope # that is entered incorrectly. iii. You can remove this message by correcting the envelope number on the line item so that the item comes up as valid. (See Steps 2 & 7 in the previous procedure for instructions on how to do this.)
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c. Once a batch is balanced and error free, the message at the bottom of the Quick Entry Contribution Posting will become: . 2. A Quick Entry Posting batch can only be committed while that batch is open in the Quick Entry Contribution Posting screen. a. Click on the button at the bottom of the screen to commit all of the contributions in this batch. i. From the new dialogue box that comes up, click the button to confirm that you want to commit this batch. ii. Committing the batch will take a few seconds to a minute, after which a confirmation message will appear to let you know that your batch was successfully committed. b. Several things happen once a Quick Entry batch is committed: i. The batch status changes to “Committed”. ii. The batch will no longer appear in the Quick Entry Posting Batch list. iii. The batch will not be able to be deleted, unless all individual contributions in it are first deleted. iv. New contributions will need to be added to the batch through the Detailed Posting process. v. All contributions in the batch will appear in the Contributions List. vi. All contributions in the batch will only be able to be edited or deleted in the Contributions List. 3. To add new contributions to a Quick Entry batch that has been committed, select the “Detailed Posting” option from the “Posting” page dropdown list. For more detailed information on adding contributions, see Offertory and Contribution Entry (SOP #8). a. Change the Batch in the “Default Posting Data” to the committed batch that you want to work in. b. Set you Fund, Payment Type Filters, Options and Posting Date as you want them. c. Enter the Envelope # or Name to select the donor d. Enter the Amount, Check Number (if applicable) and Memo (if applicable). e. Save the contribution, as you would a normal Detailed Posting contribution. 4. To edit one or more contributions in a Quick Entry batch that has been committed, select the Contribution List page. For detailed instructions on how to edit contributions in a batch, see How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in an Open Batch in this appendix. a. Set the date filters for the Posting Date of the contribution(s) and click the button. b. If you need to, you can filter by any of the columns within the list, to find the contribution(s) that you want, by typing the information into the blank field directly below the column name. c. Check the box to the left of the contribution(s) that you want to edit. d. Click the button to open an edit window. e. Make the changes that you need, being sure to add a “Reason” for the changes that you are making. f. Click the button to save the changes that you have made and close the edit window.
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5. To delete one or more contributions in a Quick Entry batch that has been committed, select the Contribution List page. a. Set the date filters for the Posting Date of the contribution(s) and click the button. b. If you need to, you can filter by any of the columns within the list, to find the contribution(s) that you want, by typing the information into the blank field directly below the column name. c. Check the box to the left of the contribution(s) that you want to edit. d. Click the button to delete the selected contribution(s). e. Confirm the deletion of the contribution(s) by clicking the button in the dialogue box. 6. After all initial contributions have been added to a batch, all contributions have been checked for accuracy, and any edits have been made, it is recommended that the batch be closed. a. Before closing a batch, the batch must be balanced, showing a Cash Balance of $0.00 on the Batch Details window of the Batch Management page. i. If a batch is not balanced, a reconciliation process should be followed to make sure that all contribution amounts are accurate, and that the Cash Total is correct. b. Once a batch is closed, no contributions can be added or edited within the batch. All aspects of that batch are saved exactly as they are. i. If you need to correct an error in a Closed batch, you can follow the instructions for “How to Correct a Posting in a Closed Batch” from Appendix D of the SOP. ii. It is recommended that all batches be closed after no more than 30 – 45 days from their creation to prevent accidental changes to the contributions within that batch. c. Batches can be closed on the Batch Management page, using one of two methods: i. From the Batch Management List, click the check box to the left of the appropriate batch(es) and click the button at the top of the list. ii. Open the batch by clicking the button to the left of its name, and then within the Batch Details window, click the button at the bot tom of the window. 7. If you need to correct a pledge in a Quick Entry Posting batch that has been closed, see the instructions for How to Correct an Incorrect Posting in a Closed Batch in this appendix.
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