User Guide

Please download a copy of the User Guide for the 2025 version of the Donation Software.  The User Guide is a 140 page MS Word Document containing the information you need to install and use the software.  There is a section of the documen for each of these topics: Installation on a PC, Installation on a MAC, Adjusting the Parameters, setting up you list of Donors,  Entering Donations, Printing Year-End Receipts, Printing Reports, Tracking Expenses and Account Balances, Printing the Income/Expense Report.  Click this Link to download the User Guide: 2025 User Guide 

Available Languages

When I send the software to you, it will have the Spanish language already available.  If you need a different language, then please email me.  I have language translations already available for Portuguese, Burmese, French, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean and Hindi.

REQUIREMENTS for using the Donation Software

·         Microsoft Windows PC with Excel and Outlook 2010, or later installed

·         Or a Macintosh computer with Excel 2011, or later installed

·         2G RAM, 100M free disk space

·         Outlook on a PC or Apple Mail on a MAC connected to your email system, if you want to email donor receipts

o   If you are using a PC and have not installed Outlook, then you will need to turn off the Email Functionality by altering the “Conditional Compilation Arguments” in the VBA Project Properties.

·         This software will not work with Excel online, on iPhone/Android phone, iPad, or on Chromebooks, as it requires the full version of Excel

·         This software will not work with Google Sheets or Apple Numbers or OpenOffice Calc

WHAT IS NEW IN THIS 2025 VERSION

I have received suggestions from the many people around the world who are using this software to record their donations and track their expenses.  I appreciate the suggestions you’ve offered and have tried to incorporate as many of them as possible in this new version for 2025.  Some of the new features are:

·         I have added the ability to have up to 10 Bank/Credit Card Accounts that are tracked in the Expenses. There are new Parameters to identify how many Accounts you are using, and which Account will be assigned when copying the donations to the Expenses tab.  There is a new “Balances” tab where you enter the beginning balance for each Account you are using. The software then calculates ending balances from the deposits and payments on the Expenses tab.  New Parameters have been added so you can specify the page orientation when printing the Balances Report, as well as the number of copies and the number of pages. For the Balances Report to work correctly, you will need to use the “Transfer” Category for both the payment and deposit. A new Parameter allows you to control if the Transfer section is displayed on your Income/Expense report or hidden. Please read the “Transferring Amounts between Accounts” section of this User Guide to see screenshots and examples of how to handle these Transfers.

·         In working with various churches, I found that many are not using the columns on the Expenses tab where you can specify if a receipt was provided for the expenses, and the column where you specify if the transaction is missing (outstanding) on the Account statement. New Parameters were added so you can hide these columns if you are not using them.

·         When entering the Category and SubCategory on the Expenses tab, you can type in the name or select it from a Dropdown List.  There is a new DropDown tab where you can maintain your Dropdown List items. Please note that this will require Excel version 2021, or Office 365, or newer. This is because this functionality uses the XLOOKUP function which is only available in the newer versions of Excel.

·         When entering the Name of your Special Offering on the Entry tab, you can type in the name or select it from a Dropdown List. The first week that you use a new Special, you will type it in.  It will be available from the Dropdown List in subsequent weeks.

·         In working with various churches, I found that some were not printing the Donation Details and other were not printing the Donation Summary from the Entry tab. So I’ve add new Parameters so you can control the printing of these.

·         The software will be sent with the Spanish Translation already in the Translation tab. So you can use the software in English, Spanish, or in both English and Spanish. I have the translations available for Portuguese, Burmese (Myanmar), Japanese, French, Simplified Chinese, Korean, and Hindi.  If you need one of these languages, then simply email me and ask for a copy of these other translations.  It is very easy to copy one of these translations and paste it over top of the Spanish in the Translation tab.  If you need to use my software in a language other than the 8 languages I currently have available, then contact me and I will share a video with you that shows how to use Google Translate to put your language in the Translation tab.

·         There are many churches in the US that are not English speaking.  So being able to use the software in another language has been very helpful for the non-English speaking volunteers who help record the donations.  However, the Year-End Donor Receipts might make more sense to be printed in English since the tax preparation will likely be done in English. A new Parameter has been added where you can specify the language to be used on the printed Donor Receipts.

Donations are appreciated

I am not charging for this software, but if you want personalized training or need further modifications, then I would charge $50 per hour for my time.  Training or other assistance can be done remotely. Some churches have sent me a donation after using it at their church.  If your church can send a donation, it would be appreciated but is not required for you to use the software. We have found this tool to be very useful at our church, and so my goal is for you to use this tool at your church.