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As the year is ending you will want to remind your regular donors about year-end donation protocols. Come early December it is wise to remind your congregation that donations can be included in the current year only if:

• The donation is received in the church office by 12/31 or
• Postmarked by 12/31 if mailed or
• Processed in donor account by 12/31 if initiated by debit/credit card

Ensure that any donations received in January but are postmarked 12/31 or earlier are recorded in the appropriate year. This is an easy mistake to make so double-check those dates when recording. You will need to create two deposit slips in January anytime you are depositing funds from December 2021 and January 2022.

It is also important to have a cut-off date for your donor receipts to count toward 2021 especially considering some of the delays we have seen with USPS lately. For example, your church may choose January 15th as your cutoff date – the date you will print and send donor receipts. If a stray check from 2021 comes in after that date then it will need to be recorded in 2022 giving. Encourage your congregation to give online or drop off their check in the office before 12/31 if they are particularly concerned about their giving counting toward the 2021 tax year.

Would you like to talk more about this? Contact us today