Work Ahead!
While you should wait at least a week into January to send contribution statements, there’s still plenty you can do now. (And as far as we know, there's not a church office on the planet that doesn't have way more to do than fits in a day). Beat the rush as the last 1-2 weeks of January are often our busiest of the year.
Give bank transactions time to clear.
Again, don’t send any contribution statements until about one week into the new year. This will give your deposited checks and online ACH e-checking transactions time to clear the bank (and for any insufficient fund issues to show up). This will save confusion and several phone calls once the statements are sent out.
Check your funds.
Make sure each of your contribution funds is listed correctly as tax-deductible or not. To check, go to the top menu gear icon, then select General Settings 
→ Giving → Giving Options and Funds and review each fund. You will see to the right of the Active Funds a column telling the Tax-Deductible status for each Category (Fund). Simply click on the gear for any Category to change this status.
Customize your Giving Letter
Make sure your Contribution Statement looks just the way you want. You have many options for the way your Giving Statement can look. There are several merge fields that you can add. Carefully read the descriptions to select the choices that fit your needs. Do you need some help or want ideas? Here is a help page with lots of great information.
Resolve any Sync Errors
If you use our Giving software, it’s possible that some donations were not imported – usually because an email is used by more than one person. Learn more about How to Resolve Sync Errors.
Go Paperless!
Save a tree and some postage! Mass email your statements and/or let your donors know how to get them online! Here is more information on Emailing Giving Statements.
Measure Twice, Cut Once:
When you create your Contribution Statements, spot-check several statements before you print or send them all. ;-)
It is always good to do practice runs of your statements, especially if you have changed the layout, this is your first-time emailing statements, or anything else. Pick a sample group and run statements for that group to check for issues. It is also good to spot-check the larger statement runs for issues.
Thank Your Donors!
Never forget that these are gifts and not payments! Your congregation believes in the vision of your organization and have given gifts from their own resources. Remember to send them a 'Thank You!' in some way! Whether through email, text message, phone calls or through a written letter, all of these things can be done with the help of your ChMS!
Pro-Tip: Need some ideas? See our best practices on what to say in your giving statement, including an example email/letter you can use!
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