Although ChMeetings does not provide a dedicated feature for custom reports, you can achieve very similar results using ChMeetings’ Advanced Search feature, available within several areas of the platform: People, Follow-Ups, Contributions, and Accounting Transactions, Once you run an Advanced Search in any of these areas, you can then export the resulting filtered list to Excel.
Let’s explore each search feature and see what data they facilitate access to.
Save Searches For Later Use
If you will be using a specific filter combination frequently, you can save it for later use. You can then edit saved searches, remove those you don’t need anymore, or clear them when you want to start from scratch. This feature is available under People and Accounting > Transactions. Here’s how it works:
Save Searches
Simply click Save Search, at the top of your panel after having selected your desired filters. Give your search a name, then click on Save.
Apply A Saved Search
When you want to use a saved search, simply select it from the list, at the top of your search panel. This will automatically apply the filters you saved.
Rename A Saved Search
To rename a saved search, you must first select it from the list, click its context menu, then choose Rename Search.
Update Saved Search Filters
To update the criteria of a saved search, please follow the steps below:
Make sure the search you want to update is selected in the list,
Use the filters in the Advanced Search area to adjust your search criteria.
Click the context menu next to your selected search, and select Update Current Search. This will update the selected search. Keep in mind that if you click Save Search instead, you will save a separate search, under a new name.
Delete A Saved Search
To delete a saved search, you must first select it from the list, click its context menu, then choose Delete Search. Note that you must confirm your choice. This action can’t be undone - you must recreate the deleted search if you change your mind.
Clear Saved Search Filters
If you’ve been working with a saved search, but you want to clear the filters, you can do so by returning to the default list selection, which is Select a Saved Search.
Next, let’s explore advanced search filters within each module where it is available.
People
The Advanced Search feature, available within the People module, provides a list of extensive filters. Use the Search By box to quickly look for specific ones that you want to apply to your list of people.
1. Search Type
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All / Children / Parents: Choose the demographic you are searching for:
- All: Everyone in the system.
- Children: Only minors.
- Parents: Adults with children associated with their profile.
2. Ministries
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In ministries / Not in ministries: Narrow your search by ministry.
- Any Ministry: Search for people in any ministry
- Select Ministry: .Filter out people by specific ministries that they should or should not be part of.
- Not in other ministries: Filter out people who are in the selected ministry but not in others. The option is available only when filtering for people who are in a specific ministry; and not for Not in ministry.
3. Groups
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In Groups/ Not in Groups: Narrow your search by group.
- Any Group: Search for people in any ministry
- Select Group: Filter people by specific groups that they should be part of or not.
- Not in other groups: Filter out people who are in the selected group but not in others. The option is available only when filtering for people in groups.
4. Address
Country / City / Address Line / Zip Code / Building No: Search for individuals based on their location. Use one or multiple fields to refine results.
5. Gender
Male / Female / Unknown: Select the gender of individuals.
6. Photo
Choose whether to search based on having a profile photo on file. The filter lets you search for people who have a photo, or have no photo.
7. Events
- Calendars: Select a calendar of events to which the resulting people have participated.
- Didn’t attend since (Days): Find those who haven’t attended an event in your chosen number of days.
- Attended at least once since (Days): Find those who recently attended a church event.
- Didn’t register since (Days)> Find those who haven’t registered to an event in your chosen number of days.
- Registered at least once since (Days): Find those who have recently registered to a church event.
8. Follow Ups
- Didn’t follow up since (Days): People not followed up within your chosen number of days.
- Didn’t assign follow up From / To: People needing follow-up assignments within your chosen date range.
9. Birthdate / Age
- Date From / To: Search for people who have birthdays within your chosen date range.
- Years From / To: Search for people within a specific age range.
10. Creation Date & Update Date
From / To / Since (days): Filter individuals by when their profile record was created (based on a date range or a chosen number of days); or last updated, based on the same toolset.
11. Marital Status
All, Unknown, Single, or Married: Choose a specific marital status to filter people by.
12. Contact Information
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Mobile:
- Mobile Status: All, Not Found, Invalid, Valid. Filter by the status of the mobile phone on record.
- Text Status: Filters based on people allow your church to Send Texts, or have opted for Do Not Text.
- Home Phone: Search for someone based on their home phone number.
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Email: Refine based onmembers’ availability to be sent emails or not.
13. Member Directory
- All: Search for people regardless of their Member Directory settings.
- Hidden: Filter for people who have opted to be hidden in the Member Directory.
- Visible: Filter for people who have opted to be visible in the Member Directory. .
14. Education / Work
- Filter by Education Level (Graduate, High School, or Preschool); School, or Grade.
- Filter by Job Title and Employer.
15. Family
Filter by family role within the church directory: Grandparent / Parent / Primary / Spouse / Child / Sibling / Other / Not in family.
16. Church
Filter by associated church name.
17. Notes
Use keywords to search in notes.
18. Baptism
Search for people who have been baptised within your chosen date range.
19. Giving
- Envelope (Has Envelope / No Envelope): Filter based on whether people should or should not have a fiving envelope.
- Giver Type (Giver / Non-Giver): Narrow down members who give to you
- Giving Dates: Search for people who have given to your church within a specific date range.
- Amount: Search for people who have given amounts varying within a specific range (From / To).
20. Pledges
- Pledge Type and Dates - You can filter people who have or have not pledged within a specified date range..
- Group Results By Household - If one member of a family has pledged, then the entire family is marked as having pledged; and vice-versa. If you enable this option, the search returns the Primary member from each family. You can use such a search to communicate to people and encourage pledging.
21. Additional Fields
This section lets you filter by any custom fields that are created within your ChMeetings Account. These will be different for each church, as they are custom and you create them yourself.
Custom fields can be filtered according to their type. So, for example, if you have checkbox fields, you will be able to filter by each option; or if you have date range fields, you’ll be able to filter by date range.
22. Users & Roles
- All: Search people regardless of user roles.
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User: Filter for people who along with their profile also have a ChMeetings user account.
- Filter by role: Select any default or custom role to filter by.
- Status (All, Invited, Pending, or Invitation Failed): Filter people by their user account invitation status.
23. Elections
Narrow down your People list based on their elections participation eligibility, either as electors or as candidates. You can filter by: Eligible Electors, Eligible Candidates, or Non-Eligible Electors.
24. Missing Data
Find no values for: Useful for identifying incomplete records (e.g., missing email or birthdate). This filter lists several essential default fields, as well as your custom fields.
Follow-Ups
1. Date
Enter a date range (e.g., from 01/01/2025 to 05/06/2025) to filter follow-up records by the date the follow-up was created.
2. Type
Select one type if you're looking for follow-ups performed in a specific manner.
- Any Type: No restriction on communication type.
- Visit: In-person follow-up.
- Phone: Telephone conversation follow-up.
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Message: Text message, email, or written communication.
3. Follow Up Status
Choose based on the progress of follow-up activities. Helpful for checking what still needs attention.
- All: Shows follow-ups regardless of status.
- Done: Completed follow-ups.
- Pending: Follow-ups that are still outstanding or not marked as completed.
4. Action
Search based on the specific action requested or taken during the follow-up. Select the action keyword (e.g., "Pray", "Deliver Bible", "Invite to Group"). Useful for grouping similar follow-ups together.
5. Responsible
Filter follow-ups based on the person assigned to carry them out. Select from a list of responsible users or staff. Great for accountability and workload tracking.
6. Groups
Choose one or more groups to filter follow-ups associated with people in specific groups.. Helpful for targeted follow-up within small groups, ministries, or service teams.
Contributions
1. Search Type
This option restricts your entire search to the selected parameter. So, for example, if you select Member, then all other filters will only search among members.
- All: Includes all record types.
- People: Contributions from identified individuals.
- Contacts: Contributions from non-member contributors.
- Organizations: Contributions from organizations.
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Anonymous: Unattributed contributions.
2. Select Person
- All: No specific individual selected.
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Search by Name: Use this to filter giving by a specific member or contact.
3. Exclude Archived People
This checkbox ensures archived or deactivated records are not included in search results. Use it when you only want to review giving from active individuals.
4. From / To (Date Range)
Define the time window for your contributions search Example: From 01/01/2025 to 05/08/2025 filters giving within this period.
5. Fund
- All: Include contributions to all available funds.
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Select Specific Funds: Narrow down to offerings for specific funds like “General Fund,” “Building Fund,” or “Missions.”
6. Method
This filter lets you analyze giving by method. The methods listed are those that you create while collecting contributions. You can see them under Contributions > New Contribution > Method, as well.
7. Amount
With this option you can define a range of contribution amounts.
8. Batch
This filter allows you to narrow down search results to a specific contribution batch.
- All: Includes all batches.
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Filter by Batch to only retrieve contributions within that batch.
9. Note
Use this filter when ooking for donations with specific designations (e.g., “In memory of…”); or that have specific notes attached to them. Search based on keywords written in the donation Notes field.
10. Groups
Use this filter to find giving from people in certain groups.
11. Birthdate / Age
This option lets you analyze giving patterns across age groups (e.g., 18–35 years). Filter based on the giver’s age or birthdate.
12. Email
Filter by email availability and search for people with or without email on file.
Accounting Transactions
1. Type
This filter allows you to narrow down searches based on financial inflow or deposit records.
- All: Includes every transaction type.
- Income / Deposit: Incoming funds, such as bank deposits, donations, grants, etc.
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Expense / Charge: Outgoing funds, such as payments or bank transfers.
2. Quick Date Filters
This filter helps review transactions in a specific financial period, such as weekly reconciliations or quarterly reports.
- Today / This Week / This Month / This Year: Quick-select filters for standard timeframes.
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Custom: Use From and To date fields to set a specific date range manually.
3. Accounts
Filter by one or more financial accounts to isolate associated transactions.
4. Fund
Funds refer to the designated purpose of a financial entry (e.g., General Fund, Youth Fund). You can select from your specific list of funds, that you create from under Accounting > Accounts > Funds.
5. Category
Categories are used to classify transactions and this filter lets you pull reports by accounting category for money tracking or tax prep.
6. Reconciliation Status
This filter lets you pull transactions based on bank reconciliation.
- All: Includes both reconciled and unreconciled transactions.
- Reconciled: Transactions that have been matched to a bank statement.
- Unreconciled: Transactions not yet reconciled.
7. Amount
With this filter you can pull transactions within a specific amount range.Use From / To: Filter by transaction amount. Example: From $100 to $1000
8. Payee
Search by the person or entity associated with transactions, such as a vendor, staff member, or external partner. This filter is great when you need a transaction history for a specific payee.
9. Attachment
This filter lets you filter transactions that either do or don’t have a file attached to them.
Tips
- Combine filters for more precise searches (e.g., "Children who haven't attended in 60 days and live in a specific ZIP code").
- Save frequent searches for later use
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Use range filters (e.g., "From – To") to catch broader segments of data.