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Manage Contribution Batches

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Contents

Introduction

A Batch is a group of contributions that are usually made at the same time. For example, this could be during a specific day or at an event. 

In ChMeetings, batches are assigned names and numbers throughout the Contributions module.

Batches can be either Open or Closed: 

  • Open - available to add contributions to; 
  • Closed - not accepting any more contributions. 

You can have multiple open batches at the same time and choose which one to add contributions to.

Manage Batches

Create a Batch

You can add a new batch only if the last one you opened contains funds. If there are no funds in the last active batch, the option will not be available. 

There are two areas where you can create a new batch:

  • From the New Contribution screen - You can add a new batch while submitting a new contribution. 
    • Add a new contribution and fill out the necessary information. Read more about adding contributions.
    • Use the Batch dropdown and click Create a New Batch. 
    • Assign a Batch Name and starting Data, then Save.
    • Your new Batch is created and is assigned the next Batch Number after the previous one, in ascending order.

Once you complete adding a contribution, the screen will be ready for you to add another. The same batch number will be automatically assigned and you cannot create a new batch unless you refresh the page. 

  • From the Batches screen - This is the dedicated area where you can manage batches, including creating new ones.
    • Click Create a New Batch.
    • Enter a Batch Name, assign a starting Date, and Save.
    • Your new Batch is created and is assigned the next Batch Number after the previous one, in ascending order.

Close a Batch

If you want to close a batch and start a new one, you can do so from under Contributions > New Contribution > Close Batch & Create New. This will close the current batch and create a new one with the next ascending number. So for example, if you are closing Batch 36, the new one will be 37.



If you are using the mobile app, you will find the option on the Contributions > New Contribution screen, but you must click the options menu at the top right and select Close Batch & Add New.  

You can also close a batch from under the Contributions > Batches section. Open the context menu corresponding to the batch you want to close, then select Close Batch. You will be asked to confirm your choice.

 

Once a batch is closed, you can no longer add, edit or delete contributions within it. You must confirm this when choosing to close a batch.

 

Close and Deposit a Batch

You can close and deposit a batch to your accounting in one go, as follows:

  • Go to Contributions > Batches.
  • Find the batch that you want to close and deposit.
  • Open its context menu and choose Close & Deposit.
  • Next, confirm that you want to close the batch. 
  • Lastly, you will be taken to the Batch Deposit feature, where you can choose the contributions to deposit to the Accounting module. 
  • If you choose to deposit any contribution within a batch, then the batch itself will be marked as Deposited.

 

Reopen a Batch

Once you close a batch, you can still reopen it.

  • Go to Contributions > Batches.
  • Find the batch you want to reopen.
  • Open its context menu, and select Reopen Batch.
  • Confirm your choice.

Once the batch is reopened, you can continue adding contributions to it.

 

Edit a Batch

Batches can be edited by going to Contributions > Batches.

Here is where you can find the batch you need, click the context menu next to it, then select Edit.

 

You can edit the batch name and date. The name is optional. The batch number is assigned automatically and cannot be edited. 

 

Once you edit the name of a batch, it will display within your batch list (in Contributions > Batches), as well as when selecting it while adding a contribution (In Contributions > New Contribution).

 

Delete batches

It is not possible to delete an entire batch that contains contributions. The batch must be empty. Therefore, if you want to delete a batch, you must follow the process below:

  1. Check the list of contributions within the batch that you want to delete. If there are any contributions that you want to keep, please edit and associate them with another open batch.

  2. Once you have associated all valid contributions with another batch, you may be left with some that you no longer need. You can delete them individually, or go back to the Contributions > Batches screen, find the batch, then select Delete All Contributions.



  3. Once your batch lists 0 contributions, you can delete it.

Deposit Batches To Accounting

Sometimes, when your contributions don’t go through your bank, you may want to deposit contribution batches to your accounting. Once the deposit is completed, you will see a new Income transaction on the Account, Category, and Fund you selected when making the deposit. 

Once a contribution is deposited, the batch itself will be fully marked as Deposited. We recommend that you double check that there are no undeposited transactions by going to the Deposit feature and seeing whether there are any contributions listed. The Deposit Batch screen only shows undeposited giving. The best practice in this scenario is to deposit the full batch to accounting.

Learn more in the dedicated guide on Depositing Batches To Accounting.

View, Export & Email, & Print Batches

To view a batch, you can click on its number, within the list of batches.

This takes you to a contributions screen that filters by the batch you are viewing. Therefore only the contributions within that batch are listed.  You can view the batch either as a list or a chart. You can use the advanced search filters as well, to further narrow down the batch to what you require.

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You can print, email and export a batch just as you would do with your general list of contributions. Please follow this guide to achieve this, as the process is the same. 

 

Add Contributions To A Specific Batch

You can add contributions to a specific batch right from within the Batches section. Just find the batch you need, and access the options menu next to it. Here is where you will find the Add Contribution feature. This will open up a window that lets you enter the needed data for your new contribution.

Please keep in mind that your batch must be open to allow you to add more contributions. It also cannot be an online giving batch; in which case manual contributions cannot be added to it, even if it is open.

 

 

Online Giving Batches

Online giving transactions are assigned to dedicated batches that you either create yourself (all transactions go to one batch); or that ChMeetings creates automatically. In this latter case, daily online giving batches are created and transactions within that specific day are assigned to it. Note that you cannot add contributions manually to an online giving batch. To learn more about how to manage online giving batches, please see Configure Online Giving.

Event Payments Handling

When you configure event payments and you select a Fund so they are automatically added as a Contribution, then these are assigned to batches as follows:

  • Online payments are added to the current online giving batch for the day.
  • Cash or manual payments are added to the most recently open contribution batch.

Batch Data Migration

When migrating contribution data, all previously existing batches will be marked as Closed, except for the most recently created one, which will be kept Open.

If a deposit contains contributions all from a single batch, that batch will be marked as Deposited. 

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