Using Financial Reporting Features for Donor Management and Troubleshooting
Financial reporting is a crucial component of donor management within CoolFocus. This article outlines how to effectively utilize the Receipts by Date report for tracking and troubleshooting donor-related financial data, including tips for addressing incomplete reports in event-based scenarios, such as Galas.
Overview of "Receipts by Date"
The Receipts by Date report provides a detailed view of donation activity based on a selected date range. This can be used to analyze trends, such as monthly donation totals. To generate this report for monthly insights:
Click Reports in the upper blue bar.
Enter Receipts in the Search bar on the top right of the screen and select the Receipts by Date report.
Enter the desired date range (e.g., the start and end dates of a given month).
Click Run to view donation summaries filtered by the specified timeframe.
Troubleshooting and Optimizing Reporting Filters
Users sometimes encounter incomplete or inaccurate totals in other reports, such as Gifts Received by Source or Sponsored Contributions and Pledges. Common issues include unsuitable Source assignments or failed inclusion of recurring donations as pledges. Here's how you can address these issues effectively:
Use the Receipts by Date report as an alternative for a comprehensive total.
Leave the Source field blank unless filtering by a specific donor source is necessary.
Select the relevant funds tied to the event or ongoing campaigns.
Review gift records to verify: Accurate Source categorization for all donations and proper configuration of recurring gifts as pledges if they are to be included in pledge-focused reports.
Re-run the report to validate updates.
Tips for Event Reporting (e.g., Galas)
For event-based reports such as Galas, ensure all gifts and pledges align with your envisioned reporting setup:
Use Receipts by Date for an overview, especially when comparing donations across multiple events.
Cross-verify entries to eliminate any overlooked data or misassigned Sources.
By following the above steps, you’ll harness the full potential of reporting tools for donor management and ensure precise financial insights for your organization.
Related Topics
Configuring Source and Fund Fields in WayCool
Managing Recurring Donors and Gifts
Advanced Financial Reporting Techniques