New finance clerk in new ward, have questions

Discuss questions around local unit policies for budgeting, reconciling, etc. This forum should not contain specific financial or membership information.
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cougs
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New finance clerk in new ward, have questions

#1

Post by cougs »

I am the new finance clerk of a newly created ward (from a ward split), along with having a new bishop, ward clerk, etc. I know this is a lot of questions so feel free to answer all, some, or none of the following. :)

1) Will the bank account be automatically set up for me? Will I be notified of the details?
2) Will new check stock be sent to me automatically or is this something I need to order? How about donation envelopes with the bishop's name? Any other financial supplies I need to order?
3) Is the signature card really required? The finance clerk of the old ward never used it.
4) We don't have a printer and the stake tech guy hasn't responded to our calls. Can I bring in my own laser printer from home to get us by?
5) Being in a brand new ward, I have a chance to create a great system from the ground-up. Any MLS organizational tips, filing methods, best practices, etc. that you wish had been implemented in your ward from the beginning?
6) The single large filing cabinet we have in the office is to be used by multiple clerks, thus others besides myself may have access to the financial records. Shall I lobby for my own cabinet or leave the issue alone?
7) I read some conflicting information about recording tithing jointly (husband + wife) versus individually. Is there a best practice for this, or should I just honor what is written on the slip?

Thanks for your help.
russellhltn
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#2

Post by russellhltn »

cougs wrote:We don't have a printer and the stake tech guy hasn't responded to our calls. Can I bring in my own laser printer from home to get us by?
That's the FM group's job. That should have been arranged before hand.
cougs wrote:6) The single large filing cabinet we have in the office is to be used by multiple clerks, thus others besides myself may have access to the financial records. Shall I lobby for my own cabinet or leave the issue alone?
I'd leave it alone. Your boss (the ward clerk) needs access. The others may need to help out at times. As long as it's clerks, it's not a problem.
cougs wrote:I read some conflicting information about recording tithing jointly (husband + wife) versus individually. Is there a best practice for this, or should I just honor what is written on the slip?

MLS 3.3 takes care of the problem for you. All donations by members are linked to a single membership number. How that name appears you have no control over (it fixes itself on a send/receive). But with 3.3 there is a check box to allow the spouse's name to appear. Use the written slip as your guide as to if it's an individual or couple donation.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

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Mikerowaved
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#3

Post by Mikerowaved »

Hi Cougs! Welcome to the forum. Something to consider, if you haven't already, is to review the wonderful training material the church has provided. It can be found HERE. No need to go through it all, just those items that pertain to your calling. Once you have partaken of the training, firmly (but gently) go and get the new bishopric and ward clerk to partake. :) Getting everyone on the same page will put you way ahead of the game.
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
crislapi
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#4

Post by crislapi »

cougs wrote:1) Will the bank account be automatically set up for me? Will I be notified of the details?
Yes it will automatically be set up for you. You will not be notified, other than that you will receive your check stock. I'm not sure what details you are referring to as you don't need this information to do anything. Your deposit slips will tell you the bank you are with. You may need to contact a unit in your stake using the same bank to find out where the closest drop box is.
cougs wrote:2) Will new check stock be sent to me automatically or is this something I need to order? How about donation envelopes with the bishop's name? Any other financial supplies I need to order?
This will all be sent automatically. It's part of the checklist of creating a new ward. However, they are a bit slow at the set-up. You may want to keep on top if this. There are many different systems the ward needs to be set up in, and some can not happen before others so it takes a couple weeks for everything to happen.
cougs wrote:3) Is the signature card really required? The finance clerk of the old ward never used it.
Absolutely. Whether the signatures are consistently verified by the bank is another matter, but don't put yourself in that situation. It's simple to obtain (print it from MLS), fill out and mail in.
cougs wrote:4) We don't have a printer and the stake tech guy hasn't responded to our calls. Can I bring in my own laser printer from home to get us by?
If you have a computer, you should also have a printer. FM supplies the computer, monitor, printer, keyboard and mouse all together. You should have received all of them. If you need to get by using your own until FM gets you a printer, I see no issue with that. However, if you don't get one soon, start making some noise.
cougs wrote:6) The single large filing cabinet we have in the office is to be used by multiple clerks, thus others besides myself may have access to the financial records. Shall I lobby for my own cabinet or leave the issue alone?
No. FM supplies one filing cabinet per ward. If others have been called as clerks, they are as trustworthy as you.
cougs
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#5

Post by cougs »

Mikerowaved wrote:Hi Cougs! Welcome to the forum. Something to consider, if you haven't already, is to review the wonderful training material the church has provided. It can be found HERE. No need to go through it all, just those items that pertain to your calling. Once you have partaken of the training, firmly (but gently) go and get the new bishopric and ward clerk to partake. :) Getting everyone on the same page will put you way ahead of the game.
Thanks for the replies. Is the information on that page regarding reconciliation current? Or has it become outdated due to the new CUBS system?

Specifically:

http://lds.org/pa/e-learn/mp/2009/71313 ... _Print.pdf
http://lds.org/bfs/Reconciliation.pdf
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Mikerowaved
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#6

Post by Mikerowaved »

cougs wrote:Thanks for the replies. Is the information on that page regarding reconciliation current? Or has it become outdated due to the new CUBS system?
Yes, good catch. CUBS has indeed made a few parts of the instruction outdated.
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ggllbb
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#7

Post by ggllbb »

Mikerowaved wrote:Something to consider, if you haven't already, is to review the wonderful training material the church has provided. It can be found HERE. No need to go through it all, just those items that pertain to your calling. Once you have partaken of the training, firmly (but gently) go and get the new bishopric and ward clerk to partake. :) Getting everyone on the same page will put you way ahead of the game.

(Bold in quote added by me). One of the questions on your semi-annual audit is have you and all the Bishopric have gone through the training (As far as I know this question is still asked). Therefore, the suggestion by Mikerowaved to get them to partake is really more than just a suggestion.
russellhltn
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#8

Post by russellhltn »

crislapi wrote:FM supplies the computer, monitor, printer, keyboard and mouse all together.

But the stake is responsible for the power strip. (Go figure.)
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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