Ward Missionary Fund Balance

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07blu
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Ward Missionary Fund Balance

#1

Post by 07blu »

I am a new ward clerk. We have a senior couple in our ward departing for a mission. Recently a member of our bishopric asked if I could determine the balance in the ward missionary fund for this couple. I have not been able to find how to view the balances in ward missionary accounts for specific missionaries in MLS. Is this possible?
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aebrown
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#2

Post by aebrown »

07blu wrote:I am a new ward clerk. We have a senior couple in our ward departing for a mission. Recently a member of our bishopric asked if I could determine the balance in the ward missionary fund for this couple. I have not been able to find how to view the balances in ward missionary accounts for specific missionaries in MLS. Is this possible?
Yes. Note that in MLS there is a main category called Ward Missionary and under that are subcategories for each missionary with the name of the missionary (or couple). Those subcategories are created by the Missionary Department -- you don't need to (and can't) create the subcategories yourself. Monthly charges will automatically be debited from the correct subcategory. As donations are made for a specific missionary, those donations should be processed in the weekly donation batch and credited to the correct subcategory.

To print the report, you would use an Income and Expense Report (available in MLS in the Finance section under "Reports/Reconcile"). There are two main variations of that report you would use (each selected using the Report dropdown in the upper right corner of the I&E Report screen):
  • Summary by Subcategory. Check the box by Ward Missionary and it will automatically also check the box by each of the subcategories of Ward Missionary. This will show you the overall balance forward, donations, expenses, and current balance for each missionary (as well as the main Ward Missionary category, which holds funds not designated for a particular missionary). You can pick the date range, but usually the default of "Current Year" works fine. The Ending Balance listed on this report is the balance for the entire Ward Missionary category for the ward.
  • Details by Subcategory. You will be presented with a list of all the subcategories in MLS; choose the subcategory "Ward Missionary: John and Jane Doe". This will show you every donation and expense for the specified date range, listing the date, amount, donor/payee, etc. The Ending Balance listed on this report is the balance for the selected subcategory of Ward Missionary (for the particular missionary/couple).
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Gary_Miller
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#3

Post by Gary_Miller »

It might be well to note that the only funds taken from MLS directly for senior missionaries are for their housing costs which is determined by the mission. Unless the mission has given this information to the senior missionaries they may not yet know the costs yet.

Also unless other arrangements are made senior missionaries are responsible for their own costs so unless they have put funds in the account there may not be a balance showing.
greggo
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#4

Post by greggo »

I have yet to experience a couple serving from our ward under the new policy regarding housing costs. Will you explain how this works, and how it is the same/different than for the young missionaries under the equalized system?

My understanding (at least before the new policy) is that couples are responsible for direct payment of their expenses while on their mission, and they do not "donate" to the ward missionary fund for this (this is so they don't get tax relief for donations that benefit them directly). If the ward missionary fund is used to finance their mission, a check is written from the ward to the missionary couple to offset their costs.
jdlessley
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#5

Post by jdlessley »

There is a good discussion about senior missionary housing expenses in the threadSenior Missionary Couples - Ward Missionary Accounts. There hasn't been any other threads since that one that I can find that update, or verify, some of the discussion there.
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Gary_Miller
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#6

Post by Gary_Miller »

I had two couples out when they made the change and have a third leaving in February so this is how it worked.

Couples pay all their costs while in the field except housing which is paid to the ward and processed just like any other mission donation. Each month you will see a withdrawal just like the young missionaries. The amount they are required to pay varies from mission to mission.

One thing I did notice was with both of my recently returned couple missionaries there was no funds withdrawn on the month they returned. Both had paid the cost but it was not withdrawn. My counsel to them now is to not send a payment the month they are returning, they can always put the payment in after the fact if there is a withdrawal on their account.
eblood66
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#7

Post by eblood66 »

Gary_Miller wrote:I had two couples out when they made the change and have a third leaving in February so this is how it worked.

Couples pay all their costs while in the field except housing which is paid to the ward and processed just like any other mission donation. Each month you will see a withdrawal just like the young missionaries. The amount they are required to pay varies from mission to mission.

One thing I did notice was with both of my recently returned couple missionaries there was no funds withdrawn on the month they returned. Both had paid the cost but it was not withdrawn. My counsel to them now is to not send a payment the month they are returning, they can always put the payment in after the fact if there is a withdrawal on their account.
That's how it works for young missionaries. The first payment is withdrawn at the beginning of the month when they leave (which is usually before they actually leave) and there is no withdrawal the month they return. We just had a senior couple leave and we were charged at the beginning of the month when they were leaving so I assume it will work the same for them.
allenjpl
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#8

Post by allenjpl »

eblood66 wrote:That's how it works for young missionaries. The first payment is withdrawn at the beginning of the month when they leave (which is usually before they actually leave) and there is no withdrawal the month they return. We just had a senior couple leave and we were charged at the beginning of the month when they were leaving so I assume it will work the same for them.
Whether a missionary reports on the 1st of the month or the 31st, CHQ will withdraw the mission support funds from the ward's WM account in the beginning of that same month. (I don't know if it works along the same lines for senior couples' housing.) Can you confirm that the number of payments are set, no matter how many months the missionary actually serves? That is, does an elder make 24 payments even if he has served during 25 calendar months?
lajackson
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#9

Post by lajackson »

allenjpl wrote:Can you confirm that the number of payments are set, no matter how many months the missionary actually serves? That is, does an elder make 24 payments even if he has served during 25 calendar months?

There is a little leeway, and when a missionary comes home on a normal transfer schedule, there will only be 24 payments. But if the missionary extends a transfer (normally six weeks), there will usually be a 25th payment taken out because the missionary is still serving.
SHBishop
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Re: Ward Missionary Fund Balance

#10

Post by SHBishop »

Our Branch Clerk told me that a Senior Couple pays for both the month they start and the month they return. According to his understanding most younger Missionaries would have 25 deductions for a 24 month Mission and Senior Missionaries would have 19 deductions for an 18 month mission. One couple paid 18 times but only served 17 months due to a passport visa problem. Was that 18th deduction caused by the Pay Every Month program or because CHQ was not notified that the couple had come home early?
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