FCC Admin Tasks - Zelle Donations

Zelle Donations

Donors can send their donations to First Congregational Church using Zelle from their bank's on-line access by initiating transfers to the Zelle account registered under the church's telephone number (817) 923-2990. When the funds are deposited into our PNC Bank checking account an email is sent to office@fortworthucc.org. A training video (Processing Zelle Donations.mp4) demonstrates the steps outlined below.

Recording Zelle Donations into QuickBooks

1. Import Zelle Donations from Email

Open the Zelle to QuickBooks Google sheet.
Pulldown the "Script Menu" and select "Import Zelle Data from Office Email".
Reply with "Y" to the confirmation message.
Wait for the completion confirmation message before proceeding.

2. Match Donors Zelle Names to QuickBooks Donors

The spreadsheet keeps a record of names matched over time such repeat donors will already have Zelle names matched to QuickBooks. A status message appears on the top row which will indicate why a certain cell is highlighted.

For highlighted cells under "Matched QB Name" use the dropdown list to choose from established donors. Donors not in the list will be italicized and blue indicating they are new donors.

3. Categorize Each Donation Received

A blank category defaults to "Tithe" which will apply to most Zelle donations. If a donor provides a note with the transfer of funds, it will appear in the column "Detailed Description".

If the donor note indicates the funds are for something other than tithe, choose the appropriate category from the dropdown list.
If uncertain which category to choose, select "Unknown" and provide a clarifying detailed description.

4. Edit Detailed Descriptions

The detailed description for each donation is appended to the memo/description field as it is recorded. Sometimes a donor's note may be superfluous or even long winded which would clutter up reports such as the donation statements they will be receiving. A detailed description such as "Monthly Pledge" would be superfluous since tithes will already indicate pledged or unpledged based on whether the donor made an giving pledge.

Alter the detailed descriptions to suit making sure relevant donation specifics are not lost. Prefix a detailed description with a "?" if you are uncertain of your interpretation.

5. Export the Donation Details

Pulldown the "Script Menu" and select "Finish Up".
Reply with "Y" to the confirmation message.
Wait for the completion confirmation message before proceeding.

6. Download the CSV File

Hover over the text "Google Drive Folder" and click on the link that pops up.
On the Google Drive tab that appears, download the exported CSV file to your PC.

7. Import the CSV File into QuickBooks

On the Google Sheet tab, hover over the text "QuickBooks Import Receipts" and click on the link that pops up.
If prompted, login to QuickBooks and you will be redirected to the Import a Sales Receipts Batch page.
Click on "Import CSV" (DO NOT OPT TO USE THE "New Layout").
Check the box to "Add all new customers to QuickBooks".
Browse for and select the CSV file from your PC downloads folder.
Click on "Next".
Scroll down the data mapping information and click on "Next".
If the table of sales receipts data reflects errors, resolve them before continuing.
Click on "Save and send". You will receive notification when the data has been imported and email messages have been sent to the donors.

8. Archive the Zelle Transactions

In the browser Google Drive tab, drag the PDF and CSV files to the Zelle Donations Archive folder.

Transferring Funds Between PNC Bank and Simmons Bank

The PNC Bank checking account is registered as an external bank account at Simmons Bank which allows you to initiate bank transfers in either direction. Simmons Bank limits transfers to $1,000/day.

1. Transfer the Bank Funds

Login to Simmons Bank
Click "Transfer".
Enter the "From" account, "To" account and the amount to be transferred.
Click on "Submit".
Print the confirmation and save it to PDF.

2. Record the Transfer in QuickBooks

- - Navigate to the Transactions>Recurring transactions page in QuickBooks.
  - Locate the recurring transaction "Transfer PNC Bank" and click "Use".
  - Alter the From and To accounts to match the direction of the transfer.
  - Change the date and the amount of the transfer.
  - Attach the PDF of the confirmation page.
  - Click "Save and Close".

What Makes Zelle the Preferred On-line Donation Method?

Other on-line giving options require you to download transactions filtered by a range of dates from the provider's website whereas Zelle transactions do not. Zelle fund transfers are imported by harvesting notification emails sent to office@fortworthucc.org. The basis for importing Zelle transactions into QuickBooks are a filter and labels established on the office Gmail account:

Labels "ZelleRcvd", "ZelleRcvd/pending" and "ZelleRcvd/posted" are defined for the office gmail account.
Zelle notifications emails are filtered to skip the inbox and are labeled "ZelleRcvd".
The script to import transaction into the Zelle to QuickBooks Google Sheet scans the "ZelleRcvd" emails and adds the "pending" label to each email message.
The script to export the resulting files from the Google Sheet adds the "posted" label and removes "ZelleRcvd" and "pending" labels from each email message.

The actions in the steps outlined above within the Google Sheet take each Zelle donation notification email message is moved from "ZelleRcvd" to "ZelleRcvd/posted".

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