Write Offs

Mary Roundtree · August 2016

Has anyone had problems reporting their numbers when you have write offs? For example when you run a Gift Detail and Summary Report and you only want to report on Pledges, Cash & MG Pledges, and you exclude write off gift type but your numbers show write offs anyway. How have you dealt with that issue?

Jen Claudy · August 2016

We don't use canned reports, but here are two other posts (here and here) regarding write-offs that you might find helpful...or at least commiserating. Write-offs are a huge headache, and it seems that no matter what you're trying to do with them, there's something with how RE handles write-offs that messes everything up.

You may also want to search the RE7 Idea Bank for Ideas like this one about write-offs. (There are others, I searched "write" and got 5 pages of Ideas, not all related.)

Daniel Bayer · August 2016

Mary Roundtree:

Has anyone had problems reporting their numbers when you have write offs? For example when you run a Gift Detail and Summary Report and you only want to report on Pledges, Cash & MG Pledges, and you exclude write off gift type but your numbers show write offs anyway. How have you dealt with that issue?

This is the only org I've been at that has really used the Write-Off function, but I haven't had any problems with them being included when I don't want them to be. Make sure you don't include Write Off and MG Write Off IN EACH COLUMN on the "Gift Types" screen and also check the box to "Exclude zero amount gifts" for each column.

Mary Roundtree · August 2016

I’ve done that. That’s why I’m having so
many problems. They are still included in the total.
Thanks for your comment.

Mary L. Roundtree

Director, Development Services

Rheumatology Research Foundation

2200 Lake Boulevard, NE

Atlanta, GA 30319

404-633-3777, ext 315

Faith Murray · August 2016

Daniel, if your other orgs did not use write-offs, how did they handle such situations? Just Adjust the balance down to zero?

Daniel Bayer · August 2016

Faith Murray:

Daniel, if your other orgs did not use write-offs, how did they handle such situations? Just Adjust the balance down to zero?

Part of the reason my previous orgs didn't use write-offs was because we never came across the situation where they had to be used.

I'm not kidding.

In the rare event that something was entered incorrectly and needed to be written off, the gift would be deleted and a note placed on the constituent record. I know now, of course, that this is not really Best Practice, but since those orgs didn't use the General Ledger function of RE and didn't use FE, and given how tricky the Write-Off function is when it comes to reporting, it never occurred to anyone over the years to use the write-off function - gifts were just deleted, or pledges with balances adusted down appropriately (which was honestly an even rarer event than a gift being entered incorrectly).

Christine Cooke 2 · August 2016

Mary Roundtree:

Has anyone had problems reporting their numbers when you have write offs? For example when you run a Gift Detail and Summary Report and you only want to report on Pledges, Cash & MG Pledges, and you exclude write off gift type but your numbers show write offs anyway. How have you dealt with that issue?

I just went through some roundy round discussions on this topic. None of the income reports will show Write Offs. That income will still be counted under the Pledge column, sadly. So silly! It should get deducted if written off. grrr.

So -- if you run a Gift Detail and Summary - change on of the columns to reflect/show the Write Offs so you can see them. If a pledge has been written off, it will disappear off both the Pledge Status and Cash Flow reports.

Write Offs

Comments

Categories