Return money to Fast Offerings

I need to return money that was issued on a check for Fast Offerings, I need to return it back from the member so that they don't get a credit for it as a donation.

How do I do that?

agr8zebra wrote:I need to return money that was issued on a check for Fast Offerings, I need to return it back from the member so that they don't get a credit for it as a donation.

How do I do that?

So if I understand you correctly, a check was issued to a member using the Fast Offerings category, and the check has been cashed, but it has since been discovered that it was an overpayment or duplicate payment or for some other reason should not have been made. The payee now needs to return those funds to the Fast Offering category, but if you process it as a regular donation for that member in the Fast Offering category, it will appear as a charitable contribution from that member, which would be incorrect.

You need to create a donor record that is not attached to the membership record number, and use that donor record when you process the donation slip for the return of funds. The donor record type would be "Miscellaneous". You might want to make the donor name something like "John Doe (reimbursement)" so that you can distinguish it from the regular "John Doe" donor record.

We used to have a "Donor" record which was simply the name of our ward (and maybe we still do but my current calling doesn't get into the financial part of MLS) for situations like this. Fill out a donation slip with a good explanation of why this money is being deposited (or add an extra paper with a note if the donation slip can't hold enough information). Then A) the money goes where it belongs, B) it isn't credited to any person as a charitable donation and C) if there's a question about this in the future then your explanation on the donation slip will clear it up.

Brothers,
Thanks for the information and advice. Both are answered the situation well.
Thanks, Jess

We use a donor named "anonymous"
no membership # & misc donor
it fits for many situations one being like you mentioned

Yes, as long as you have a clear idea of how you're using the "anonymous" donor then do what's best for you. I always approached these things with the idea that if I suddenly was released from my calling (or passed away or anything drastic) then could someone else pick up where I left off with the records that I left behind? Or could an auditor have a reasonable idea of what happened? As long as there's sufficient paperwork to explain unusual circumstances then okay.

For me, the "anonymous" donor was only used when, for example, we received a cash donation with no donation slip to explain what it was for. I always felt a certain duty to investigate, especially around the time of tithing settlement. If I happened to notice on the donation summary that Sister Smith gave a $20 fast offering every month except March but then "anonymous" donated $20 in March I might discretely ask Sister Smith about it.