LCR is down more than it's up

I am the finance clerk for my ward and it's really frustrating that local unit finance is down every time I need to use it on Sundays to enter donations.

It sure seems like it, at least on Sundays. Very frustrating.

Agreed. We try to work on it immediately after church and we haven't been able to do it for the last 3 weeks. I now have people in the ward asking me why their check hasn't cleared... this is not good.

Tried last Tuesday, to avoid Sunday. Still couldn't get into LCR. Can't get in again today.

Yep. Wonder if we should have MLS back for when the website goes down. Even with 56K modems, it was better than this.

I am having some major loading issues with it today as well, only the finance page. Everything else is loading fine.

Also very frustrated. It is disappointing we cannot enter tithing for ward members for now 2 weeks in a row.

Only reply I've gotten by Moderators is "MLS is dead. They are working the known issues with web services for the church." Would be nice to have a little bit more information or current page health page, we can see if it's even worth attempting to do anything. Just spent 30 min to print 2 checks and 30+ additional minutes for Donation's page to even load - No luck. I'm going home.

Same. Just getting the rotating flower of hypnosis on the screen.

A00942597 wrote: Sun Apr 10, 2022 11:44 am I now have people in the ward asking me why their check hasn't cleared... this is not good.

They ask a good question. The proper procedure when LCR/F is down is to make the deposit anyway, and enter the deposit information later when online service is available again.

Did batch manually today and deposited checks today. Will enter my notes on names, amounts, check numbers later this week from home then file my notes with the weekly deposit info.

I think that's an important clarification, that even if LCR happened to be down for an entire month, every week we can still make the deposits like normal. And then eventually enter everything into LCR.

I believe some of the stress can be avoided, if once you discover LCR is down any given Sunday, you just immediately do the manual deposit preparation and leave the rest for later. Obviously it's a duplication of effort, but it's what we did today, and the donation processing was quick.

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#9 Post by radradryan » Sun Apr 10, 2022 12:16 pm
Just getting the rotating flower of hypnosis on the screen.
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I prefer to think in Pioneer terms and call it "The Spinning Wagon Wheel of Doom".

I thought I posted the following, yet can't find my post. Moderators are welcome to delete this if you ever find my original post.

--- >> What about manually written emergency checks while LCR is down. To prevent an evection for example.
From MLS days I was told that if MLS did not transmit to make the bank aware of the check, it may not clear.

How do I as a Financial Clerk deal properly with this situation?

(With LCR down a lot its possible I may not be able to enter the expense information before the check cleared.)

Found a partial answer to my question at, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/he ... ?lang=eng (Handwritten Checks in Emergencies)

murdock20m wrote: Sun Apr 10, 2022 2:00 pm What about manually written emergency checks while LCR is down.

Follow the procedures in the Help Center article Handwritten Checks in Emergencies.
Edit: [The article is the same murdock20m linked to.]

I'm sure that manual processing is better than no processing. However, it is worth noting that we seem to be having trouble finding instructions for manual processing anywhere on Church websites.

Is this a matter of the Church (like too many businesses) just assuming that the internet will always be available and that websites will always work as intended?

Does anyone have a link to anything that gives instructions about manual processing? Or anything that even mentions it is still an accepted process?

waltbristow wrote: Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:56 pm Does anyone have a link to anything that gives instructions about manual processing? Or anything that even mentions it is still an accepted process?

If the instructions in the official help center is insufficient then you can wait until Monday and call the GSD for instructions.

jdlessley wrote: Sun Apr 10, 2022 7:05 pm

waltbristow wrote: Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:56 pm Does anyone have a link to anything that gives instructions about manual processing? Or anything that even mentions it is still an accepted process?

If the instructions in the official help center is insufficient then you can wait until Monday and call the GSD for instructions.

I don't see any instructions anywhere in the Help Center pages. While the instructions on emergency checks might be extrapolated to deposits, I would like to see some detailed instructions. Without those instructions, I'm sure that unit clerks will come up with a variety of procedures to follow. As an Assistant Area Auditor, I would really like to have everyone on the same page.

See:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/hel ... e?lang=eng

"Donations During System Outage"

waltbristow wrote: Sun Apr 10, 2022 7:10 pm I don't see any instructions anywhere in the Help Center pages.

They are well hidden.

[Rant about changes in the structure of the Help Center deleted.]

Thank you!

I also really appreciate the article link on processing donations during an outage. We're a relatively new and inexperienced bishopric so with the outages we've just sent donations home with the bishop who has been locking them up but we need to get them processed. We had planned to meet tomorrow night to take care of what we already have but that doc will help us with future outages as well.

As the original poster/ranter here, I'd like to thank those who were cordial and pointed out that a manual deposit is acceptable. It allows us to get money out of our hands and into the bank immediately and without cussing at the church website. I spent a bit of time working on an Excel document that will make my life easier when it comes to deposit time if LCR-Finance is down. If someone wants to post it on the church website, perhaps in a help document that talks about manual deposits, that would be fine with me. It probably could use some enhancements and it is likely imperfect.

lkpowell wrote: Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:25 pm It doesn't appear that I can attach files on this forum, so hopefully the link below will work.

If you're using the small editor, you need to click on "Full Editor & Preview". Then go below the message window and click on the "Attachments" tab.

The link appears to be view only and I'm not seeing a button to down download it.

russellhltn wrote: Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:41 pm

lkpowell wrote: Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:25 pm It doesn't appear that I can attach files on this forum, so hopefully the link below will work.

If you're using the small editor, you need to click on "Full Editor & Preview". Then go below the message window and click on the "Attachments" tab.

The link appears to be view only and I'm not seeing a button to down download it.

Thanks. Fixed.

Nice!

Hopefully it works in LibreOffice as well, since that's what I'd think most clerk machines would be using.

I tested early versions in LibreOffice and it was working perfectly, so I believe it will work fine.

Happened again today.

I saw it was down a few min ago, but I just got in now. So perhaps it is fixed for now.

This is the third or fourth week in a row we've had to hold tithing and come during the week to count and submit.

We had issues with it again today. LCR/F not working for us.

The link in this post will explain what to do when LCR Finance is not working.

The spreadsheets in the post by lkpowell seem to work well if you wish to try them while the system is down. They will help you keep a manual record as described in the Help Center checklist, although they are not required if you wish to do it another way.

Earlier posts in this topic, especially by scgallafent, explain a little bit more about the problem.

We've consistently had problem entering donations via LCR, so we've mostly been using MLS. That options has been turned off, so now we've been forced to use LCR. Unfortunately, we continue to have problems with it. We had to come back late in the evening last week to complete batch. Yesterday we had the same issue, so we did the manual method and then came back to do it later when it was properly functioning. I sure hope this issue get's resolved soon.

It's good for all of us to know that (a) we're not alone in experiencing this as a user, and (b) the Church is very aware of the impact this is having on all of us. Granted we'd all like a resolution asap, but I trust they're working full-time-plus on getting this resolved.

One personal piece of advice I'd share, is to not over-stress about coming in during odd hours to complete the donation in LCR. For us it's been quite liberating on Sundays to simply see if LCRF is working, and if not we just do the manual steps and make the deposit, leaving LCRF for the next time we're normally together. And if LCRF isn't working that time, we do the same. I'm quite certain there won't be any pushback for units who don't have donations entered into LCRF every week, because of these ongoing access issues.

BrianEdwards wrote: Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:00 am I'm quite certain there won't be any pushback for units who don't have donations entered into LCRF every week, because of these ongoing access issues.

Well they are pushing back on our ward for a donation batch from last Sunday. We haven't been able to get two of us with finance permissions together when LCRF is working and they sent the bishop, the finance clerk, and the clerk a "friendly" email reminder "to get it done. I called GSD and after a long hold they finally said to do the electronic batch when able and to disregard the "friendly" reminders.

At least the reminders seem to still be in working order!

In our Branch the LCR problem started on Mar 13 and has occurred on every Sunday since then, except for one. I called the Global help number and they told me it may be a few months until this issue is resolved. Our Branch President is forced to take donations home with him and then return on an evening during the week to process the donations.

standiford wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 8:40 am In our Branch the LCR problem started on Mar 13 and has occurred on every Sunday since then, except for one. I called the Global help number and they told me it may be a few months until this issue is resolved. Our Branch President is forced to take donations home with him and then return on an evening during the week to process the donations.

Your Branch President should not be taking the donations home. Make him aware of the proper procedure for manually competing the donations if LCR is down. This also alleviates the need for him to return during the week to enter the donations.

itsgavinc wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 10:57 am This also alleviates the need for him to return during the week to enter the donations.

Maybe. The donations still have to be entered and processed - requiring two authorized sign-ins. The odds are better if it's done on a day other than Sunday.

But yes, he could stay home if a clerk and a counselor show up.

I'd love to have an Excel sheet. However, our system administrators are actively blocking installation of any software including OpenOffice or LibreOffice. If that isn't bad enough, if you are successful in getting it installed - they are actively removing it. We had it installed, but when we went to use it the past couple weeks it had been uninstalled by them.

In many ways, it seems that Church IT is actively working to make processing donations as problem prone, as possible. They've removed MLS as an alternative, LCR doesn't work much of the time, they won't allow us to have a Open Source spreadsheet installed, won't provide Microsoft Office Excel, if you were able to get it installed they keep removing it.

@plott, since you also posted this issue in a separate thread, could you make sure you report back here if there is a resolution to what you're seeing? Perhaps it's not intentional, in which case it would be good for others seeing your post here, to also see how it was resolved for you. But if it is intentional, it would also be good to know what (if anything) you find out.

plott wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 11:46 am ...they won't allow us to have a Open Source spreadsheet installed, won't provide Microsoft Office Excel, if you were able to get it installed they keep removing it.

Our clerk computer has LibreOffice on it installed by the Church's setup program and that's one application I've never had trouble with uninstalling. I know this probably doesn't help, but I don't think it's intentional. I did have trouble with the Church or some automated process reinstalling Sophos after I had removed it, but that problem finally went away.

It might be helpful for you to call the Global Service Center on the "LibreOffice getting removed" problem.

We were finally able to complete finances yesterday without issue for the first time in a few weeks, so maybe they are finally getting a handle on the issue. We can hope.

I imagine this continues to be an issue for others as it is for our ward. Just found out today about the Donations during System Outage instructions. We will follow that procedure in the meantime.

Yes, once again a very frustrating Sunday unable to input donations.

If one inadvertently forgets to backdate a manual batch while entering it later in to LCR,

"The leader should provide a description of the issue with the correct dates on the paper batch reports that are archived for audit purposes."

(Source: Emailed response from GSD)

BrianEdwards wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:05 pm @plott, since you also posted this issue in a separate thread, could you make sure you report back here if there is a resolution to what you're seeing? Perhaps it's not intentional, in which case it would be good for others seeing your post here, to also see how it was resolved for you. But if it is intentional, it would also be good to know what (if anything) you find out.

Yes. Local Clerk Computers shouldn't have Sophos installed to block installation of software. Resolution is to call or contact Global Support and have them remove it so it can be installed. I also found that if you are blocked - you can get around installing it by using a portable version that doesn't install.

Another day of lots of refreshing and waiting. The new error information is very helpful (Sarcasm):

error.occurred
error.text

or

error.access.denied
error.no.access

Different Sunday, same problem...

This morning we either get an HTTP 502 error with no page render, or the LCR Finance Dashboard page starts to render, but displays the following:

error.occurred
error.text

It would be helpful if the church had a status page outside the churchofjesuschrist.org domain.

David North

Been having the same issues for weeks now. Today we're getting an error that the server cannot handle the request.

The performance of LCR on the day accessing it is required is abysmal. We spent ~1.5 hours last Sunday entering (4) donations and today the site is down.
IMHO, LCR is not ready for primetime and should not be released.

We have been having some of the same issues

On Sundays most of the wards in our stake are reporting issues with trying to submit the donation report to salt lake. This has been an issue since everyone had to stop using MLS and move to LCR, which is probably putting a tremendous load on the website servers. Is there an estimate when capacity will be increased and this will happen less often? Thank you so much for all you do

For two weeks and we haven't been able to submit tithing. We have had issues other Sundays too. Could you please email the leaders throughout that there are having issues and that at least your working on it.

adambengtjohnson wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 6:43 pm Could you please email the leaders throughout that there are having issues and that at least your working on it.

The forum is primarily user-to-user help and support. Those who could make decisions for things like this are not going to see this topic since few, if any, decision makers visit the forums. You can get your suggestion to the responsible people by sending feedback using the feedback link found at the bottom of most church web pages. It will be routed to the correct people. Just don't expect a personal response, or any response, due the large number of messages they receive on a daily basis.

gcoddington wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:37 pm IMHO, LCR is not ready for primetime and should not be released.

josephhamilton wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:02 am Today we're getting an error that the server cannot handle the request.

dellellison wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:51 pm Is there an estimate when capacity will be increased and this will happen less often?

The solution is not server capacity. Some additional information is available in this post by a Church employee, along with the posts both before and after in that topic.

The employees who are working diligently to make the conversion from prehistoric times to the present are highly motivated. Many of them have clerk callings and face the same frustrations each week that the rest of us are facing.

Has anyone tried submitting donations on any other day than Sunday? And if so do they run into the same issues?

adambengtjohnson wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 2:42 pm Has anyone tried submitting donations on any other day than Sunday? And if so do they run into the same issues?

Almost any time other than Wednesday evenings (activity night?) has worked for the wards and branches in our stake.
Even Sunday evenings seem to work most often for us.

lajackson wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 2:32 pm

gcoddington wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:37 pm IMHO, LCR is not ready for primetime and should not be released.

josephhamilton wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:02 am Today we're getting an error that the server cannot handle the request.

dellellison wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:51 pm Is there an estimate when capacity will be increased and this will happen less often?

The solution is not server capacity. Some additional information is available in this post by a Church employee, along with the posts both before and after in that topic.

The employees who are working diligently to make the conversion from prehistoric times to the present are highly motivated. Many of them have clerk callings and face the same frustrations each week that the rest of us are facing.

If that is the case outside developers should be hired.

gcoddington wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:23 pm

lajackson wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 2:32 pm
The solution is not server capacity. Some additional information is available in this post by a Church employee, along with the posts both before and after in that topic.

The employees who are working diligently to make the conversion from prehistoric times to the present are highly motivated. Many of them have clerk callings and face the same frustrations each week that the rest of us are facing.

If that is the case outside developers should be hired.

There is a significant cost (not just $) to adding to a team, it takes time for the new developers to get up to speed, which takes time away from the current staff. That said our team has doubled in the last year.

Today felt like progress, at least. We were able to go to the Finance section fine. When we tried to go to Expenses, we got a message saying that it was down and was expected to be back in about an hour. (Granted, it is now about 3 hours later and it still says that, but at least the system was up and able to display an error message with an estimated time.) However, we were able to go over to the Donations side and input our tithing for today just fine. It felt more compartmentalized in a good way -- like some subsystems were down, but others were still working.

In any case, it was the first time in many weeks where we've been able to do tithing online on a Sunday. So, just wanted to give some credit where credit is due!

jgoggan wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 10:58 am Today felt like progress, at least. We were able to go to the Finance section fine. When we tried to go to Expenses, we got a message saying that it was down and was expected to be back in about an hour. (Granted, it is now about 3 hours later and it still says that, but at least the system was up and able to display an error message with an estimated time.) However, we were able to go over to the Donations side and input our tithing for today just fine. It felt more compartmentalized in a good way -- like some subsystems were down, but others were still working.

In any case, it was the first time in many weeks where we've been able to do tithing online on a Sunday. So, just wanted to give some credit where credit is due!

Same! Unfortunately I have a ton of reimbursements to process! At least they are all direct deposit so I don't need to print checks.

It's Tuesday late afternoon/early evening and finance is down again.

garystroble wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 4:42 pm It's Tuesday late afternoon/early evening and finance is down again.

I was getting the infinite spinner. I got connected by deleting church cookies.

jdlessley wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 4:51 pm

garystroble wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 4:42 pm It's Tuesday late afternoon/early evening and finance is down again.

I was getting the infinite spinner. I got connected by deleting church cookies.

Coincidence. It is back up now.

We can get in to the LCR system in general, but have been really struggling with the Finance section, it tells us access denied, or error, etc. more often than not lately… every once in a while I can get in… is there a secret to this that I am missing or is it just a system wide problem?

Currently the finance section of LCR is down for us. Tried deleting cookies, restarting the computer, private/incognito mode--all of which didn't work.

Seeing spinners all day today

Yes, it's down for us as well. We can access LCR, but when we click on the Finance portal, it tells that this service is currently unavailable.

Do remember, there is a procedure for processing donations during these system outages:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/hel ... lang=eng#d

All other Finance needs must wait until the outage restores.

LCR is down. 7/10/2022

As of 9:30pm est LCR is giving a Proxy Error. You can get on the site but as soon as you go to LCR that happens. I tried on three devices. Reason Error reading from remote server

wahlj515 wrote: Sun Apr 17, 2022 12:50 pm This is the third or fourth week in a row we've had to hold tithing and come during the week to count and submit.

same here. it's frustrating having this issue that consistently happens every Sunday. Ugh!