5 WAYS TO PREVIEW PARISHSOFT 1. View Self-Paced Online
    Tour
2. Sign-Up For a Guided
    Tour
3. Request Demo CD
4. Read Product Information
5. Email a ParishSOFT
    Account Representative
    or call 866.930.4774 x1

Back to Support's Main Page

Useful Links

Web Solutions User Guide
Web Calendar User Guide

Customer Support
Hours: Mon-Fri, 9am to 7pm ET.
support@parishsoft.com

While you're sending those end-of-year contribution statements, why not tuck a Registration Form for Registered Families (click ParishSOFT Reports > Census Menu > Other Reports > Family Registration Forms) and include it with your EOY Contribution Statement to save postage. These registration forms print with the existing family and member data from your database, making it easy for parishioners to spot and correct any inaccuracies.

From your ParishSOFT application, click the About menu. The version number is listed at the top of the screen, just below the product name. If you are running an older version, please visit http://parishsoft.com/support/guides.htm and download the Update Guide appropriate for the version you are currently running. The Update Guide will take you step-by-step through the update process.

Once your contribution year is closed, create an archival backup of your data and store it offsite, or better yet, back-up with ParishSOFT's secure FTP server for FREE! (click File > Backup Database and √ FTP). Plus, set up any new funds that will be needed for planned appeals in the new calendar year.

In ParishSOFT Reports select Utilities, Contribution Utilities, and then Edit Body of Statement. You can use the Edit Body of Form for Report to edit the letter portion of your statements. Select the name of the letter that you want to edit from the drop-down menu in the upper right of the window. You will most likely use the Member Contribution Report - All option. You can edit the body of the letter and then click on the Save and Close button on the bottom of the window. You can select the body of statement that you want to use in the EOY Contrib Statement for Families menu by simply clicking on the Select Body of Statement button.

End of Year contribution statements only include contributions posted to funds marked as tax deductible. If you feel that there are contributions missing on the report, check the tax deductible status of the fund in Add/Edit/Delete Funds. You should also confirm that all of the contributions have been posted with a date that falls in the calendar year you are reporting on.

All reports come up in the 'Print Preview' mode before being printed. By clicking on the 'Design Triangle' (the small icon of a pencil, triangle, and ruler located in the upper left hand corner of your screen), you may modify basic things like font and font size and also the ability to customize the layout of the report. You can hide unwanted elements of the report by left clicking on the item once. When you see the sizing handles (the little black boxes around the border) you know that you have selected that item. You can then right click on the selected item and choose properties from the menu. Click on the Format tab on the top of the window to view formatting details. Locate the Visible row and change the value from Yes to No. Close the properties window and repeat these steps for any additional items you want to hide. Save your changes to the layout by clicking on the save button on the tool bar. Close the design view of the report and then print preview the report again to review your changes.

If you are not seeing the Pastors' name on your statements, it is most likely due to the incorrect or missing data in the Organization Setup Information. You can modify this information from the ParishSOFT reports menus. Simply select the following menu options: Utilities, System Utilities, and Organization Setup Screen. Add or modify the information on this display and then click on the close button to save your changes.

To backup your reports file do these steps on each computer:
1. Open the My Computer window
2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\ParishSOFT.
3. Locate the PSReports2000.MDB file.
4. Right click and choose Copy.
5. Right click in the ParishSOFT folder and choose New, Folder.
6. Name the folder ParishSOFTReportsBackup.
7. Double click on the new folder to open it.
8. Right click in the blank window and choose paste.
9. Close all windows that remain open.

Our reports module includes an important feature to help with these issues. All reports come up in the 'Print Preview' mode before being printed. This is helpful for several reasons: - By clicking on File, then Page Setup, you have the ability to change the orientation of the paper to either Landscape or Portrait. You can also adjust the margins. - By clicking on the 'Design Triangle' (the small icon of a pencil, triangle, and ruler located in the upper left hand corner of your screen), you may modify basic things like font and font size and also the ability to customize the layout of the report. - You can preview the complete report without first having to print. This saves time and paper if you are not happy with the look of the reports or the data it contains.

While the Reports module standardizes all of the mailing labels on Avery's most common size of label, it is very easy to change the label size. All you have to do is utilize the label wizard that is found in the new version 3.0 with every report selection that has mailing labels as an option. Within the label wizard, you may select almost any Avery product as well as labels for other manufactures. All you have to do is select the type of label that you are using and continue on through the label wizard.

First, we strongly recommend against deleting a family record unless it is absolutely necessary. Deleting a family should occur only if the family record is a duplicate or has been added in error. If a family record simply contains inaccurate information, it is usually far better simply to correct the information. Once a family is deleted there is no way to retrieve any of their information such as pledge data, member information, or time and talent assignments. Families that move away or leave the parish, or are not part of your parish database for any other reason, should be simply marked un-registered. Included in the new version 3.0 release and update is a utility that will allow users with administrator access to the database to permanently delete families.

We frequently receive questions about reporting various kinds of information about families, such as preparing a report about Hispanic families, families that are not members of the parish but participate in the religious ed program, or seniors. We have built the ability to assign and report on 1 family groups, 2 registered v. non-registered families, and 3 work groups into our Family Directory module (and other modules as well). Every family may be assigned to a single family group category; if the family belongs to additional groups, use the work group feature. The default family groups that come with our system include Active, Inactive, Ministers Only (family member works at your parish but is active in another), Moved, Religious Ed Only (family participates only in the religious education program), and Staff (staff member with no other family members in the family record). In addition to the default family groups, you have the ability to add, change, or delete groups from the above list by using the 'Manage Lookup Tables' feature under the utilities tab in the Family Directory or by selecting 'About' and then 'ParishSOFT System Info' in any ParishSOFT module. This information is described in the Family Directory Module User Guide (pages 18 and 72) and our other Guides as well. All of our User Guides are available for download from our Support page at www.parishsoft.com. We have also distributed a printed copy to each user; additional copies may be purchased for $15 each plus shipping by calling or emailing us.

The Report Module of the ParishSOFT software suite continues to be enhanced on a regular basis as we improve existing reports and add new reports. We do this as part of our normal support process, where we receive and evaluate your requests as well as by monitoring the issues that come into our Support Team. In addition, we make changes to Reports as part of our ongoing product development process. After we test the changes, we post the new version of Reports on our Product Updates page that is available from the File, Product Updates menu in the Family Directory program. The Manual Updates are on the bottom portion of the window. We also incorporate them into the current CD-version of our software, which we release from time-to-time (usually a couple of times per year) as a new version. As of the date of this writing, we have made Reports version 3.5.1 available on our website. This new version has several new features including new functionality for end-of-year contribution statements, and several other report enhancements. To check which version of Reports that you are currently using, simply click open ParishSOFT Reports and look for the version number on the left side of the reports menu. To install the new version of Reports, go to the Product Updates in your ParishSOFT application, click on "ParishSoft V3x Releases", where x represents the version of the software you have installed, click on the link to ParishSOFT Reports V3.x.x., and follow the instructions there.