Our upper management would like to know which donation dates other non-profits are documenting in Salesforce. For example:
- For EFT/direct credit donations, do you track the date the donor made the donation, the date you received notification that the donation was being sent, and the date it actually hit your bank, or just the latter?
- For checks, do you track the date on the check, the date the check was received, and the date you actually deposit it, or just the date you receive it?
- For any other donations with multiple dates involved, which dates do you document in Salesforce?
Thanks!
I've written this many times but here's my best advice:
1) Accounting must follow governance to pass audits, properly report 990, and comply with regulations for state and IRS.
2) As a CRM for donors, you should also record everything that the donor expects you to now from their perspects: Total amount they gave. Date they think they gave it. Channel through which they think they gave (facebook, check, credit card on your website, venmo, credit card on Great Nonprofits, employee workplace giving through their Employer, etc.) Whatever you reflect back to donors in a list, report, or thank you needs to be accurate from their point of view and trustworthy.
3) You will want to record enough to allow Salesforce to be reconciled at an appropriate timeframe and level with accounting. Nothing worse than accounting saying there are 143 major donors and CRM saying there are 190. If you're small, you may reconcile to the penny. If you're larger, you may reconcile only at audit boundaries. Or you may only reconcile on demand for particular accounts. But it's crucial to have enough info to do this. So check number, payment date, close date, envelope date if it's super delayed, etc. Some people maintain separate records to allow reconciliation outside of Salesforce. That's fine if it works.
4) You will want to record enough so that your development team can make decisions about the future. What works, what is stopping, what is getting better? This has little to do with the donor or accounting.
--Terry