There are two "year ends" in Jewel.
The Fiscal Year End is when you close out your yearly budget.
The Calendar Year End is when you deal with 1099s and donor contribution reports.
For many churches these two events coincide at the end of December. However, some churches end their fiscal year at some other time during the year - often at the end of June or July. Whether you are performing a fiscal year end, calendar year end, or both - Jewel's NextStep button will guide you through the steps you need to take.
Once you have completed the last offering of the fiscal/calendar year end, Jewel will begin guiding you through the last month end process, which then continues into the year end process.
Note: Year-end transactions must be entered before closing the last month of the year. There is no way to enter transactions after closing the month but before closing the year. Do not Print Reports for your last month until all year-end transfers have been entered.
Do not close December until about January 5. The reason is that contributions must be posted in the year they are "delivered" by the donor. According to the IRS, delivery date is the earlier of:
You should deposit these last-minute funds as soon as possible. When you do your December bank reconciliation, these deposits will simply be accounted for as "Uncleared Deposits". They will then clear when you do your January bank reconciliation.
NOTE: Sometimes people give an offering call on the first Sabbath of the new year, telling the congregation that checks contributed on that day can be credited to the previous year if they are dated no later than December 31. This advice is incorrect and should NOT be given!! The "delivery date" (as defined above) is what matters, not the date on the check or the tithe envelope!
Once all offerings have been entered, finish December just like any other month by following the NextStep button: Deposits, Checks, Remittance, Allocations, Reconcile. But do not Print Monthly Reports quite yet!
Note: Reconciling December before you close will ensure that your year-end reports are accurate.
From here on, you can follow your NextStep button to close the year. Once all transactions for the year are entered, click the NextStep button to Print Monthly Reports, and then immediately Print Year-End Reports. You will not be able to make any changes, corrections, or additions after you Print Monthly Reports, so be sure you have completed all of the above steps.
Note: The default year-end report setting is just one report: "Financial Summary for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 20xx."
Once you've printed your reports, the NextStep button will say "Choose Form 1099 Payments". This report assists in the preparation of IRS Form 1099, which in the United States must be provided to each vendor who has been paid more than a specified cumulative amount during the year. See 1099s - Quick Start for instructions on generating this report and related tasks.
Note: Jewel does not file or print the 1099s for you. It just helps you identify potential vendors.
The last NextStep of the year-end close is "Print Receipts". If you wish to import an image of your signature so that Jewel can print it on receipts, rather than hand-signing each receipt, then go to Maintenance / Properties / Church info tab, and follow the instructions here.
Note: You may wish to print to a pdf file before printing to paper. This will give you a chance to look over the receipts for errors or omissions before printing on paper. Larger churches may find it easier to print from the pdf file, rather than directly from Jewel, as it will be easier to select specific page ranges to print.
Note: Just make sure you come back later - but not too much later. You should start handing/sending the donor receipts out by the 2nd Sabbath of the new year.
Click here for more detailed Receipt printing instructions.
Click here for mailing envelope specifics.
After receipts, the NextStep will say "Back Up Data", followed by sending the month-end backup to the conference. And then it will roll over to "Start New Offering" for January!