Misc. Tips for Camp Trip Manager

MISC. TIPS FOR CAMP TRIP MANAGER:

Uncheck the “Group by” box on Payments tab (allows you to see all payments & available amounts at once) and sort by Date column
When creating a custom camp for camp accounting purposes only, be sure to check the “Hide from online payments” box
Create a “camper” called Fake Camper Guy (or your choice of name). You will use this “camper” in various ways in your custom camps

STARTING A NEW FISCAL YEAR:

Enter a payment dated Oct. 1 for $1.00 called “2015 CAMP SEASON AMTS ABOVE HERE.” Leave Camp Trip and Camper unselected. Now you can ignore all entries below that one. This saves you from having to delete past entries (mostly available funds due to campers not going to prior camps). It also lets you easily see the funds that are actually available for the current camp season.

TRACKING HOW MUCH MONEY IS ACTUALLY AVAILABLE FOR CAMPERSHIP AWARDS:

Create a new custom camp trip called “General Campership” (Start & end dates = fiscal year dates)
On Trip Costs tab(see screenshotprovided with materials):
Delete pre-populated Expense fields and add/edit a couple to say “Notes”
Enter a note (FAKE CAMPER BALANCE = AMT AVAILABLE FOR CAMPERSHIPS) to remind you that the amount of credit that FCG has is the actual amount available to give out for camperships
On Campers tab, add Fake Camper Guy (FCG) as the first camper
On Payments tab, enter a payment called “Fiscal Year Carry-Over”dated Oct. 2 that is the carry-over amount from the prior fiscal year (found on Trial Balance) and allocate it to FCG.
Donations not specifically allocated to a camper will also be added to this “camp trip” & will become part of the total amount available to give for scholarships.
Look at the Campers tab & note that FCG balance is in red, meaning that is what you have available for Campership awards.

USING CAMPERSHIP FUNDS:

As you allocate campership funds to campers/camps, enter the amount as a “payment” in that camp trip. Keep the awarded amount $1 over so that the entry always shows up in “Payments with Available Funds” view and you can change the amount each time money is awarded instead of making a new entry every time.
When you allocate funds to a camp, you’ll need to enter the same amount as a negative in the “General Campership trip” and allocate it to Fake Camper Guy. This will reduce FCG’s balance so it shows the actual amount available to give out for scholarships.
If you have a camp trip during the school year (ex. Great Wolf or Discipleship Camp), record any loss/gain in the “General Campership trip” and allocate to FCG (for the same reason as above.)
When you use Campership funds to pay for camp expenses (or receive funds) not associated with a particular camp (such as fundraiser expenses/revenue), create a camper to allocate those funds to (ex. “Campership, Jamba FR”). Note: When you use “Campership” as the last name, it allows you to search for that fundraiser next year and add it as a “camper.”
Just keep in mind that every time you have an expense that is not already figured into the cost of a camp, it is paid for out of your General Campership account and must be subtracted from the amount available. Check your Trial Balance each month for misc. camp expenses.

CAMP DONATIONS:

All donations processed by the Service Center show up in CTM as “Campership” under payment type, whether checks or credit card donations sent in by you or online donations given directly by donor.
All donations not designated for a specific camper should be allocated to “Fake Camper Guy” in the current year’s “GENERAL CAMPERSHIP” custom camp, as explained above.
To allocate funds to specific campers from donation checks or CC donations received in office (ex. flocking fundraiser, etc.)before sending to Service Center:
Under Payments tab, “Add Check/Other” and enter Description/Payer in all caps (for easier tracking when processed donation shows up in CTM).
Allocate to the camp(s) and camper(s) they are intended for
SIDE NOTE: When sending in donation checks, make sure they do not have a camper’s name written in the memo part of the check. This will negate it as a donation. Tell leaders to use a sticky note!
What to do when the donation you already allocated to a specific camper shows up in CTM after being processed at the Service Center:
Create a new custom camp trip called “Pre-Allocated Funds” (start and end dates = current fiscal year, but change end date at beginning of each FY instead of creating new camp)
On Trip Costs tab make changes & notes (see screenshot provided with materials):
On Campers Tab, add Fake Camper Guy as the first camper (this is more or less a place to “trash” the entries from the Service Center for funds you’ve already allocated)
When donation shows up, allocate it to the Pre-Allocated Funds camp & Fake Camper Guy.

CAMP PAYMENTS:

Payment checks received in office are entered by you into CTM and sent to Service Center. After processing, they will show up on your Trial Balance as Non-Contribution Camp Revenue. (They will not show up again in CTM like donations.) You can track payments by creating batches when you send in checks, keeping copies/scans of the checks & Revenue Forms. There will be entries on TB showing how many checks & the amount.
Credit Card payments (either made online or sent in by you) show up in CTM as “Online Payment” under Payment Type.
Online Payments: Allocate to camp & camper (self-explanatory)
Credit Card Payments sent in: Enter as you would a donation (see above) and allocate the payment to the Pre-Allocated Funds camp & Fake Camper Guy when it shows up on CTM

CUSTOM CAMP FOR “REFUNDS-NOT GOING”

When a camper is deleted from a camp trip, any payments they made will show as available funds in Camp Trip Manager. So that these payments don’t show up as available (if you have a non-refundable, non-transferable policy), you can create a custom camp called “Refunds-Not Going.” You will also be able to track any refunds you give using this camp. Set the camp up like the other custom camps, but you’ll use the actual camper to allocate funds to instead of Fake Camper Guy.