Properties

In this section, we will discuss how to make Jewel work for your church's specific needs. Jewel has many customizable options which you can adjust as needed. All changes can be made from Jewel's Properties screen. You can get to Properties by going to Menu Bar → Maintenance → Properties.

Church Info

Your church name, entity ID, address, and treasurer's name should have been filled out during your initial Set Up. If you need to make any changes, this is where you will update that information. If you have a password set, this is also where you can change your password. Simply click on “Change Password,” and follow instructions for creating a new password.

Notice the area below Church information: Receipt Signature File. This is where you can scan in your signature to be printed out on the receipts. This can save you a lot of time at the end of the year! If you would rather sign your receipts manually, simply leave this area blank. If you would like to scan in your signature, follow these instructions:

1. Create a bitmap (.bmp) file of your signature. Scan your signature at 300 DPI or at your printer's highest resolution - whichever is higher.
2. Crop the BMP file to its smallest possible size without clipping out any of your signature.
3. Save the BMP file in the Jewel directory (C:\Program Files\Jewel.)
4. Click the "..." button at the end of the Receipt Signature File box and select your signature file.
5. Your signature should now appear in the textbox and will be printed on all contribution receipts.

General

Back Up Path At the end of each month, you will create a personal back up of your database. In this text box, you will select the drive for your database to be backed up to. Follow these instructions for creating your month-end external backups:

1. Go to My Computer (or Computer if using Vista or Windows 7) and under “Devices with Removable Storage,” find what letter the computer has assigned to your flash drive.
2. Then in Jewel, go to Maintenance, Properties, General Tab and change the letter in the Copy to Disk Path to match the letter the computer assigned. It must be typed in this format: e:\ (letter colon backslash). Click OK to leave Properties.
3. When you click on Backup on the NextStep button or click on File, Copy to Disk the backup should go to the appropriate drive.

Options This section will likely be one you will be making adjustments to the most. We will describe here what each of the options does and how to change them for your needs. Simply click to check or uncheck options depending on if you need them or not.

Sort Envelopes by Order Entered: Check in this box if you wish the Trial Deposit report and the Contribution Report to print out sorted by the order that you entered the envelopes. Leave the box blank to print the envelopes in alphabetical order.

Always Show Donor Address: When you enter envelopes, you can have Jewel show the address of the donor. If this box is not checked Jewel will only display an address for donors with the same last names.

Require Check Numbers for Contributions: The NSF Check # feature of Jewel will not function if check numbers are not entered. However, if you choose NOT to enter each donor's check number, and lose the NSF Check # function, then click to remove the check mark. Check #'s will display on year-end receipts if entered. Having this box checked (using check #s) will require the check number to be entered each time a donation by check is entered in Contribution Entry.

Use Deposit Slip: This option provides use of the Deposit Slip which adds up the amount of the cash and checks and provides a slip for use when making the deposit at the bank.

Allow Transfers Between Conference and Local Accounts: If this is checked, you can use Conference funds in the Transfer Funds window. This is only necessary in exceptional circumstances, since by definition all Conference funds are normally forwarded directly to the Conference. Any changes to Conference funds made in Transfer Funds will not be reflected on the donor's receipt. It is important to turn this feature off when you are done using it to prevent an accidental transfer of Conference funds.

Show "Print Setup" Before Printing: Unchecked, this feature allows printing without using the "Print Setup" window. Jewel uses the default printer set up in Windows.

Print New Checks: Click to put a check mark in the box if you normally want to print the checks you enter into the computer. If you do NOT want to print the checks, do not check this box. If you are hand writing your checks, you may not want Jewel to print your checks.

Using Pre-Printed Checks: Check this box if you are printing your checks on Jewel but the checks are preprinted with the bank name, check number, "Pay to the Order of:" etc.

Print Memo on Check: Use this option to utilize the checks memo feature on the bottom left hand corner of the check or to turn it off. Either way, the memo will still print on the check stub for your records.

Fiscal Year and Closing Dates Use the drop-down menu to select the month which starts your church's fiscal year. The fiscal year is the 12-month period (cycle) your church uses for the church budget. This has no effect on the calendar year and Donor receipts, which will always print out in January.

Click on the Close ......Fiscal Year button to do the annual closing manually. If this button is not on your screen, it is because it is not now time to be performing an annual closing (as set in Maintenance, Properties, General Tab.)

Here, you can also choose the method you will use to zero out your sub accounts at year-end. Churches on the Combined Budget system usually use "Budget Sub Accounts Only," others zero out "All Sub Accounts."

Internet

The Internet properties allow you to send your database, month-end reports, and remittance reports to your Conference electronically. Note: To use the Internet features, you MUST have an Internet connection (Internet Service Provider). If you are on the web, you have what you need!

Send …. to Conference Server

Click to place a check mark in the boxes for “Send Month-End Reports to Conference Server” and/or “Send Remittance Report to Conference Server” if you would like to send your reports electronically. These reports will NOT be sent to the conference at the end of each month unless you have these options checked.

Conference Server Address

This is the name of the Internet server that receives your backups and reports. You won't need to change this unless you are specifically asked to by your conference tech support.

ACH Funds Transfer

Check this box to permit the Conference to withdraw funds from your bank account instead of writing a check for your Conference Remittance. If the box is not checked, you will need to print your remittance check and mail it each month. However, if your Conference office is using Jewel, they have the ability to receive your remittance check electronically. If this is the case, they will give you instructions on how to set it up.

NOTE:If you are interested in using ACH, contact your conference to find out if they are working on it, and let them know it would be a benefit to you!

Reports/Auditor

This information directs the monthly reports to the correct site for the Conference. Do NOT make any changes here unless directed by your auditor or tech support.

Accounts

Under the Accounts tab, you can select Default Bank Accounts for deposit and checking, where to remit Conference funds to, and the order you wish accounts to appear in when doing Contribution Entry. If you are outside the USA, you can also choose currency type here.

Banking Information

Default Deposit Account: Click the down arrow and select the bank account where contributions will be DEPOSITED. This will generally be your main Checking Account. If you have not yet added a checking account, and need to make a new one, click the (+) sign to be taken to Edit Accounts. You can add a new account, and then return to properties to select that account.

Default Checking Account: Click the down arrow and select the bank account where Checks will be written from. (This is usually the same as the Deposit Account.)

Remit To: Click the down arrow and select your local Conference for checks to be remitted to each month.

Currency

Type in the currency you use (Dollars, Pounds etc). The only place the currency symbol is used in Jewel is for Checks. The Symbol is set by Windows under Start → Control Panel → Regional Settings.

Default Account Order for Contributions

This section allows you to adapt Contribution Entry to your own personal needs to make the weekly entries faster and easier to use. The set of fields you see here is exactly what Contribution Entry will look like when entering envelopes. Jewel has a preset order that the accounts will appear in, as you enter envelopes. Usually Tithe is first, followed by Combined Budget, etc. You may re-arrange or add to this list according to your needs. Contribution Entry will bring up accounts in the order they are listed here. Do not attempt to list all accounts in this list – only enter the most frequently used accounts. All others will be available in alphabetical and numerical order. After using Contribution Entry for a few weeks, you may wish to come back here and make further changes.

How to adjust account order:

To add to the end of the default account list, select the last account and press Enter until you have the number of account fields you need. Click the down arrow to select the appropriate accounts in the desired order.

To insert an account in the middle of the list, select the account you want the new account ABOVE. Click insert, and a new field will be entered above the selected account.

To edit previously entered accounts, simply select the account and click the down arrow to choose a new account, or click the (+) sign to edit the current account.

To delete an account, select the account you want deleted, and click Delete.

NOTE: The Insert and Delete buttons are changing the account order - it will not delete the account from Jewel.

Reports

In the accounting process you will be printing periodic reports, monthly, year-end, etc. This tab lets you choose when these report periods happen, and which reports to print. This is also where you can make printer adjustments if your printer does not place the print in the correct position on the paper.

Most churches use the reports as already listed. You may wish to leave these settings as they are. Check with your auditor and your church board to find out what reports are required for each time period. These report settings can be changed at any time. Any report can be printed at any time without being in this list by going to Reports and Graphs, finding the appropriate report, and clicking the Print button. If a report is in one of these lists, Jewel will require it to be printed before going on to other procedures. So, if you do not want a report every time, do NOT put it in this list.

Select Automatic Reports

Choose the report period you would like to change by clicking on the down arrow and selecting the appropriate time period. Your options are: Offering Reports, Monthly Reports, Quarterly Reports, Fiscal Year Reports, and Calendar Year Reports. Most churches will only have Monthly, Fiscal, and Calendar Year-End reports.

To add or delete a particular report, use the Add or Delete buttons.

Add

1. Click on Add to add a report to the Time Period showing.
2. Choose a Report type by clicking the down arrow and selecting the type of report desired.
3. Choose a Time Period by clicking the down arrow and select the appropriate time period.
4. Click up or down arrows to determine the number of copies to print.
5. Click OK to accept your changes, or Cancel to NOT accept changes.

Delete

1. Select the report you would like to be deleted and click on Delete.
2. In the message box, click Yes to delete the report or No to not remove the report from the list.

Copies to Print

Click the up or down arrows to increase or decrease the number of copies to print of the selected Report Type.

Report and Check Calibration When printing reports, you may find that your printer did not place the print in the correct position on the paper. Printer adjustments are made by nudging the print area left or right, up or down on your paper. This adjustment is especially important if checks are printed from Jewel. You may need to calibrate each time you change printers. Therefore, it is neither necessary nor recommended to use more than one printer for Jewel. The most critical adjustments are needed for the printing of checks. Reports will usually print OK if the checks are adjusted correctly.

How to Adjust Alignment

Print a check on a regular check blank. If the print needs to be moved on the form then follow the procedures below. When choosing a value for nudging the print, follow these length guidelines: 1/16 inch = 90; 1/8 inch = 180; ¼ inch = 360

CAUTION: Be careful about the placing of paper in the printer. Be sure the tray is holding it firmly. If the sides are not snug, the paper will print differently from sheet to sheet or even turn slightly as it goes through. Be particularly cautious of sheet feeders. Keep the side guides snug against the paper, and the paper all the way in before printing.

Horizontal Nudge: Click on the Left or Right selection buttons to indicate the direction you need the print to move on the paper. Type a value to nudge the print.

Vertical Nudge: Click on the Up or Down selection buttons to indicate the direction you need the print to move on the paper. Type a value to nudge the print.

Print Calibration: Click the Print Calibration Page button to print a test pattern. It will help you determine the need of further adjustments. Repeat this process until the print is properly located.

Pages per Print Job: Lower the number of pages to print at a time in a print job if you are receiving "out of memory error" while printing. All your work will still be printed-the computer will just send fewer pages at a time to the printer.

Report Format

Printed reports can be customized to your needs. Each individual report can be adjusted to how you need it to look. Here, you can change paper orientation, margins, fonts, font size and column width for each printed report.

How to Adjust Report Formats

• Start by choosing the report you wish to adjust, and then click to place a check mark by Edit.
• Font Name: Choose the desired font. The list you see here is of the fonts installed on your computer.
• Font Size: Select a font size - remember, the larger the number, the larger the size and the more space it will use on the page, requiring wider columns.
• Orientation: Click the Portrait button to print a vertical report or the Landscape button to print a horizontal report.
• Column Widths: Key in the number of centimeters to use for the width of each column.
• Margins: Type the desired width of each margin (distance from the edge of the paper.) The numbers are in centimeters. Depending on your printer, there may be various unprintable areas. Be sure to print a test report to ensure all of the report is printed.
• Print Test Reports: Click Print Test Reports to print a test report to see how your changes look. If you are not satisfied with the results, continue to adjust the settings again and try another test print.