Using Auditor to Make Corrections
NOTE: Please familiarize yourself with Auditor Front End Added-Feature Overview and Auditor Back End Overview before using this section.
Auditor is a powerful tool to correct Jewel databases. Therefore it must be used with extreme caution. Jewel locks down all but the current month, so that treasurers cannot make changes to past months, nor enter transactions in future months (with specific, limited exceptions). There are important reasons for this, such as preserving an audit trail, and not changing reports that have been accepted by the church board. Since Auditor lacks these restrictions, Auditor users must exercise extreme care to not change closed months unnecessarily, and to leave an audit trail for necessary changes.
Additionally, Jewel includes safeguards that keep the database in balance. For example, the envelopes in a deposit must add up to the deposit total, and the funds a check is charged to must add up to the total amount of the check. The "front end" of Auditor, the part that looks like Jewel, also includes these safeguards. But when you click Auditor and go into the "back end", those safeguards are gone. Do not make changes to a database in the back end of Auditor unless you are 100% sure you know what you are doing. If you are not completely confident, ensure that you have a backup accessible so you can use it to undo your changes, if necessary. Generally, the server is the easiest backup. You can re-download the database the treasurer sent you before you messed it up further, or you can send your partially-completed work to the server to preserve a date- and time-stamped copy of where you were.
There is a lot of "use your best judgement" involved in deciding how to make corrections. The current month can generally be freely edited (almost always by the treasurer, so teach them how!). And when a month has been recently closed, it's usually fine to directly edit the incorrect transaction(s) and reprint the affected monthly reports. But for older months, be much more cautious. It is often best to make correcting entries in the current month, rather than directly edit closed months.
Please thoroughly familiarize yourself with Making Corrections in the Jewel Handbook for general guidelines on how to edit and correct transactions, as those instructions are not repeated here. Note that the Current Month instructions often also work for Previous Months when you're using Auditor. Always use the front end of Auditor whenever possible, as it's much easier to use and harder to make mistakes. When it is necessary to make a change in a closed month, utilize the memo to leave an audit trail as well as a record of who made the change.
Beginning Balances and Other Setup Issues
Offering Deposit Corrections in Auditor
Check or Electronic Payment Corrections in Auditor
General Journal or Transfer Corrections in Auditor
Fixing Remittance Issues in Auditor
Bank Reconciliation Corrections in Auditor