Q1: Is it OK to have a lot of Programs?
Yes, your list of Programs to reflect real-life ministry efforts. Additional Programs may be needed to collect funds for registrations or Donations to specific accounts. All of these types of Programs often result in many Programs that are needed in the system.
Q2: Is a Program the same as a recurring Event?
No. Events can be turned into recurring series by opening an Event and using the Copy button. A single program like Main Campus Worship Services may contain as many recurring series of Events as there are worship services each week. So, a church doing 3-weekend worship services might have 3 series of 52 events all belonging to the same Program.
Q3: Does a Program serve the same purpose as a Fund, Designation or Purpose code in another system?
Yes, a Program serves the same purpose that a fund or purpose code in another system would serve. Donations can be distributed to Programs and the Program stores the correct General Ledger information so that the appropriate debit and credits are created when money is transmitted to the accounting system.
Q4: Can we create Programs that never take Donations?
Yes. Some programs only have Events, Milestones and Feedback and not Donations. However, even a Program like College Activities might take Donations for the purpose of providing scholarships for people who cannot afford to pay their own way on those activities.
Q5: Can we create Programs solely for tracking donations?
Yes. Some Programs exist primarily to allow for special designation of funds. However, even a Program like the Capital Campaign might have banquets and other events as part of this effort.
A SPoC can go to Administration > Configuration Settings.
Search for "PrependAccountNumber".
Open this record, and edit the value field to True.
Click Save. Now the Programs sorts by the Account_Number value, which you can change and control for each Program. You can make a code out of these if you wish to make typing 2-3 letters easy to find them.
Q7: When I give a user access to the Programs page, why is it listed in two places?
The Programs page appears in both the Church Structure section and the "Stewardship" section. This is intentional functionality, as the page is used heavily in both sections.
Q8: Can one ministry (such as Children's) have more than one Program?
Yes, often ministries have a general Program as well as specific Programs for their various ministry efforts (e.g., AWANA, camps, Sunday school, vacation Bible school). You should ensure that you have a Program for each ministry effort that tracks money separately; e.g., you should have two different Programs if you have a morning study and an evening study and the money is accounted for separately).
Q9: Do I need Programs in MinistryPlatform for accounts that I pay bills out of?
You only need to create the Programs in MinistryPlatform that income will be received towards.
