Approving and Finalizing Count Sheets

After the counter has recorded denomination totals and the bookkeeper has attributed individual donations, the count sheet reaches you — the admin or treasurer. Your job is to review the work, verify the balance, and finalize the sheet so that contribution records are created in the system.

This is the last step before the offerings appear on member giving statements and in your fund accounting ledger.

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Who Can Approve and Finalize

Only users with the Admin or Treasurer role can approve and finalize count sheets. This is by design — finalization creates permanent financial records, so it should be limited to authorized personnel.

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Step 1: Find Sheets Ready for Review

1. Navigate to Contributions > Count Sheets
2. Filter by status: Attributed — these are ready for your review
3. Sheets flagged for review will show an amber flag icon next to the status badge

Sheets are sorted by date, newest first. If you have multiple campuses, you can also filter by campus.

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Step 2: Review the Count Sheet

Click on a sheet to open the full review view. This view shows everything on one page in three sections:

Section 1: Header Information

Section 2: Counter's Denomination Totals

The full denomination breakdown from the counter:

• Bills by denomination (quantity and amount)
• Coins by denomination (loose and rolls)
• Individual checks (number and amount) or check summary
• Total Cash, Total Checks, Grand Total

This section is read-only. You are reviewing the counter's work, not redoing it.

Section 3: Bookkeeper's Attribution

The full list of individual donations:

Below the list, the balance check:

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Step 3: Verify the Balance

The balance check is the most important thing on this page.

Balanced (Difference = $0.00)

A green checkmark and "Balanced" label appear. Every dollar the counter counted has been attributed by the bookkeeper. This is the ideal outcome.

Flagged Discrepancy

If the bookkeeper flagged the sheet, you will see:

• An amber warning icon instead of a green checkmark
• The discrepancy amount (e.g., "Difference: $2.35")
• The bookkeeper's note explaining the discrepancy

Unbalanced (No Flag)

If the difference is not zero and the bookkeeper did not flag it, the sheet should not be in Attributed status. This scenario typically means the bookkeeper submitted by mistake. Send it back for correction.

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Step 4: Review Individual Entries

Beyond the balance, spot-check the individual attributions:

1. Check amounts against the fund — does a $5,000 donation to the Building Fund seem right, or was it meant to be $500?
2. Check member names — do you recognize the members? Is someone listed who was not at this service?
3. Check split donations — do the split amounts add up to the total for that member?
4. Check anonymous entries — is the anonymous cash amount reasonable for your church?
5. Check check numbers — if checks were entered individually by the counter, do the check numbers on the attributions match?

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Step 5: Take Action

You have three options:

Option A: Approve

If everything looks correct:

1. Click the Approve button
2. Confirm in the dialog
3. The sheet moves to Approved status

At this point, both the denomination totals and the attribution entries are locked. The sheet is ready for finalization.

Option B: Send Back for Correction

If you find an issue with the attribution:

1. Click Send Back
2. Select who to send it back to: Counter (to fix denomination totals) or Bookkeeper (to fix attributions)
3. Enter a note explaining what needs to be corrected
4. Click Confirm

The sheet moves back to the appropriate status (Draft for counter corrections, Counted for bookkeeper corrections), and the assigned person is notified.

Option C: Edit Directly (Admin Only)

If the correction is minor (e.g., wrong fund on one entry), you can edit it yourself:

1. Click Edit Attribution (available only to admins)
2. Make the correction
3. The change is logged in the audit trail with your name and a timestamp
4. Continue to approve

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Step 6: Finalize the Count Sheet

After approving, the Finalize button becomes available. Finalization is a separate step from approval because it creates permanent financial records.

1. Click Finalize
2. The system shows a preview of what will be created:
   • Contribution Batch: date, service type, total amount, number of contributions
   • Individual Contributions: count of records to be created
   • Journal Entries (if fund accounting is enabled): debit and credit accounts with amounts
3. Review the preview carefully
4. Click Confirm Finalization

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What Happens on Finalization

The system creates the following records automatically:

1. Contribution Batch

A new batch record is created in Contributions > Batches with:

2. Individual Contributions

For each attribution entry, a contribution record is created with:

• Member — linked to the member record (or null for anonymous)
• Fund — the designated fund
• Amount — the attributed amount
• Payment Method — cash or check
• Check Number — if applicable
• Batch — linked to the batch created above
• Date — the count sheet date
• Status — completed

These contributions immediately appear on:

• The member's giving history
• The member's annual giving statement
• Fund-level contribution reports

3. Journal Entries (Fund Accounting)

If your church has fund accounting enabled, the system creates double-entry journal entries:

The debit always goes to the configured deposit account (usually "Undeposited Funds"). The credits are split by fund, with each fund mapped to its revenue account.

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After Finalization

Once finalized:

• The count sheet shows a Finalized badge and is completely read-only
• The batch appears in Contributions > Batches
• Individual contributions are searchable in Contributions > Records
• Member giving statements reflect the new contributions
• Journal entries appear in Finance > Journal Entries (if fund accounting is enabled)
• The audit trail records who finalized, when, and what was created

Viewing finalized sheets

All finalized count sheets remain accessible under Contributions > Count Sheets with their Finalized status. You can view (but not edit) the full detail at any time. The batch created from the sheet includes a link back to the original count sheet for reference.

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Batch Processing Multiple Sheets

If you have several count sheets to review (e.g., after a busy weekend with multiple services), you can use the Batch Approve workflow:

1. On the Count Sheets list, check the boxes next to multiple Attributed sheets
2. Click Batch Review in the toolbar
3. The system shows a summary of each sheet: date, service, total, balance status
4. Review each one — sheets with flags are highlighted
5. Check the ones you want to approve
6. Click Approve Selected
7. Then finalize them individually or use Batch Finalize

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Common Questions

Can I finalize without approving first?

No. Approval and finalization are separate steps to provide a clear audit trail. You must approve first, then finalize.

What if I finalize and then find an error?

See Editing or Correcting a Submitted Count Sheet for the post-finalization correction workflow. The short version: you create an adjustment, you do not delete or edit the original records.

Do I need to finalize on the same day?

No. You can approve and finalize at any time. However, it is best practice to finalize within a few days of the service so that member giving records stay current.

What happens to the count sheet after finalization?

It remains in the system permanently as a read-only record. It links to the batch it created and serves as the source-of-truth documentation for that offering.

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Related Articles

• How Count Sheets Work — The Two-Role Workflow
• Counter Role — Recording Denomination Totals
• Bookkeeper Role — Attributing Donations to Donors
• Editing or Correcting a Submitted Count Sheet