Year-end Processes

There are two "year ends" in Jewel.

The Fiscal Year End is when you close out your yearly budget.

The Calendar Year End is when you deal with 1099s and donor contribution reports.

For many churches these two events coincide at the end of December. However, some churches end their fiscal year at some other time during the year - often at the end of June or July. Whether you are performing a fiscal year end, calendar year end, or both - Jewel's NextStep button will guide you through the steps you need to take.

Once you have completed the last offering of the fiscal/calendar year end, Jewel will begin guiding you through the last month end process, which then continues into the year end process.

Note: Year-end transactions must be entered before closing the last month of the year. There is no way to enter transactions after closing the month but before closing the year. Do not Print Reports for your last month until all year-end transfers have been entered.

Close the Month

Finish December just like any other month by following the NextStep button: Deposits, Checks, Remittance, Allocations, Reconcile.

Note: Reconciling December before you close will ensure that your year-end reports are accurate.

Do not Print Reports quite yet!

Year-end Budget Tasks

1. Ensure that you have copied this year's budget into next year: Budget - End-of-Year Rollover
2. Check your settings for zeroing out sub accounts in Maintenance / Properties / General tab. Jewel will automatically enter a transfer to zero out the indicated sub accounts, and you will not be able to make any manual changes afterward, so please check now to ensure that this choice is set correctly.
3. Go to Reports & Graphs / Financial Summary and print a copy of the December report. Then create a Year-to-Date report and print it as well, to include in your report to the board. This way you will have reports that show the December transactions, before the end-of-year transfers change them.
4. Next, make any manual end-of-year transfers that your board has authorized you to make, using “Transfer Funds.”
5. Go back to the Financial Summary and verify that it looks the way it is supposed to, remembering that Jewel is about to enter the automatic transfer you specified in Step 2. Fix any errors you find.

Print Reports

Now that all transactions for the year are entered, you are ready to Print Monthly Reports, and then immediately Print Yearly Reports. The default year-end report setting is just one report: "Financial Summary for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 20xx."

Form 1099 Payments

This report assists in the preparation of IRS Form 1099, which in the United States must be provided to each vendor who has been paid more than a specified cumulative amount during the year. First select the time period you want. Click on the Choose Form 1099 Payments button, then select a vendor. This screen shows all payments made to the vendor, and allows you to choose the payments that apply to Form 1099. When finished adding all the vendors that need a Form 1099, click OK. Jewel then generates a report of vendors and their total payments, from which you can then generate your Forms 1099 in the manner recommended by your conference. For more details, see Form 1099 Information

Contribution Receipts

Contribution Receipts must be printed and distributed at the end of each calendar year, regardless of whether the fiscal year has ended as well. Jewel automatically prints these receipts during the year-end process included in December's closing. These receipts are to be distributed promptly for the donors' records and tax returns. You can mail them, email them, hand them out at church, or have the donors pick up the receipts from you.

Signature for Receipts

Before printing, you have the option to import an image of your signature so that Jewel can print it on receipts. Go to Maintenance -> Properties -> Church Info tab, and follow the instructions here.

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Continue to Chapter 4: Bank Reconciliation