FAQs

A: In most other applications or in spreadsheets there is usually no tie between the names and the families, so there is no way of determining if a James Smith, Jimmy Smith, J.T.Smith or an other forms of the name is the same person or a different person. This also applies to the parents of children, as the program is unable to determine if this is the same father/mother of a series of children of a different person.

A: Although the father & mother are usually labeled on the family screen, this is in context of the family unit not as a direct relation to the children, there could be 3 or 4 children in the family, but the children could have a different father or mother for a different reason. Also, this is only a family role label  which is different for each language used by Parish Friendly Solutions, so a father in English is not the same word in French or another language. It is safer to determine who was the father/mother at the point of sacramental entry, instead of the father/mother currently listed in the family screen.

A: By default donations are entered into Parish Friendly Solutions for one person to allow for spouses to make separate donations if they wish, but if they want the receipt issued in both names, you can make this change in the personal details on the family screen. On the Tax Receipt line, simply type the name(s) you wish to have appear on the tax receipt. This will override the default name of the original donor. If the tax reciept has already been printed, it can be recalculated and re-printed through the Tax Receipt Screen.

A: If you are using version 5 or version 6 of Parish Friendly Solutions, you can move the entire folder from one computer to the other, no other installation or setup is required except to create new short cuts for the new location. If the new machine is a Vista or Windows 7 machine please ensure that you do not move or install Parish Friendly Solutions into the Program Files folder. If you are using version 4 or earlier, you will need to install run-time files, please contact Sitescapers Contracting for details on how to install the required run-time files.

A: This can only be cleaned up if you go to the sacraments that are using these Clergy names and change them all to the same one and then delete the ones that are not used. There are situations where you will need a given clergy to have his name different as he may have baptised numerous children as a deacon, as a priest and maybe even as a bishop, and each title will be different and appropriate for the time of the sacrament.

 

A: The data file in your program is unique to your parish and the only place it is saved automatically is on your computer hard drive. If you have problems with your data file or your computer crashes, we can replace the program but we cannot replace your data! We recommend that you back-up at least once per week and we also recommend that you use at least two locations to backup that are not on your computer.  When backing-up on the same device all the time, you could run into a “faulty” hardware situation. If your backup disk becomes damaged, you want to ensure you have another copy of your data files. So…to save you frustrations and to save you hours of work, please back-up your Parish Friendly Solutions on a weekly basis MINIMUM.

 A: These fields are meant to help you match the electronic record in PFS with the hardcopy record in your register.

#_______ the number you put in here is the order of entry you want to see on the report (i.e. Doe, John #1, Doe, Jane #2, Doe, Samantha #3, Doe, Michael #4, etc.) This can be helpful in organizing your report to match the order of your register, which usually lists sacraments chronologically rather than alphabetically. If you enter the correct sequence of numbers as you would like them to appear on your report (or as they are listed in your Registry), they will print that way.  A new year of entries will always begin with #1.  This is the one spot that you can manipulate the order of entry on your report. Book/Vol#______   This is for you to enter the Register/Book number so that you can have a quick reference so that you know which book the entry is in. Page/Entry#______   This is for you to enter the Register Page number and Entry number, again for a quick reference to go find the entry in a specific page in the Register.  

A: The Baptism Certificate (the button at the bottom left of the Sacrament Screen) is for new Baptisms and is issued as Original Baptism Certificate. The Baptism Mailer, (the B on the toolbar on the left) will show the same information as on the Baptism Certificate, however, it will also show the Confirmation and Marriage Notations.  The Baptism Mailer was designed for when someone requests a copy of their Baptism Certificate for School Registration, Marriage, etc. When you enter Confirmation or Marriage information, the date will automatically appear in the notation box on the Baptism Mailer.

A: In any screen, when entering information click on the CHECK MARK on the toolbar before exiting the screen.

A: Click OK to the message and click on the X on the toolbar to undo the last key stroke…this will allow you to continue working. In the event that the error message persists, close the screen and the program and that should refresh everything and allow you to continue working. If for some reason the error message continues, please contact Sitescapers Contracting for assistance.

A: There is no process for “closing off” the year before you begin the new year.  The program was written such that everything is based on the date and year. Therefore, you can start entering information for the new year at any point even if you haven’t generated your tax receipts or even if you haven’t printed your Sacramental Reports for the previous year. Please ensure that the date/year you enter  for all records is for the correct year. 

A: Yes. Everything is based on date and year…just remember when entering donations for the previous year, that the donation date and post date are correct. For example, you can enter your Christmas collection on January 3 as long as you change the date on the batch to December 25 of the previous year.

A: The date format option setting is actually not within the program but rather within your computer settings.

In Windows go to: Start/Control Panel/Regional Settings/ Every computer is different. Look for customized date format. Choose the format to be used in PFS.

A: If  you get this message it’s because your receipts have already been generated. If you generate your tax receipts and then leave the screen without printing them, then when you come back to the Tax Receipt Screen you need to go to “Print One Year of Tax Receipts”.  This will still allow you to choose the tax receipt format and to preview the tax receipts on the screen before you send them to the printer.

OR

Be sure to have the correct year chosen before clicking the button ‘Generate’.

A: Go to: File/Edit/Diocese & Parishes. At the bottom right of the screen, you will see “Charitable Reg #”. Insert the number here and it will carry across to your tax receipts.

A: Ensure that the NumLock key is on. It is located at the top of your numeric pad on your keyboard.

A: If you’ve assigned new envelope numbers for everyone for the new year then you need to ROLLOVER to your new envelope numbers. Please do a BACKUP before proceeding further. Go to File/Envelopes. Check that everyone has a number assigned in the Next Year Column. Click on the ROLLOVER ALL BUTTON at the bottom right. This will move ALL numbers in the Next Year Column to the Current Column. You will now be able to enter donations with the new numbers.

 

A: You can enter these donations by name. In the Donation Screen, choose a date for last year. Then either click the F9 key on your keyboard or double click on the name field in the entry line . Both will give you the list of names in your database and you can choose the person’s name to enter a donation for last year. Remember that the donations are attached to the name, not the envelope number. Entering donations by name regardless of the envelope number will always work.