MLS/CUBS - Unable to create Other Accounts

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
donaldbrooksby
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MLS/CUBS - Unable to create Other Accounts

#1

Post by donaldbrooksby »

3-20-11 MLS - Newest version
We are just noticing that we cannot create a new "Other" account for Girls Camp or Boys Camp. MLS alows us to Add it, but if there is another entry, the account isn't available to assign a deposit to, we have to create it again.

Last week we added this account and put a deposit in, we went back into the batch and it shows the account as the "Other-Member Financed Activity" nothing else.

This is yet another bug.
russellhltn
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#2

Post by russellhltn »

Where are you creating this new account? From what I've seen here, it should be a sub-account of "Member Financed Activity", not the top-level "Other" account. This is to separate Member Financed Activities from CHQ's use of "Other" as a catch all until everything can be figured out account.
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donaldbrooksby
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#3

Post by donaldbrooksby »

RussellHltn wrote:Where are you creating this new account? From what I've seen here, it should be a sub-account of "Member Financed Activity", not the top-level "Other" account. This is to separate Member Financed Activities from CHQ's use of "Other" as a catch all until everything can be figured out account.

It wasn't a top level. Basically what we did, was...
* Enter in the person who is donating in to the batch as normal
* Click on "Other"
* Click on the Search Button
* Search for the item we entered before, not there.
* Clicked the "Add" button in the lower left corner of the window
* The top-level account comes up and we cannot change - "Other - Member Financed Activvity:"
* We type in the title "Girls Camp 2011" as a sub account (second line down in the box)
* Press the Save button
* it shows up in the category to allow us to continue to finish out the donation record.

We get another member putting money in to Girls Camp, we do the same process and when we search for the item, it isn't there.

I have gone in and reviewed the previously entered record and the "Girls Camp 2011" isn't there and does not exist.

I am assuming that is the correct way...?...

Thanks
Don
jdlessley
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#4

Post by jdlessley »

The method you describe is suppose to be one way to create a sub-account. There is another way. It may be a good way to see if there is a bug.

Select the menu item Finance > Budget > Update Categories. Expand the Other category by clicking the plus (+) sign to see the list of sub-categories. Do the same for the Authorized Member Financed Activities sub-category. Active sub-categories of AMFA will have a green dot and have a brown (?) title (not greyed out). With AMFA selected (highlighted), you can add sub-categories by clicking the "Add..." button at the bottom of the column.

Adding sub-categories this way is how I do it. All that I have created have had no problem being there when entering donations from the Enter Donations screen.

If you do not see any of the categories you added while processing donations at the Enter Donations screen then they most likely were not created and there is a bug in MLS. Verify donations you already processed by checking the donations at the View/Update Donations screen. Something has to be there if the donation was processed. If there is nothing there then the category was not created.

If you can add the categories as I have described you will have to go back to the donations that you entered before and add the donation. I am guessing that the category was not created and the donation was not processed.
JD Lessley
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donaldbrooksby
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#5

Post by donaldbrooksby »

jdlessley wrote:The method you describe is suppose to be one way to create a sub-account. There is another way. It may be a good way to see if there is a bug.

Select the menu item Finance > Budget > Update Categories. Expand the Other category by clicking the plus (+) sign to see the list of sub-categories. Do the same for the Authorized Member Financed Activities sub-category. Active sub-categories of AMFA will have a green dot and have a brown (?) title (not greyed out). With AMFA selected (highlighted), you can add sub-categories by clicking the "Add..." button at the bottom of the column.

Adding sub-categories this way is how I do it. All that I have created have had no problem being there when entering donations from the Enter Donations screen.

If you do not see any of the categories you added while processing donations at the Enter Donations screen then they most likely were not created and there is a bug in MLS. Verify donations you already processed by checking the donations at the View/Update Donations screen. Something has to be there if the donation was processed. If there is nothing there then the category was not created.

If you can add the categories as I have described you will have to go back to the donations that you entered before and add the donation. I am guessing that the category was not created and the donation was not processed.

Great, we will try and I'll report back.
I know of adding it this way, but didn't think to try because while entering the donation info, we were focused inside of the batch instead of going outside to work it out.
Thanks
davesudweeks
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#6

Post by davesudweeks »

Does anyone know if there is a limit? The reason I'm asking is my Bishop wants an individual "other" account for each youth (the reasoning is too long to go into here). So, I created about 60 accounts that are each named for an individual. The problem is, MLS randomly de-activates some of them.

Twice now, I have gone in and re-activated about 6-10 of the accounts, only to find the next week that about the same number are de-activated again. I have not checked yet to see if they are the same ones but my Finance Clerk is a bit computer challenged so when he goes in during recording of donations, if the account does not show in the Tithing Slip screen, he doesn't know what to do next.
donaldbrooksby
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#7

Post by donaldbrooksby »

davesudweeks wrote:Does anyone know if there is a limit? The reason I'm asking is my Bishop wants an individual "other" account for each youth (the reasoning is too long to go into here). So, I created about 60 accounts that are each named for an individual. The problem is, MLS randomly de-activates some of them.

Twice now, I have gone in and re-activated about 6-10 of the accounts, only to find the next week that about the same number are de-activated again. I have not checked yet to see if they are the same ones but my Finance Clerk is a bit computer challenged so when he goes in during recording of donations, if the account does not show in the Tithing Slip screen, he doesn't know what to do next.

No real answer from me, however, have you thought of just putting money into 1 "other" account and keep track on a spreadsheet (OpenOffice)? that is much easier to administer and you don't have to go through a huge audit every 6 months just going over the "Other" accounts. I may be in the minority in that thought, but when you need to give the YW leaders an accounting, it would cut out hours of printing individual reports for each account. Plus if it is in a spreadsheet, you can share it with the Leaders and they can do their updates to help you out too.

Plus those accounts will sit in there for YEARS after you close them and as you are adding more...heaven help you when you are having to maneuver through hundreds of Other accounts just to get to the active accounts all spread out through the list...I know, that is the way the Clerk did before me...all I can say, perhaps there was One good thing that can be named for the upgrade to CUBS... :-)

I'm all about efficiency and less waste, Clerks have enough to do.
davesudweeks
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#8

Post by davesudweeks »

I agree with you and drug my feet for about 2 months trying to convince the Bishop it would be an administration nightmare, but it's my nightmare, not his...

The Bishop's reasoning is too long to fully explain here, but it finally pretty much came down to, "if it is possible, just do it, please." He needs the Other Accounts to show which youth any money is earmarked for. It would have been much easier to have a sub-sub account (like Other... -> Scout Camp -> Smith, John) but MLS will not allow that level of tiering.

I am certainly not complaining - I have served as a Bishop before and will take this nightmare over some of the ones he gets to deal with any day.
donaldbrooksby
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#9

Post by donaldbrooksby »

davesudweeks wrote:I agree with you and drug my feet for about 2 months trying to convince the Bishop it would be an administration nightmare, but it's my nightmare, not his...

The Bishop's reasoning is too long to fully explain here, but it finally pretty much came down to, "if it is possible, just do it, please." He needs the Other Accounts to show which youth any money is earmarked for. It would have been much easier to have a sub-sub account (like Other... -> Scout Camp -> Smith, John) but MLS will not allow that level of tiering.

I am certainly not complaining - I have served as a Bishop before and will take this nightmare over some of the ones he gets to deal with any day.

What will happen as those kids move? My condolences. It is a nightmare for you.
donaldbrooksby
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Location: USA

#10

Post by donaldbrooksby »

donaldbrooksby wrote:Great, we will try and I'll report back.
I know of adding it this way, but didn't think to try because while entering the donation info, we were focused inside of the batch instead of going outside to work it out.
Thanks

Reporting back. Now there seems to be even more of a bug in MLS. As I went in to add per info above, I noticed now we have 4 accounts of each as we tried last Sunday. We had new donations for Girls Camp, and I chose the first of the four accounts to add each of today's donations. I check the accounts and all of the day's records show up under the 3rd account of Girls camp. There is something not right in MLS/CUBS. First they don't show up, and didn't all week long, now today, they show up in 4 of the same account.

Then also, an account that was only setup one time in the "Other" account. Repeat, 1 creation. We now have 7 of those accounts (all named exactly the same). Actually it looks like for every entry under a single account it creates a new instance of the sub category under Other... is anyone else experiencing this? The relationship to these tables are out of sorts... Just dealing with the Other account is becoming a nightmare.
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