New Stake, New Clerk = nervous about first budget allocations/deposits due on Jan. 7

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
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nbarss
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New Stake, New Clerk = nervous about first budget allocations/deposits due on Jan. 7

#1

Post by nbarss »

Our stake was formed about a month ago, I'm the stake clerk. I've been searching for some training on how to set up the budget allocations in the stake MLS so that the deposits go through smoothly to the wards on Jan. 7th. I've found some articles in the wiki regarding general budgeting principles, but no specific training to help me set up MLS correctly.

The creation of our new stake seems to be filtering through the systems very slowly. I wonder if I need to do something to at least speed this piece up so that we don't have wards with no money in January. Thanks in advance for your help.
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aebrown
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#2

Post by aebrown »

I assume most if not all of the wards and branches in your stake have existed for a while. If so, they most likely have submitted their Q3 2011 Quarterly Report, upon which the Q1 2012 budget allocations will be based.

In any case, the month before each quarter you should receive a report through stake MLS in the Finance Statements area for the Projected Quarterly Budget Allocation. Our stake received such a report for Q1 2012 last week. If you have not received such a statement, you would have reason to be concerned that not everything is set up and working properly yet. In that case, you should call Local Unit Support and let them know that you have not yet received that report. That should be a good means for following up and if they can deliver that report to you in December, you can have a great deal of confidence that the allocations will be delivered properly in January.
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crislapi
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#3

Post by crislapi »

Is the stake the only thing that is new or did any of your wards go through boundary changes as well? Are any of your wards newly created as well? If either/both of these conditions are true, I would set all allocation percentages in MLS to 0% and manually distribute the budget by check to each unit based on their current size.

If all your units have existed in their current state before the creation of your stake, then I would use the budget allocation % screen to automatically distribute the allocations. Your final percentages must be entered in MLS and submitted by the end of December in order for them to apply to January's distribution. However, as for what percentages to set, that is up to your stake president. The only money your stake will receive is the percentage you hold back from each unit. If you did receive the report aebrown mentioned, look what the total allocation will be, figure out what percentage of that the stake will need for its operations for the next quarter, and use that to determine the percentages to enter in MLS (the % is MLS is the % of the allocation the unit will receive. The stake will receive the difference).
russellhltn
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#4

Post by russellhltn »

crislapi wrote:Is the stake the only thing that is new or did any of your wards go through boundary changes as well? Are any of your wards newly created as well? If either/both of these conditions are true, I would set all allocation percentages in MLS to 0% and manually distribute the budget by check to each unit based on their current size.

+1. The automatic system is great for most situations, but not when dealing with new boundaries and new units. If you have any doubts, set it to 0%. It's easier to fix things up by having the stake cut checks then it will be to get wards to cut checks for other units.
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nbarss
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Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 9:43 pm

thanks for your help...new questions

#5

Post by nbarss »

Thank you all for your help - I was able to find the letter dated Dec. 2 which corresponded with the letters that were distributed to the wards on the same date. My problem now is that the allocations as of Dec. 2nd were based on the % their old stakes has chosen. Our Stake President and I changed the allocations of a few of the wards on Dec. 14.

My questions are:
1. Will the changes we made on the 14th take affect, or is everything set in motion and unchangeable after the Dec. 2 letters are sent to the wards?
2. Do the Bishops have a way to preview their allocations now in MLS to see the correct amount? Can I tell them all to check MLS again to see an accurate number for their quarterly deposit, or do I need to notify them individually of the change?
crislapi
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#6

Post by crislapi »

nbarss wrote:My questions are:
1. Will the changes we made on the 14th take affect, or is everything set in motion and unchangeable after the Dec. 2 letters are sent to the wards?
2. Do the Bishops have a way to preview their allocations now in MLS to see the correct amount? Can I tell them all to check MLS again to see an accurate number for their quarterly deposit, or do I need to notify them individually of the change?
1) You have until the last day of the quarter to submit allocation percentages. The allocation will be based on the last submitted percentages before that date. The Dec 2 letter is only a FYI letter and sort of functions as a last reminder to get things updated if you need to.
2) Wards receive a letter telling them what their anticipated allocation will be. Other than that, no, they have no way to see what the current percentage is. If the change is significant, it's probably worth advising them so they can plan accordingly. Otherwise, they'll find out soon enough. It's only one of four quarterly disbursements, so there's plenty of time to adjust.
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johnshaw
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#7

Post by johnshaw »

I'm only going off memory, but if it serves correctly when you look at the allocations at the stake level the most recent data is there and you will see what your current percentages will coorespond to both local and stake levels.
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