Donor Reference / Envelope Numbers

Some churches and charities use a numbered envelope scheme/donor reference for cash offerings to facilitate an anonymized or regular systematic approach to giving. 

By adding donor reference numbers, within ExpensePlus Donor Names can be hidden OR it can be used alongside donor names as a unique donor identifier.

Adding a donor reference

Donor reference numbers can be viewed and edited within the Manage Donors screen

To add/edit a donors reference number, just click on the donor you wish to edit.

Donor reference numbers can also be added when adding new donors or as part of the donor import process.


Hiding Donor Names

Within the System Settings screen in ExpensePlus, you can hide donor names. If you choose to do this, then donor names within ExpensePlus will be hidden, and only donor reference numbers will be displayed.

It's possible to hide donor names within the bank deposits module, within financial reports, and within donation reports. If you are going to hide donor names, then we'd highly recommend that you ensure all donors are assigned a donor reference number, otherwise you are likely to run into a number of issues, including not being able to record bank deposits and not being able to edit donation transactions.

It is NOT possible to hide donor names within other modules such as bank reconciliation, ChurchSuite export or Gift Aid as donor names need to be displayed in order to use these modules correctly and avoid errors. You can however restrict user access to these modules within the user roles you assign to users within the user settings screen.

Further information about maintaining donor confidentially can be found in this help article.

Bank Deposits

When entering Bank Deposits, if you choose to hide donor names, then only donor reference numbers will display.

Note: donors without a donor reference WON'T display in the list of options, so it's important that if you are hiding donor names, then you need to ensure all donors have a donor reference

Financial Reports

If you hide donor names within financial reports, then only donor reference numbers will display. Instead of hiding donor names within financial reports, you may wish to just limit 'detailed access' donations categories

IMPORTANT NOTE: Donor names WILL still appear within the 'All Transactions' financial reports even if 'hide donor names' is selected (these reports include bank statement transactions that typically include donor names as part of bank statement descriptions, so anonymising data isn't possible). You can enable/disable user access to these and other financial reports within 'user roles' (within the user settings screen).

Donation Reports

If you hide donor names within financial reports, then only donor reference numbers will display. Instead of hiding donor names within donations reports, you may wish to just limit which users have access to which you can set within 'user roles' (within the user settings screen).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Donor names WILL still appear within 'Generate Donor Statements' even if 'hide donor names' is selected (donor statements need to include the donors name, so this can't be hidden). You can enable/disable user access to the Generate Donor Statement screen within 'user roles' (within the user settings screen).

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