Overview of DDI Connect

Church Extension Funds

The DDI-Connect system is comprised of many pieces, all of which are fully integrated for the Church Extension Fund. It is important to understand how each piece works, both individually and as a part of the system. If you are new to the DDI-Connect system, this document will show you how each of the pieces are connected and interact.

Name/Address

The first piece to familiarize yourself with is constituents and accounts, and the difference between the two. The simplest method for separating them is that accounts indicate that the constituent has a financial relationship with your organization (gifts, investments, loans, etc.). All individuals, organizations and companies will have a constituent record, but not all will have accounts.

There are several options for configuring your Name/Address system, such as configuring your base system settings, setting up Memo Categories and Memo Codes, and configuring the various codes that are used throughout the system.

In order to begin adding investments and/or loans, you will first enter constituent records and then create the accounts. The system does allow you to add constituent and account records when you create a new loan or investment.

The Constituent Relationship Module (CRM) is the core of the “people” side of the DDI-Connect system. Configuring it properly is a critical first step in using the DDI-Connect modules.

FundWriter (GL)

Once you have configured your Name/Address system, the next step is to set up your General Ledger. This involves configuring your Fiscal Year, setting up your Chart of Accounts, and loading your budget, if applicable.

All financial transactions flow from the IL (Investment & Loan) and FR (FundRaiser) modules to the GL. This linkage allows you to view details of transactions from anywhere in the system, from the various transaction screens. A properly configured GL system is essential to the success of your system.

If you will be utilizing any of the other financial modules, such as Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable , you will want to configure them as well.

Next, you’ll configure your Financial Services Administration, and your Cash Receipts Setup. This will allow you to process incoming payments.

The final step for the FundWriter/financial area is to configure the CheckWriter system, and set up your checking accounts.

 

Financial Services

The next step in configuring the system is to begin setting up your Investment and/or Loan systems.

Investments

There are multiple areas of the Investment system that need to be set up. First, you’ll establish your core Investment System Settings. Once configured, these settings will not – or should not – change much. Next, you’ll set up your investment categories, followed by the investment types. Each investment type will have to be configured for state sales in the states where you are authorized to do business.

The next step is to review your Financial System Settings. These settings determine how transactions are posted to your General Ledger, as well as the default checking accounts that should be used with various investment and loan transactions such as interest checks, loan advances, etc.

Once you have configured your settings, you will want to determine which forms you will wish to generate from the system. For example, you’ll want to configure investment notes, maturity notices, and statements, to name a few. DDI Client Support will assist you in configuring the forms for your organization.

Let’s follow an investment transaction through the system, to see how each module is affected.

• An investment purchase check is received
  • The check is receipted into the DDI Connect system utilizing Cash Receipts Stage 1, either as a mailroom batch (can NOT be processed by the person entering the check) or as a cashier batch (can ONLY be processed by the person entering the check)
  • When ready to process, the payment is processed using Payment Processing (Stage 2)
  • On the Investment Purchase screen, once you’ve told the system that you are creating a new investment, you will indicate the Account purchasing the investment. On this screen, you can search for an existing account or create a new account. Remember, in order to create an account, you must first either select or create a constituent record.
  • You’ll now tell the system what type of investment is being purchased, as well as what interest calculation method is to be used
  • Once you have entered the information, click Save. When the investment indicates that the transaction is successful, the investment has been created, and the following transaction takes place:
    • The purchase transaction is recorded and assigned to the appropriate GL accounts. Whether or not the transactions are posted immediately to the GL depends on your setting on the General tab of the Financial System Settings screen. If you have the GL Posting Method set to "online", transactions are posted immediately. If the setting is "Batch", transactions are not posted until the Post Transactions process is run

You can access the transaction from any of the following modules:

• From Name/Address, look up the constituent who owns the account that purchased the investment. From the constituent record, you can access the investment from one of two ways:
  • Click Accounts. This will take you to the constituent’s account screen. From there, you can click Invest to see all investments owned by the account
  • Click the Status tab on the constituent record. From this screen, you can click Investments to view all investments owned by the constituent/account
• From Financial Services, go to Financial Inquiry. Enter the investment number OR the account number. Entering the investment number will take you directly to the Investment Detail screen. Entering the account number will take you to the account screen, where you can click the Invest button to view all linked investments
• From the Investment screen, if you click View and select Transaction History, you’ll be taken to the Transaction Inquiry screen. On this screen, if you click a transaction line, you can click the GL entries button to view the GL entries that resulted from the transaction. If you click the Detail button, you will be taken to the Transaction Detail screen. From here, you can double-click the link to the account to view the account screen, the investment # link to view the investment detail, or the check number to view the Check Inquiry screen. Clicking Exit will return you to the Transaction Detail. Clicking Exit again will take you back to the Transaction Inquiry screen
• Once the transactions have been posted to the General Ledger, if you use the G/L Account Inquiry to look up the affected GL account, you can drill down into the specific transaction to reach the Transaction Detail screen. From there, you can launch into the account, the investment, or the check

Each transaction in the Transaction Inquiry screen has a specific code. If you wish to have a list of all transaction IDs, go to Name/Address System and double-click Setup. Double-click Codes Maintenance. Look for code set 0402 – Transaction IDs. When the list appears, point your mouse at the column header and RIGHT click. This will give you a box that reads “Display in Spreadsheet”. Click that box. This will display the list of codes and their descriptions in a spreadsheet format. You can now save that down for later reference.

 

Loans

First, establish your Loan System Settings. As with the investment system settings, these settings should rarely change. Next, establish your Loan Types. If your organization supports adjustable mortgages, you’ll want to configure those. You’ll also want to review the Loan Documentation Setup, in order to configure required documentation for loans.

The next step is to review your Financial System Settings. These settings determine how transactions are posted to your General Ledger, as well as the default checking accounts that should be used with various investment and loan transactions such as interest checks, loan advances, etc.

Once you have configured your settings, you will want to decide what forms you wish to generate from the system. For example, loan payment receipts, loan statements, and loan past due notices should all be set up. DDI Client Support will work with you to configure the various forms that your organization wishes to use.

Let’s watch a loan transaction flow through the system. In this scenario, we are assuming that a borrower has sent in a loan payment:

• The check is receipted using Cash Receipts Stage 1. When the check is entered, the loan number is noted in the Reference line
• When payment processing begins, the processor selects Loan Transactions and then selects Loan Payment. This launches the Loan Payment screen, automatically populated with the loan information (the system populates the Loan # field with the loan # entered in the Reference field when the check was receipted into the system)
  • NOTE: If the borrower includes an extra amount to be applied toward principal, it is STRONGLY recommended that you follow the procedure for Extra Loan Payments
  • Review the screen to ensure that everything is correct, and click Save. When the loan screen indicates that the transaction is successful, the payment has been recorded, and the following transaction takes place:
    • The payment transaction is recorded and assigned to the appropriate GL accounts. Whether or not the transactions are posted immediately to the GL depends on your setting on the General tab of the Financial System Settings screen. If you have the GL Posting Method set to "online", transactions are posted immediately. If the setting is "Batch", transactions are not posted until the Post Transactions process is run
    • Loan Prepaid/PastDue and Next Payment Due processing is updated when the Loan Payment Due Processing is run. This is usually done as part of your daily job processing

To view the transaction, you can access it from multiple locations:

• From Name/Address, look up the constituent who owns the account that purchased the investment. From the constituent record, you can access the loan from one of two ways:
  • Click Accounts. This will take you to the constituent’s account screen. From there, you can click Loans to see all loans owned by the account
  • Click the Status tab on the constituent record. From this screen, you can click Loans to view all loans owned by the constituent/account
• From Financial Services, go to Financial Inquiry. Enter the loan number OR the account number. Entering the loan number will take you directly to the Loan Detail Inquiry screen. Entering the account number will take you to the account screen, where you can click the Loan button to view all linked loans
• From the Detailed Loan Inquiry screen, if you click View and select Transaction Inquiry, you’ll be taken to the Transaction Inquiry screen. On this screen, if you click a transaction line, you can click the GL entries button to view the GL entries that resulted from the transaction. If you click the Detail button, you will be taken to the Transaction Detail screen. From here, you can double-click the link to the account to view the account screen, the loan # link to view the loan detail, or the check number to view the Check Inquiry screen. Clicking Exit will return you to the Transaction Detail. Clicking Exit again will take you back to the Transaction Inquiry screen
• Once the transactions have been posted to the General Ledger, if you use the G/L Account Inquiry to look up the affected GL account, you can drill down into the specific transaction to reach the Transaction Detail screen. From there, you can launch into the account, the loan, or the check.

Each transaction in the Transaction Inquiry screen has a specific code. If you wish to have a list of all transaction IDs, go to Name/Address System and double-click Setup. Double-click Codes Maintenance. Look for code set 0402 – Transaction IDs. When the list appears, point your mouse at the column header and RIGHT click. This will give you a box that reads “Display in Spreadsheet”. Click that box. This will display the list of codes and their descriptions in a spreadsheet format. You can now save that down for later reference.

Reports/Periodic Job Processing

The DDI Connect system offers multiple options for reporting against the data in the system. DDI will recommend certain base reports that should be run on a periodic basis (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). These reports – along with any other reports that you wish to generate on a regular basis – are set up within DDI’s periodic job processing. When configured, running the processing will perform certain tasks and generate the designated reports and forms.

If you are not sure which reports you wish to see on a regular basis, you can ask DDI for recommendations. You can also look up the report number on the DDI Wiki. Enter the report number in the search bar. When the page launches, you can scroll to the bottom to view a sample of the report output.

Other Non-Profit Organizations

The DDI-Connect system is comprised of many pieces, all of which are fully integrated for the non-profit organization. It is important to understand how each piece works, both individually and as a part of the system. If you are new to the DDI-Connect system, this document will show you how each of the pieces are connected and interact.

Name/Address

The first piece to familiarize yourself with is constituents and accounts, and the difference between the two. The simplest method for separating them is that accounts indicate that the constituent has a financial relationship with your organization (gifts, investments, loans, etc.). All individuals, organizations and companies will have a constituent record, but not all will have accounts.

There are several options for configuring your Name/Address system, such as configuring your base system settings, setting up Memo Categories and Memo Codes, and configuring the various codes that are used throughout the system.

In order to begin adding investments and/or loans, you will first enter constituent records and then create the accounts. The system does allow you to add constituent and account records when you create a new loan or investment.

The Constituent Relationship Module (CRM) is the core of the “people” side of the DDI-Connect system. Configuring it properly is a critical first step in using the DDI-Connect modules.

FundWriter (GL)

Once you have configured your Name/Address system, the next step is to set up your General Ledger. This involves configuring your Fiscal Year, setting up your Chart of Accounts, and loading your budget, if applicable.

All financial transactions flow from the FR (FundRaiser) modules to the GL. This linkage allows you to view details of transactions from anywhere in the system, from the various transaction screens. A properly configured GL system is essential to the success of your system.

If you will be utilizing any of the other financial modules, such as Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable , you will want to configure them as well.

Connect-FR

The first step in preparing to use the Connect-FR (FundRaising) system is to establish the general system settings. Next, you’ll want to determine whether or not you wish to have your promotion types automatically link to specific GL accounts. You will also want to configure your Donor Segments, to allow for automatic classification of donors.

Gift Entry

The next step is to familiarize yourself with the Gift Entry area. Gifts should be receipted through Cash Processing Stage 1. Once a gift is receipted in cash processing, it can be processed via Receipt Processing.

Once your gifts are entered, you will want to generate gift receipts. The DDI-Connect system can be configured to automatically generate custom receipts, based on certain pre-established parameters (such as AI codes, promotion type or source, gift amount and other factors). DDI Client Support will work with you to set up the various gift receipt forms that you wish to use.

Campaigns & Appeals

The DDI-Connect system’s Campaign & Appeals module allows your organization to set up fundraising campaigns and track their progress within the system. You can utilize the Extract Module to generate data files of constituents within the system, and then attach them to appeals. That way, when gifts are received and entered into the system, the DDI-Connect system tracks respondents to the appeal.

Event & Program Management

If your organization holds fundraising events (such as walks, auctions, etc.), you can track those events within DDI-Connect. The system allows you to track participants and sponsors and event income. You can also utilize Programs rather than events, if desired.

Pledges & Recurring Gifts

If your organization utilizes pledges or recurring gifts, you can track those within DDI-Connect. You can use the Pledge Program Maintenance or the Recurring Gift Entry screens to set up the applicable programs.

Planned Giving

The DDI-Connect system allows you to track planned giving, which allows your donors to remember your organization in their estate plans.

Named Funds

If your organization manages Named Funds, the DDI-Connect system gives you the ability to set up and track these funds.

Let’s track a gift through the DDI system. A donor sends in a donation for $25:

• First, the check is receipted within Cash Receipts Stage 1. The DDI system does allow your organization to utilize check scanning – for more information on that process, please contact DDI Client Support
• Once the payments are ready to be processed, they are processed via Receipt Processing (Stage 2). In this instance, the payment is applied as a Gift. When Gift is double-clicked, the system launches the Gift Entry screen. Let’s assume that this is a new donor. If you click the binoculars to the right of the PIN, you can click the Add button from the Name/Address Inquiry screen that appears. This takes you to the Add New Constituent process.
• When the gift has been entered and saved, the system is now ready for you to generate gift receipts. This can be set up to run automatically as part of your periodic job processing. When the gift screen indicates that the transaction is successful, the payment has been recorded, and the following transaction takes place:
  • The gift transaction is recorded and assigned to the appropriate GL accounts. However, the transactions are not POSTED to the GL until the Post Transactions process is run

You can view the transaction from a number of screens:

• You can use Name/Address Inquiry to look up the constituent. From the constituent’s record, click the Status tab. From the screen that appears, click Donor Account. This will take you to the Donor Account Maintenance screen. If you click a gift and then select View and then Transactions, the Donor Account Transactions screen will appear. This screen allows you to click the GL Trans screen to view the General Ledger transactions associated with this gift
• From the Name/Address record, you can also click the Accounts button. This will launch the Accounts screen for the constituent. From the Account screen, click the Donor tab. This displays the Donor Account Maintenance screen
• If you use the Gift Search screen to look up a gift, the Gift Entry screen appears in View mode. From that screen, you can click View and select GL Transactions to view the GL Transactions Inquiry screen for the gift
• Once the transactions have been posted to the General Ledger, if you use the G/L Account Inquiry to look up the affected GL account, you can drill down into the specific transaction to reach the Transaction Detail screen. From there, you can launch into the account, the gift, or the check
• Each transaction in the Transaction Inquiry screen has a specific code. If you wish to have a list of all transaction IDs, go to Name/Address System and double-click Setup. Double-click Codes Maintenance. Look for code set 0402 – Transaction IDs. When the list appears, point your mouse at the column header and RIGHT click. This will give you a box that reads “Display in Spreadsheet”. Click that box. This will display the list of codes and their descriptions in a spreadsheet format. You can now save that down for later reference.

Reports/Periodic Job Processing

The DDI Connect system offers multiple options for reporting against the data in the system. DDI will recommend certain base reports that should be run on a periodic basis (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). These reports – along with any other reports that you wish to generate on a regular basis – are set up within DDI’s periodic job processing. When configured, running the processing will perform certain tasks and generate the designated reports and forms.

If you are not sure which reports you wish to see on a regular basis, you can ask DDI for recommendations. You can also look up the report number on the DDI Wiki. Enter the report number in the search bar. When the page launches, you can scroll to the bottom to view a sample of the report output.