Finance Settings

Finance Settings control how your church tracks giving, generates tax receipts, and processes online donations. These settings affect the entire Steward module and should be configured before entering any session data.

Getting Here

Navigation: Settings → Finance

Overview

The Finance settings section contains five configuration areas:

• Funds — The giving categories that appear in your session entry grid and online giving page (e.g., Tithes, Missions, Building Fund).
• Fiscal Year — The start month for your fiscal year, which controls YTD calculations, annual statements, and fund goal resets.
• Online Giving Setup — Stripe integration for accepting online donations via card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Interac.
• Statement Settings — Configuration for automatic monthly statement generation and CRA-compliant tax receipts.
• Services & Schedule — Recurring service patterns that control when service windows open for giving attribution.

Setup Order

For a new church setup, configure these in the following order:

1. Set the Fiscal Year start month (defaults to January)
2. Create your Funds (at minimum, a General fund)
3. Configure Service Patterns so online gifts are attributed to the correct service
4. Connect Stripe if you plan to accept online giving
5. Configure Statement Settings for automated monthly receipts

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