Recurring Transactions

Overview

Many church expenses happen on a regular schedule -- monthly utility bills, weekly janitorial services, quarterly insurance premiums, annual software subscriptions. Instead of manually entering these transactions every time, you can set them up as recurring transactions in TimelyChurch.

Recurring transactions can be configured to post automatically or to appear on a schedule for manual review before posting.

Setting Up a Recurring Transaction

1. Navigate to Finances > Accounting > Recurring Transactions.
2. Click Add Recurring Transaction.
3. Fill in the details:
   • Account (required) -- The bank account the transaction will be recorded against.
   • Type (required) -- Income or Expense.
   • Amount (required) -- The dollar amount of each occurrence.
   • Frequency (required) -- How often the transaction recurs:
     • Weekly
     • Bi-Weekly (every two weeks)
     • Monthly
     • Quarterly (every three months)
     • Yearly
   • Day of Month -- For monthly recurring transactions, specify which day of the month (1-31). If the month has fewer days, the system uses the last day of the month.
   • Next Occurrence (required) -- The date of the next (or first) occurrence. Must be today or in the future.
   • End Date -- Optional. If set, the recurring transaction will automatically deactivate after this date.
   • Category -- The income or expense category.
   • Payee -- The vendor or source.
   • Fund -- Optionally assign to a fund.
   • Description -- What this transaction is for. This text is also copied into each posted transaction's description, so write it as you want it to appear in the ledger.
   • Auto Post -- If enabled, the transaction will be posted automatically when the next occurrence date arrives. If disabled, you will need to post it manually.

Note: Recurring templates store a single Description field but do not store separate "Notes" or "Reference Number" values -- those fields exist on individual posted transactions, not on the recurring schedule. Add any extra context you want carried into every occurrence directly into the Description. 4. Click Save.

Viewing Recurring Transactions

The Recurring Transactions page shows:

• A count of active recurring transactions.
• A count of transactions due this week.
• A list of all recurring transactions sorted by next occurrence date.

Each entry in the list displays:

• Description and payee
• Amount and type (income/expense)
• Frequency
• Account and category
• Next occurrence date
• Active/paused status
• Auto-post status

Posting a Recurring Transaction Manually

If auto-post is disabled (or you want to post one early):

1. Find the recurring transaction in the list.
2. Click Post Now.
3. A regular transaction is created in the accounting ledger with today's date.
4. The next occurrence date automatically advances to the next scheduled date based on the frequency.

Skipping an Occurrence

If you need to skip a particular occurrence (for example, a vendor gave you a free month):

1. Click Skip on the recurring transaction.
2. No transaction is created.
3. The next occurrence date advances to the following scheduled date.

Pausing and Resuming

You can temporarily pause a recurring transaction without deleting it:

1. Click the toggle to pause the recurring transaction.
2. While paused, no automatic postings will occur and the transaction will not appear in the "due this week" count.
3. Click the toggle again to resume. The next occurrence date remains where it was, so you may need to adjust it if time has passed.

Editing a Recurring Transaction

1. Click the edit icon on the recurring transaction.
2. Update any fields: amount, frequency, category, payee, dates, auto-post setting, etc.
3. Click Save.

Changes apply to future occurrences only. Transactions that have already been posted are not affected.

Deleting a Recurring Transaction

1. Click the delete option on the recurring transaction.
2. Confirm the deletion.

Only the recurring transaction schedule is deleted. Any transactions that were already posted remain in the ledger.

Auto-Post Behavior

When Auto Post is enabled:

• The system checks for due recurring transactions and creates the corresponding accounting transaction automatically.
• The next occurrence date advances to the following scheduled date.
• If an end date is set and the next occurrence would fall after the end date, the recurring transaction is automatically deactivated.

When Auto Post is disabled:

• The recurring transaction appears in the list with its due date, but no transaction is created until you click Post Now.
• This is useful for amounts that may vary slightly (like utility bills) -- you can post manually and adjust the amount for each occurrence.

Frequency Details

Best Practices

Use auto-post for fixed-amount transactions. If the amount never changes (e.g., mortgage payment, fixed salary), auto-post saves you time.

Use manual posting for variable amounts. For utility bills or other expenses where the amount changes each month, leave auto-post off. The recurring transaction serves as a reminder on your dashboard, and you can adjust the amount when you post it.

Set end dates for temporary commitments. If you are supporting a missionary for 12 months or paying for a short-term lease, set the end date so the recurring transaction stops automatically.

Review the Recurring Transactions page regularly. Check the "due this week" count to make sure nothing has been missed, especially for manually-posted recurring transactions.