Up to now, my posts about ACS have been focusing on the areas of the software that we love. This is not an effort to please the people of ACS; it’s an honest feeling that we are completely happy with most aspects of the software. Well last week, we found the first thing that I HATE about ACS. I know it’s a strong word, but it fits in this situation.

Last week, we finally got around to sending out our first quarter contribution statements. We had never performed this task through ACS. We didn’t anticipate any problems, but that is exactly what we found.

Our needs with contribution statements are pretty simple:

1. E-mail the statements to those who request it by e-mail
2. Do a bulk sort of the statements not sent via e-mail and mail via presorted standard bulk mail
3. Only include deductible gifts on the statements we send via either method

To us, those are simple needs and requests, but to the software you would think we were asking for the impossible. The problems that we ran into were:

• One report allows you to do a bulk sort but it includes non-deductible gifts a person makes, reflecting inaccurate giving for IRS purposes
• The other report allows you to eliminate non-deductible gifts but does not allow you to do a bulk sort, so mailing the statements costs an extra $100-$150 per quarter.
• The report that will allow for a bulk sort requires pre-printed stationary that ACS happily supplies.  This quarter, if we went with that option, the supplies would have eaten $80 of our $115 savings from doing a bulk mailout.
• E-mailed reports can only go to those people who have been uploaded to AccessACS.  There is no way to attach a PDF to an e-mail and send those statments out.

I will be elaborating on all of these items and why they ticked me off.  Mainly, I think it’s a combination of oversight and shady business.  Forcing people to buy forms when it could easily be printed in house through the reporting process is shady.  When I spoke to one ACS rep on the phone, she said “We have to make money some way.”  Excuse me?  I thought I was paying $300 per month for preferred support?  I thought I paid ten grand for the software in the first place.  Forgive me if that didn’t set right.

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1. regina Says:
   April 24th, 2008 at 6:57 pm

   How do you really feel about this?? I’m sorry - that sounds really frustrating!

2. Jeff Says:
   April 24th, 2008 at 9:09 pm

   Hmm…so should I be concerned that I haven’t gotten my statement yet…by either e-mail or snail mail? I’m hoping you escalated this up the chain of command at ACS.

3. Pattie White at ACS Technologies Says:
   April 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

   Matthew,

   First of all, let me apologize for the miscommunication with our support team. I am sorry someone said something that created the wrong impression about how we do business. As you know and often comment on, our strategy for success is to serve our customers well. We believe when we do that, your ministry will prosper and so will our company. We strive very hard to be a “light of day” company and would never want to behave like a “shady business”.

   Regarding your specific contribution statement problems:

   • We do have an option currently in test for emailing statements, and there are churches using this solution. We will be glad to set you up as a pre-release client on this as well. I will have our support team connect with you to get this set up.

   • You’re right that it makes sense to have the bulk mail sort option for the “plain paper” statement you prefer. R&D is now looking at when we might add this into the revision schedule. I’ll let you know the date. I’m sorry it’s not there now for your current run.

   Making enhancements in our offerings is something we do all the time, in response to client requests as well as part of our development leadership work. We really do thank you for continuing to highlight where we can do better.

   For those readers of this blog who aren’t as familiar with the ACS options, we encourage you to ask us about your situation, as Matthew has been doing. ACS has a lot of options and our Contribution statements are no exception. Different churches like to do things different ways, and we’ve built the ACS programs and services to accommodate many variations.

   The most widely used statements are the Flex Statement and Charitable Tax Statements. These are the ones on preprinted forms, like Matthew referenced. We hear from many churches that they like the “finished” and “professional” look and the easy-reading advantages the shading provides. We even provide a service to handle the printing and mailing of your contribution statements to make it really easy on your staff. While we do sell the forms, we believe they are reasonably priced and a good value if you want color rather than plain paper.

   For web oriented clients, we also have lots of usage and interest in AccessACS, the online companion to ACS, to publish giving information. This approach lets the donor look at contributions over other time periods than just the statement, and if you’ve set up online giving, he or she can go ahead and make a gift online. This practice also helps build a culture where church participants learn they can go online to handle their personal responsibilities with the church. You can still send bulk emails reminding folks to “see where they are” on giving; the periodic reminder serves as a helpful nudge and gives church leadership an opportunity to update donors on the church’s situation and to provide teaching on the importance of stewardship.

   We’re here to help First Baptist Matthew and, other readers, we’re here to help your church as well. Please feel free to contact me directly if we can help you.

   Pattie White
   Executive Director