Running Design Statements
  • 19 Sep 2023
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Running Design Statements

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Article Summary


Running Design Statements

Once you create and configure your Row Formats and Column Formats and combine them in a Statement record, you are ready to run your financial statements.

You can run all of these statements from the Reports Menu in General Ledger.

NOTE: Before you run your statements, you may want to run the Row Formatter Report and Column Formatter report to check your report setup and save a printed record of your Row and Column Formats. 

Running the Row Formatter Report

The Row Formatter report prompts for a Row Format name and lists the details of each row in the selected Format. It is useful for proofing a report either before you create your Statement record or before you run the report.

1. In the General Ledger module, click the Design Statements super tab and then click the Processes tab.

2. Select Row Formatter Report from the Design Statement Processes list and then click the Run Process button. The Row Formatter Report Selection window opens.
Row Formatter Report Selection Window

3. Click the arrow in the Row Formatter Name drop-down box and select the desired Row Format.

4. Click OK. The Row Formatter report opens in the FIMS Viewer.

Example:  Row Formatter Report (for a fund statement)

Running the Column Formatter Report

The Column Formatter report lists all of the Column Formats in a single report.

NOTE: You cannot run this report for a single Column Format. It will always list all of the existing Column Formats.

1. In the General Ledger module, click the Design Statements super tab and then click the Processes tab.

2. Select Column Formatter Report from the Design Statement Processes list and then click the Run Process button.

3. Verify the Send To destination, and then click the Run Report button. The Column Formatter report opens in the FIMS Viewer.

Example: (Partial) Column Formatter Report


Running Consolidated Financial Statements

Select Consolidated Financial Statements to print a statement that collapses General Ledger values from selected Funds into a single report.

1. In the General Ledger module, select Reports > Consolidated Financial Statements. The Consolidated Financial Statements Selections window opens, with the Format tab selected.

Consolidated Financial Statements Selections Window

2. Click the arrow in the Statement drop-down box and select the statement that you want to run.

Example:  Report Header

NOTE: The Foundation Name is automatically populated based on the name you specify in System Initial Setup. The Statement Title, Base Year, and Base Period fields are automatically populated based on the statement you select, but you can change the information in any of these fields, if necessary. These fields will all be included in the report header.

NOTE: If you have previously run the selected report, the Period Covered and Statement Date fields are automatically populated based on the data from the last time you ran the report.

3. Make changes to any of the desired fields, and then click the Options tab.

Options Tab

4. If you want include General Ledger Account numbers on the report, select the Print G/L Account Numbers checkbox. Otherwise, clear this checkbox.

NOTE: You should only select this checkbox if you are printing one account per line on the report.

5. If you want to include lines with zero balances on the report, select the Print Lines with Zero Balances checkbox. If you want to omit lines with zero balances, clear this checkbox.

6. (Optional) If you want to limit the Funds or accounts that are included on the report, click the Selections tab and enter the Organization, Class, Type, Sub Type, Fund ID, Account, or Func. Exp. code associated with the Funds that you want to include.

Selections Tab

7. Click the Send To tab and select the desired output method: Screen or Spreadsheet. If you select Spreadsheet, the records will be exported and can easily be opened for manual editing in Microsoft Excel. 

NOTE: Refer to Using FIMS with Microsoft Office for more information about exporting report data and creating presentation-quality reports.

8. (Optional - but recommended) Click the Saved Reports tab and save the report as a default. Refer to Saving Report Settings in the Reports chapter for more information.

9. Click the Run Report button.

Example:  Consolidated Financial Report

Running the Consolidated Financial Statements Export

Select Consolidated Financial Statements Export to create a data file that you can use to create a presentation-quality statement in Microsoft Word. Like printing consolidated statements, this export will combine balances from selected Funds into a single report.

NOTE: Using Mail Merge to create reports from this export is somewhat unusual, because only one document (the consolidated statement) will be created.

NOTE: Refer to Using FIMS with Microsoft Office for more information about exporting report data and creating presentation-quality statements.

NOTE: If you want to export financial statements to Excel, the best method is to run Consolidated Financial Statements and select Spreadsheet on the Send To tab. Refer to the Running Consolidated Financial Statements section above for more information.

1. In the General Ledger module, select Reports > Consolidated Financial Statements Export. The Consolidated Financial Statements Export Selections window opens with the Format tab selected.

Consolidated Financial Statements Export Selections Window

2. Click the arrow in the Statement drop-down box and select the statement that you want to export.

3. Click the arrow in the Base Year drop-down box and select the fiscal year for the statement.

4. Click the arrow in the Base Period drop-down box and select the period that you want to report through.

5. (Optional) If you want to limit the Funds or accounts that are included in the export, click the Selections tab and enter the Organization, Class, Type, Sub Type, Fund ID, Account, or Func. Exp. code associated with the Funds that you want to include.

Selections Tab

6. Click the Export To tab.

Export To Tab

7. In the Statement Data field, enter the path and file name where you want to save the exported data. If you are not sure of the exact path and file name, click the Browse button to locate the file.

NOTE: Use a .txt file extension (for example, fndstat.txt).

8. (Optional – but recommended) If you want to automatically launch a merge document for the statement, select the Automatically Launch MS Word checkbox and enter the path and file name for the document in the Statement Merge Document field. If you are not sure of the exact path and file name, click the Browse button to locate the file. NOTE: The merge document that you want to use must already exist before you can use this feature.

NOTE: Refer to Using FIMS with Microsoft Office for more information about exporting report data and creating presentation-quality reports.

9. (Optional - but recommended) Click the Saved Reports tab and save the export as a default. Refer to Saving Report Settings in the Reports chapter for more information.

10. Click the Run Report button. 

Running Fund Statements

Select Fund Statements to print one or multiple statements, one per selected Fund, or one per Fund Representative for each selected Fund.

NOTE: These statements cannot consolidate financial information from more than one Fund, unless the Funds are set up as Master and Subordinate Funds. Refer to Configuring Master / Subordinate Funds in the Fund Management module for more information on Master and Subordinate Funds.

NOTE: If you want to design your Fund Statement in Microsoft Word, with proportional fonts and enhanced layout, use the Fund Statements Export.

1. In the General Ledger module, select Reports > Fund Statements. The Fund Statements Selections window opens, with the Format tab selected.

Fund Statements Selections Window
2. Click the arrow in the Statement drop-down box and select the statement that you want to run. 

NOTE: The first header line comes from the Description field for the first Row Format record, which has a Page Format code. An initial Page row is necessary for statements that will be printed via Fund Statements (to send a New Page command to the printer before each statement). 

NOTE: If you have previously run the selected report, the Period Covered and Statement Date fields are automatically populated based on the data from the last time you ran the report, but you can change the information in any of these fields, if necessary. These fields will all be included in the header section for each Fund on the report along with the Fund Name (and optionally, Fund Representative). 

NOTE: The Base Year and Base Period fields are automatically populated based on the statement you select, but you can change the information in any of these fields, if necessary.

3. Make changes to any of the desired fields, and then click the Options tab.

Options Tab

4. Select any or all of the following checkboxes to determine the general layout for your statement:

  • Print G/L Account Numbers: Select this checkbox if you want to print the natural account number for each account (to the left of the account name). 
  • Print Lines with Zero Balances: Select this checkbox if you want to print all lines for each Fund – even those lines that have a zero balance. Clear this checkbox to exclude zero balance lines. 
  • Print Fund ID: Select this checkbox if you want to print the Fund ID code next to the Fund name on your statements. 
  • Print Date in Header: Select this checkbox if you want to print the current date in the statement header. 
  • Print Time in Header: Select this checkbox if you want to print the current time of day in the statement header. 
  • Add Extra Lines to Top Margin: Select this checkbox to add several blank lines above the report header if, for example, you print your Fund Statements on letterhead.

5. Select any or all of the following checkboxes to include additional details on your statements:

  • Print Gift and Grant Detail: Select this checkbox if you want to print information about each Gift and Grant associated with the Fund (including the Donor or Grantee name, the Gift or Grant Date, and the Gift or Grant Amount).

    NOTE: If you clear this checkbox, all of the remaining detail checkboxes (including Securities Detail, if you have the optional Stock Gift Management module), will be grayed out.

  • Print Pledge Detail: Select this checkbox if you want to print the Donor Name, Date, and Amount for any Pledges made to the Fund as part of the Gift Detail.

  • Print Pledge Payments with Gift Detail: Select this checkbox if you want to include Pledge payments in the Gift Detail section of the report.
  • NOTE: If you select both Print Pledge Detail and Print Pledge Payments, the original Pledge and any payments that have been made on it will appear in the Gift Detail section of the Donor Statement.
  • Print Gift Comment and Grant Program Name: Select this checkbox if you want to include text from the Gift Comment field or the Program Name for Grants with the details.
  • NOTE: If there is no Gift comment, the Gift Type Description will be printed instead.
  • For Scholarships: Select whether you want to print the Student name or the Grantee (usually the school) name.
  • NOTE: If you select Print Gift Comment and Grant Program Name, you may want to select Grantee, because the Program Name will already include the Student name (for example, Scholarship/Doug Anderson).
  • Print Separate Statements for Subordinate Funds: Select this checkbox if you want to create separate statements for all Funds that are linked as Master and Subordinate Funds.
  • NOTE: This option is only relevant if you have set up Master and Subordinate Funds. Refer to Configuring Master / Subordinate Funds in the Fund Management module for more information.
  • TIP: If you select this checkbox, and the Subordinate Fund(s) meet the selection criteria, but the Master Fund does not, only the subordinate statements will be printed (not the combined statement).

TIP: If you clear this checkbox, and the Subordinate Fund(s) meet the selection criteria, but the Master Fund does not, you will be asked whether you want to print the subordinates.

TIP: If you select this checkbox, and the Master Fund has its own General Ledger, it will appear both as a separate (subordinate) statement, and as part of the combined statement.

  • If you have the optional Stock Gift Management module, there will be two additional checkboxes – Print Securities Activity Detail and Print Securities Inventory Detail. Select these checkboxes if you want to include security information on your statements.

6. In the Print Detail From/Through fields, enter the dates for which you want to print Gift, Grant, or Pledge details.

7. (Optional) If you want to limit the Funds or accounts that are included in the export, click the Selections tab and enter the Division, Class, Type, Sub Type, Fund ID, Account, or Func. Exp. code associated with the Funds that you want to include.

8. Click the Fund Reps tab to select the Fund Representatives that you want to print statements for.9. If you want to print one statement for every Fund, select the Print One Statement Per Fund checkbox. 

NOTE: If you select this checkbox, all of the other options on this tab will be grayed out.

10. If you want to print the Fund Representative’s name at the top of the statements, select the Print Fund Representative Name checkbox.

11. If you want to export the Fund Representative’s name and address for a cover letter or envelope, select the Export Fund Representative Information checkbox.

12. Select a Range of Fund Rep Types to identify the representatives who should receive the statements.

13. If you want to print a statement for all of the selected Funds, even if they do not have a Fund Rep that matches the selected range, select the Print Statements for Funds with no Matching Types checkbox and enter an alternate Profile (for example, your organization’s Profile) in the Profile ID field.

14. Click the Mailing tab.15. In the Salutations list, select the type of salutation you want to use.

16. (Optional) Click the arrow in the Direct Mail to Address Type drop-down box and select the default address type you want to direct mail to. 

NOTE: If the selected type is not available for a Fund Representative, their default address type will be used.

17. In the Date of Mailing for Alternate Address Control field, enter the date when the mailing will actually be sent. This ensures that the appropriate address will be used at mail time, based on the Alternate Address.

18. (Optional - but recommended) Click the Saved Reports tab and save the report as a default. Refer to Saving Report Settings in the Reports chapter for more information.

19. Click the Run Report button. 

Running the Fund Statements Export

Select Fund Statements Export to export data and merge into a Microsoft Word document to create presentation-quality donor statements.

Like printed Fund Statements, this export cannot consolidate financial information from more than one Fund, unless the Funds are set up as Master and Subordinate Funds. Refer to Configuring Master / Subordinate Funds in the Fund Management module for more information on Master and Subordinate Funds.

1. In the General Ledger module, select Reports > Fund Statements Export. The Fund Statements Export Selections window opens, with the Format tab selected.2. Click the arrow in the Statement drop-down box and select the export that you want to run. 
NOTE: The Base Year and Base Period fields are automatically populated based on the statement you select, but you can change the information in any of these fields, if necessary.

3. Click the Options tab.4. Select any or all of the following checkboxes to include additional details in the export:

  • Export Gift and Grant Detail: Select this checkbox if you want to export two additional files that contain information about each Gift and Grant associated with the Fund (including the Donor or Grantee name, the Gift or Grant Date, and the Gift or Grant Amount).

    NOTE: If you clear this checkbox, most of the remaining detail checkboxes, will be grayed out.

  • Export Pledge Detail: Select this checkbox if you want to export the Donor Name, Date, and Amount for any Pledges made to the Fund as part of the Gift Detail.
  • Export Pledge Payments with Gift Detail: Select this checkbox if you want to export information about Pledge payments along with other Gift payments as part of the Gift Detail.

    NOTE: If both the Export Pledge Detail and Export Pledge Payments checkboxes are selected, both the original Pledge and any payments on it will appear in the Gift detail of the Donor Statement.

  • Export Gift Comment and Grant Program Name: Select this checkbox if you want to include text from the Gift Comment field or the Program Name for Grants along with the other details.

    NOTE: If there is no Gift comment, the Gift Type Description will be exported instead.

  • Export Separate Statements for Subordinate Funds: Select this checkbox if you want to create separate statements for all Funds that are linked as Master and Subordinate Funds.

    NOTE: This option is only relevant if you have set up Master and Subordinate Funds. Refer to Configuring Master / Subordinate Funds in the Fund Management module for more information.

    TIP: If you select this checkbox, and the Subordinate Fund(s) meet the selection criteria, but the Master Fund does not, only the subordinate statements will be exported (not the combined statement).

    TIP: If you clear this checkbox, and the Subordinate Fund(s) meet the selection criteria, but the Master Fund does not, you will be asked whether you want to export the subordinates.

    TIP: If you select this checkbox, and the Master Fund has its own General Ledger, it will be exported both as a separate (subordinate) statement, and as part of the combined statement.

  • If you have the optional Stock Gift Management module, there will be two additional checkboxes – Export Securities Activity Detail and Export Securities Inventory Detail. Select these checkboxes if you want to include security information on your statements.
  • Exclude Block Text Fields from Export: You may want to select this checkbox if you plan to open the exported data in Excel. Selecting this checkbox will exclude the Gift Language text block (from the Fund 2 tab of the Fund record) from the export. If you do not exclude it, and there are carriage returns in the text block, it will prevent a clean import into Excel (Excel considers carriage returns as the start of a new record). If there are no carriage returns in that text block, it will import into Excel without a problem. You do not need to select this checkbox if you are merging into Microsoft Word.

5. In the Export Detail From / Through fields, enter the dates for which you want to export Gift, Grant, or Pledge details.

6. If you subscribe to DonorCentral and want to export data to DonorCentral (create PDF files for each Fund Statement, which you can FTP to the DonorCentral website), select the DonorCentral Export checkbox. 

NOTE: This checkbox is only available if you have DonorCentral. Contact FIMS Support for more information about DonorCentral.

7. (Optional) If you want to limit the Funds or accounts that are included in the export, click the Selections tab and enter the Division, Class, Type, Sub Type, Fund ID, Account, or Func. Exp. code associated with the Fund(s) that you want to include.
Click the Fund Reps tab to select the Fund Representatives that you want to create statements for.

If you want to export one statement for every Fund, select the Export One Statement Per Fund checkbox.

NOTE: If you select this checkbox, all of the other options on this tab will be grayed out.

8. Select a Range of Fund Rep Types to identify the representatives that you want to export statements for.

TIP: When you run this export based on Fund Rep Types, only representatives who have their Allow Mail checkbox selected will be included in the export. If you run the export and do not see a fund that you expect to see, check to make sure that the fund has a fund representative assigned to it, and then check to make sure that the fund representative allows mail.

9. If you want to export a statement for all of the selected Funds, even if they do not have a Fund Rep that matches the selected range, select the Export Statements for Funds with no Matching Types checkbox and enter an alternate Profile (for example, your organization’s Profile) in the Profile ID field.

10. Click the Mailing tab.
11. In the Salutations list, select the type of salutation you want to use.

12. (Optional) Click the arrow in the Direct Mail to Address Type drop-down box and select the default address type you want to direct mail to. 

NOTE: If the selected type is not available for a Fund Representative, their default address type will be used.

13. In the Date of Mailing for Alternate Address Control field, enter the date when the mailing will actually be sent. This will ensure that the correct address will be used at mail time (based on the Alternate Address).
14. In the Data fields, enter the path and file name for each file where you want to save the exported data. If you are not sure of the exact path and file name, click the Browse button to locate the file.

  • Statement Data: G/L Balance information.
  • Label / Envelope Data: Name and address information for Fund representatives.
  • Gift Detail Data: Basic Gift information for Gifts to all Funds selected for the export, during the date range you selected on the Options tab.
  • Grant Detail Data: Basic Grant information for Grants from all Funds selected for the export, during the date range you selected on the Options tab.
  • Securities Detail Data: Basic Securities inventory and activity information for all Funds selected for the export, during the date range you selected on the Options tab.

    NOTE: This option is only available if you have the optional Stock Gift Management Module.

    NOTE: Use a .txt file extension (for example, fndstat.txt).

15. (Optional – but recommended) If you want to automatically launch a merge document for the statement, select the Automatically Launch MS Word checkbox and enter the path and file name for the desired Word document in the Statement Merge Document field. If you are not sure of the exact path and file name, click the Browse button to locate the file. You can also enter the path and file name for a Label / Envelope Merge Document for mailing your statements. 

NOTE: The first time you run this export, you will not be able to Auto Launch. The data has to be exported, and then you can create document can be created in Word to merge the data into. After that, the Auto Launch feature can be used. Refer to Using FIMS with Microsoft Office for more information about exporting report data and creating presentation-quality statements. 

IMPORTANT: You must select the Automatically Launch MS Word checkbox if you are using MS Office 2000. This version of Office introduced a Word bug that forces you to confirm the type of data file repeatedly if you manually open the main merge document (which is tedious and impractical for numerous statements).

16. (Optional – but recommended) Click the Saved Reports tab and save the export as a default. Refer to Saving Report Settings in the Reports chapter for more information.

17. Click the Run Report button. 

Exported Fields

The following information is included in the data file (statement data file) in this export:

Field

Field

Field

Alpha Sort Name

Name

Title

Organization

Address 1-2

City, State, Zip

Salutation

E-mail

Fund Name

Fund ID

Fund Sort Name

Exclude Subordinate Funds

Fund Division

Fund Class

Fund Type

Fund Sub Type

Fund Rep. ID Code

Profile Explore Directory

Fund Explore Directory

Statement Style

Fund Staff Code

Staff Name

Staff Title

Date Established

Gift Language

From / Through Dates

Principal Access

Fund Fee Code

Policy Code

County Code

Last Name

Available to Fund

Division Name

Division Address 1-2

Division City, State, Zip

Division E-mail

Division Website

Division Explore Directory

Base Year

Base Period

Statement Code

Statement Description

Gifts Found

Grants Found

Either Found

Securities Found

Prior Gifts to the Endowment

Gifts / Pledges This Year

Total Gifts to the Endowment

Beginning Fund Balance

Contributions

Realized Gains / Losses

Unrealized Gains / Losses

Interest Income on Investments

Grants / Scholarships

Fees

Other Fund Expenses

Ending Fund Balance

Available to Grant

 

Tip: Fund Statement Style Codes

If you use Statement Style codes that are linked to a Microsoft Word main merge document, the Fund Statement Export will create four data files for each Statement Style reflected in the export. Statement Style codes are a method of assigning appropriate statement formats to each Fund. There will frequently be at least two Donor Statement Styles – one for endowed Funds and one for pass-through Funds.

NOTE: Refer to Maintaining Fund Statement Style Codes in the Fund Management module for more information about these codes.

The data file names for the export files are based on the names entered into the fields on the Send To tab. These names will be used verbatim if either of the following is true:

  • There are no Statement Style codes you use only one statement format).
  • The Statement Style codes are not directly associated with different main documents, (the export is merged into one main document, which uses Microsoft Word conditionals to select the appropriate statement body for the Style Code).

If each Statement Style is directly related each to its intended main document, the export will create file names based on the names entered on the Send To tab, plus an underscore and the Style code. For example, if the Statement Style codes were End for endowed Funds and PT for pass-through four data files would be exported for each as follows:

Endowed Statements:

File Contents

File Name

Statement Data

c:\fndstat_End.txt

Label/Envelope Data

c:\fndlabel_End.txt

Gift Detail Data

c:\fndgift_End.txt

Grant Detail Data

c:\fndgrant_End.txt

 

Pass-Through Statements:

File Contents

File Name

Statement Data

c:\fndstat_PT.txt

Label/Envelope Data

c:\fndlabel_PT.txt

Gift Detail Data

c:\fndgift_PT.txt

Grant Detail Data

c:\fndgrant_PT.txt

If you use this technique and are going to automatically launch MS Word to complete production of the statements, the Statement Merge Document and the Label / Envelope Merge Document on the Send To tab are ignored in favor of those entered as part of the Fund Statement Style codes.

NOTE: An existing Word document must be present in the Statement Merge Document field. However, it can be any document, since it will not actually be used.

 

Running Columnar Financial Statements

Select Columnar Financial Statements to print statements that are designed to print one Fund per row, with General Ledger values in columns.

NOTE: Account balances from Funds linked as Master / Subordinate Funds will be combined under the name of the Master Fund.

1. In the General Ledger module, select Reports > Columnar Financial Statements. The FIMS Report Selections window opens, with the Format tab selected.2. Click the arrow in the Statement drop-down box and select the statement that you want to run. 

NOTE: The Base Year and Base Period fields are automatically populated based on the statement you select, but you can change the information in these fields, if necessary.

NOTE: If you have previously run the selected report, the Period Covered and Statement Date fields are automatically populated based on the data from the last time you ran the report.

3. Use the Selections and Sorting tabs as you would in a standard report, to filter your report results. 

NOTE: Refer to Choosing Selection Fields and Choosing Sorting Fields in the Reports chapter for more information on making these selections. 

4. Click the Send To tab and select the desired output method: Screen, Spreadsheet, or Graphical Viewer. 

NOTE: Refer to Using FIMS with Microsoft Office for more information about exporting report data and creating presentation-quality reports.

5. Click the Saved Reports tab and save the export as a default. Refer to Saving Report Settings in the Reports chapter for more information.

6. Click the Run Report button.

 Optimizing Statement Performance

This utility helps to increase the performance of certain complex Financial Statements. You should use this utility if you use the Statement for consolidated reporting, if one or more rows use a segment other than the natural account number to filter or limit the roll up of natural account values, or if the Statement takes a perceptibly long time to run.

1. In the General Ledger module, click the Design Statements super tab and then click the Processes tab.

2. Select Optimize Statement Performance from the Design Statement Processes list and then click the Run Process button. The Optimize Statement Performance window opens.

3. Click the arrow in the Statement drop-down box and select the statement that you want to optimize. The remaining fields will be automatically populated based on the report you select.

4. (Optional) Change the data in any of the available fields, if desired.

5. Click OK. The Select G/L Segments window opens.6. (Optional) If you want to limit the Funds or accounts that the report will be optimized for, click the Selections tab and enter the Organization, Class, Type, Sub Type, or Fund ID associated with the desired Funds.

7. Click OK. FIMS will optimize your report and display a message when the process is complete.


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