Recording Contributions & Expenses
Record contributions and expenses by hand or with a check reader, and find, filter, edit, and export them later.
Add a Contribution
Go to Finance and click Add Contributions.
Enter the contribution:
User — optional; the member who gave.
Amount
Date Posted — defaults to today.
Type — Check, Cash, or Other. Checks also have a Check #.
Bucket — the income category.
Notes — optional.
Click Create Contribution.
Contributions entered in the last three days appear in the Recent Contributions table on the same page.
Using a Check Reader
Check readers that use keyboard emulation are supported on the Add Contributions page:
Scan the check. Lightpost reads the routing number, account number, and check number and shows Check Scanned.
If that bank account has been used before, the same member is selected automatically. Otherwise, select the member to associate with the check — Lightpost remembers it for next time.
Selecting a member fills in their most recent amount. Adjust it if needed and press Enter to save.
Bank account numbers are stored securely; only the last four digits are ever shown.
Add an Expense
Go to Finance and click Add Expenses. The form works like the contribution form, except the Type is Check or Cash and the Bucket lists expense categories.
Date Posted vs. Date Created
Date Posted is the accounting date of the transaction. Reports and contribution statements use Date Posted.
Date Created is when the entry was added to Lightpost.
Online gifts use the payment date as their Date Posted.
Finding Transactions
On the Finance page, click View all under Income or Expenses to open the full list. From the list you can:
Filter by category, minimum and maximum amount, Posted Date range, and Created Date range.
Use the filter options Show transactions with no user, Cash only, Check only, and Online only (contributions only).
Export the filtered list to Excel.
Import transactions from a CSV file. See Importing Transactions.
Editing and Deleting
Click a transaction to edit it. The User and Type cannot be changed. To change them, delete the transaction and create a new one.
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