This section explains how to create, and when to use, duplicate and corrected receipts. While the same menu options are used to generate them, they are significantly different in concept. The two menu options that can generate these receipts are Receipt à Current Donor Duplicate/Corrected and Receipt à Duplicate/Corrected Receipt by Number. Both options are for use when a donor has already received an original receipt, and you need to send them a new one.
One other menu option that is related is the Receipt à Reprint Range menu option. That is for use when there is no correction to be made, or the only corrections are to the donor's information (such as the name or address), rather than to donation information. It can be used when the donor(s) have not received the original receipt(s), and you just need to reprint them so you can send them to the donor(s) for the first time. But it can also be used to reprint receipts marked "Corrected", if the donor(s) have already received the original receipt(s), and the only corrections are to the donor's information. If there are no corrections at all, though, this menu option should not be used to send out duplicate receipts, when for instance the donor has lost their receipt - use the options described below instead, to do that
N.B. If you have moved on to a new year, and need to create a corrected or duplicate receipt for the previous year, you will first have to switch back to that year with the Maintenance à Change Year à Previous Year menu option. When you are done working on your receipts (and anything else you need to do in the previous year), you can go back to the current year with Maintenance à Change Year à Next Year. See Changing Years in the Database if you need more information on this.
A duplicate receipt is one where the donation information has not changed, and you just need to reprint a receipt because the donor informs you that they lost the original that you sent to them. It will have "Duplicate Receipt" printed on it, to help make sure that the donor doesn't use both receipts, if they do find the original. If all you need is a duplicate receipt, you can skip reading the next section on correcting receipts.
Correcting Receipts
This section covers what to do if there is actually something wrong with the donation information in a receipt, and you need to correct it. Possible problems include:
| • | A donation date, amount or category is incorrect |
| • | A donation needs to be deleted (for instance, because the cheque came back NSF) |
| • | A donation needs to be added, because you missed it originally. |
Here are the steps you need to use to make such corrections:
| 1. | Be sure to note the receipt number of the receipt you are correcting first, if you do not have a printed copy of it in front of you. It will show in the Recpt # field in the Donation Details area of your main window. |
| 2. | If a donation included in the receipt needs to be corrected in some way (e.g. the date, amount or category), you need to delete it then re-enter it. Delete the donation by clicking the mouse into any field on that donation's row (which will move the pointing hand at the left to point to that row), then click the Delete button above those rows of donations (to the right of the Batch Entry button). You will have to confirm the delete by pressing OK on two successive message boxes. |
| 3. | If any donation included in the receipt just needs to be deleted (e.g. because it was NSF), delete it as mentioned in the previous point. |
| 4. | If you then need to re-enter a donation you deleted in step (2) because it needed to be corrected, just enter it normally on the blank donation line on the main window, then click Save to save it. You will not be able to enter the Recpt # field - it gets filled in later when you actually create the receipt. |
| 5. | If you need to enter any donation that was missed out from the receipt originally, add it as in the previous step. |
Now you are ready to actually create the corrected receipt, which will normally have the words "Corrected Receipt" added to it.
Creating your Duplicate or Corrected Receipt
For the Receipt à Current Donor Duplicate/Corrected option, you must first click into the row of a donation on the main window that is part of the receipt for which you want create a duplicate or corrected version (has that receipt number in its Recpt # field). Its receipt number will be used.
Alternatively, you can use the Receipt à Duplicate/Corrected Receipt by Number option, in which case you enter the desired receipt number in the options window that comes up.
In either case, the following window then comes up:
If you used Receipt à Current Donor Duplicate/Corrected, the receipt number to the right of the year will already be filled in, with the receipt number of the donation you clicked on. Otherwise, you fill that number in yourself.
This window has two radio button options, of which you must select one:
| • | Include only donations that are currently included in this receipt. You would use this option if you were creating a duplicate receipt, or for instance if you just had to delete one of the donations in a receipt because it was paid by a cheque that came back NSF, and you need to create a corrected receipt with that donation omitted. |
| • | Also include any unreceipted donations for the same donor. You would use this if you added any donations that should be included, either as corrections or simple additions. You could also use this option if you wanted to merge later donations (or missed donations) into a receipt issued earlier, but I would advise caution in using it this way, because it could cause confusion for the donor, if they had already received the original receipt. (Instead, you could just issue a new receipt containing only the added donation or donations.) |
Finally, there is the Do not change the receipt status to Duplicate or Corrected checkbox. As the text above it in the window says, you should only check this checkbox if the original receipt has not been sent to the donor. (If they have already received the original receipt, to avoid confusion and/or double-submission of receipts on the donor's tax form, this new receipt must be marked Duplicate or Corrected, as appropriate.) If you do check this checkbox, you are also asked a further question to confirm that you haven't sent the original receipt to the donor, when you click OK.
Click OK to display the duplicate or corrected receipt, and then you can use the Print or Email/Print button to print it or email it to the donor.
The following sections give some further details on duplicate and correct receipts.
Duplicate Receipts
A duplicate receipt is if the donor has merely lost the receipt, and there is nothing wrong with it. You should not just send them a photocopy of their original receipt, because an unscrupulous donor could submit both to the government. Instead, use the above options to generate a duplicate receipt. It will have the words "Duplicate Receipt" added to it, and the same receipt number as the original.
However, if the donor definitely never received the original receipt (e.g. if you didn't send it), you can avoid the replacement being marked as a duplicate by either checking Do not change the receipt status to Duplicate or Corrected, or instead using Receipt à Reprint Range, which does not change the status of the receipt to Duplicate if it is not already marked as a Duplicate. Of, if you have a printed copy of the original, just send them a photocopy!
Corrected Receipts
One unusual situation is if only one donation was included in the receipt, the cheque came back NSF, and you can't get the donor to replace the cheque. In that case, you must use the Receipt à Duplicate/Corrected Receipt by Number option to create the receipt (because there is no remaining donation to click on!). The corrected receipt will show the amount of $0. Make sure that if the donor received the original receipt, they also get this corrected receipt, even if it is for $0, so that they know not to use the original.
When you do delete a donation for which a receipt has already been issued, there is actually inconsistent data in the database until you issue the corrected receipt. If you generate Reports à Receipt à All Receipts, it will still show the original incorrect amount for this receipt. As soon as you issue the corrected receipt, this is fixed. There is also a report for finding such problems, where the total of donations associated with a given receipt does not match the original total for the receipt. That report is Reports à Receipt à Incorrect Receipts.
One thing I will note is that this is technically not exactly how the Canadian government wants corrected receipts to be handled. They are supposed to get a new receipt number, but say something like "Correcting receipt # nnn" on them, referring back to the original incorrect receipt. At the moment the design of the program and the database does not easily allow me to do this. I may do it in the future. I do not believe this is a serious problem, as despite having thousands of users of DONATION in Canada, I have never heard any complaints about it, either from donors or from the Canada Rr\evenue Agency.
I should also note here that the option Receipt à Reprint Range does not normally create duplicate or corrected receipts (unless the ones being reprinted are already marked as being duplicates or corrected, or you choose the option to mark the reprinted receipts as "Corrected"). It can be used to reprint original receipts, and should be used when the original print did not work, as for instance when there was a paper jam or your printer ran out of ink. However, if a donation included in a receipt has been deleted, and thus it needs to be corrected, the Reprint Range menu option is smart enough to correct the receipt for you and mark it as a "Corrected Receipt". Reprinted receipts (rather than duplicate/corrected) can also be used when a receipt has been previously generated, but never sent to the donor.