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Remote Deposit Capture

ACTIVE Network Faith has partnered with ProfitStars (http://www.profitstars.com) to provide a Remote Deposit Capture (RDC)A contributions features that allows churches to leverage a bulk check scanner to convert paper checks into electronic transactions. solution that fully integrates with Fellowship One.

RDC will allow churches to leverage a bulk check scanner to convert paper checks into electronic transactions. By processing checks through the ACH network or Check 21 image exchange network, funds will be automatically deposited into the church’s designated bank account. After the checks have been processed they will be sent to the church’s Fellowship One database for review and data management prior to posting to an individual’s contribution history.

Some of the benefits of using RDC are:

• Electronic deposit of funds into bank accounts without having to physically submit each check for deposit at the bank.
• By having checks process through a clearing house, funds will be more quickly available.
• Bulk processing may reduce per check deposit processing costs by aggregating checks into a single deposit.
• RDC will reduce the church's administrative overhead simply by providing a more streamlined and cost effective method for processing contributions.

Churches considering RDC may want to conduct some analysis to determine if, and to what degree they will see the financial benefits of the solution. A key element to consider in the analysis is the business relationship of the church with their bank.

Is RDC right for my church?

RDC is right for your church if:

• You currently subscribe to the Enterprise/Premier edition of Fellowship One.
• You primarily receive checks drawn against U.S. banks which are processed through the U.S. Federal Reserve System.
• You can accept that there may be delays with deposits when human interaction is required because of issues with the deposit like:
  • An illegible check.
  • Insufficient funds available to process the check.
• Your bank charges you fees for physical check deposits.
• You will incur hardware costs and transactional fees above and beyond your Fellowship One subscription fees, however, using the RDC solution, you should expect to gain cost savings and see cash flow benefits.

Other Considerations

Fund availability

Processing checks through a clearing house may allow funds to be available sooner instead of having to be processed with a standard banking waiting period. A church could expect to see a fully funded deposit within 24 to 48 hours of scanning a Remote Deposit Capture batch. ProfitStars guarantees (within certain parameters) a deposit before the contributor's account is actually debited.

Bank fees

Many banks charge a fee for each check that is deposited in bulk. Fees for each check deposited may range from $0.00 (free) to $0.30 each. Bulk processing may reduce per check deposit processing costs, as batches of checks will be aggregated into a single deposit.

Other fees

Churches will incur a per month base fee from ProfitStars for the use of RDC. In addition, each check processed through RDC will either incur transaction fees for ACH transactions and/or Check 21 transactions. Additional fees may be incurred when human intervention is required to decipher check amounts, correct batch totals, or when a check is returned for insufficient funds. The exact fees incurred will be communicated when you decide to add RDC to your edition of Fellowship One.

Manual processing time

Using RDC for bulk scanning will change the workflow for processing check contributions. While some processes such as separating checks into batches and performing 10-key control amounts will remain the same, the details and order of other tasks within the process will be different. Churches should expect it to take less overall end-to-end user data entry time when utilizing RDC.

You may want to conduct a basic time and motion study to better understand the time savings garnered by RDC. With many churches, time savings will also equate with cost savings since check processing is conducted by paid staff. As a general rule, churches that have a high volume of checks that are not split across fund designations will see the most time savings.

Preparing your contributors

You will need to inform givers that their paper checks will be electronically processed. Example verbiage is provided during the RDC setup process.

What equipment do I need?

You will be provided with a list of bulk check scanners that are compatible with the ProfitStarsRDC solution. Many different brands and models are available, however, Fellowship One recommends and provides technical support for the Epson CaptureOne TM-S1000 Check Scanner. Complete details are available for download in the Hardware Guide.

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