User guide

First week checklist

Do these in order. After that, jump to any chapter.

1. Create the church workspace or sign in.
2. Confirm the church name, email, phone, and mailing address under Church Settings. Statements and letters use this.
3. Add bank accounts and designated funds under Accounts & Funds.
4. Add vendors you pay (utilities, insurance, the music license).
5. Add households under Members / Donors. Include mailing address and email if you will print or email statements.
6. Add giving categories (Tithe, Building, Missions) and link each to a fund.
7. Invite the treasurer and office staff from Users. Copy the invite link and send it yourself.
8. Record this week’s offering as a batch on Giving.
9. If you are still on a trial, finish Billing or enter a gift code so the banner goes away.

1. Go to kingdomledger.vercel.app and choose Sign in, or open /login.
2. Enter the work email and password you used at signup. Press Sign in.
3. You land on the Dashboard. The left sidebar is the whole office: giving, people, books, worship, statements, and settings.
4. To start a new church instead, choose Begin trial or open /signup.
5. On signup, enter your name, work email, a password of at least 8 characters, and the church name.
6. If you were given a gift code, enter it now (GIFT- followed by letters and numbers). That unlocks full access with no payment.
7. If a sister church referred you, enter their referral code (REF-…). They earn $25 when your church becomes active.
8. After signup you are signed in as the Owner. You will usually be taken to Billing so you can start the 14-day trial checkout or redeem a gift code.

1. On a computer, the navy column on the left stays put. Click a page name to open it.
2. On a phone, tap the menu button in the top bar, then choose a page. Tap outside the menu or press Escape to close it.
3. The top strip (People, Worship, Website, Giving, Accounting, Events) is a shortcut to those modules. Accounting opens the books pages.
4. Dashboard shows cash and assets, open receivables, open payables, fund charts, and the last five expenses and deposits. It is a snapshot, not a place to enter data.
5. Your name is at the bottom of the sidebar. Use Change password or Sign out there.
6. Open User guide from the sidebar whenever you need these steps again.

1. Open Church Settings in the sidebar.
2. Enter the official church name, office email, phone, and mailing address.
3. Press Save settings.
4. The subscription line shows your plan and status. Use the Billing link there to change payment.

1. Open Accounts & Funds.
2. Under Add account, type a name such as Operating Checking.
3. Choose a type: ASSET for bank and cash, LIABILITY for loans, EQUITY for net assets, REVENUE or EXPENSE if you want income and expense accounts.
4. Enter an opening balance if you already know the current bank figure. Use 0 if you are starting clean.
5. Press the submit button to save the account.
6. Under Add fund, type a name such as General, Building, Missions, or Youth.
7. Enter an opening balance for that envelope, then save.
8. Repeat until every bank account and every designated fund you use is listed.

1. Open Vendors.
2. Enter the vendor name (required). Add email, phone, and notes if you have them.
3. Submit the form. The vendor appears in the table.
4. Use that same name later on Expenses and Payables.

1. Open Members / Donors.
2. Fill First name and Last name (required).
3. Add email if you will email statements or letters. Add mailing address if you will print and mail them.
4. Add phone if the office needs it.
5. Set Status: MEMBER for the roll, VISITOR for guests, INACTIVE if they have left.
6. Set Family role: HEAD, SPOUSE, CHILD, or OTHER.
7. Submit. Click a row to open the household.
8. On the person page you can edit names, contact details, birthday, and whether they are Active.
9. Use the note box to record pastoral or office context. Notes stay with the person.
10. The giving list on the person page shows gifts already linked to them.
11. Use the search box on the directory to find someone by first name, last name, or email.

1. Open Giving, then click Categories.
2. Enter a name such as Tithe, Missions, Building, or Youth Camp.
3. Choose the fund that money should increase.
4. Submit. Repeat for every envelope line you use on Sunday.

1. Open Giving.
2. At the top, set Batch name (Sunday Offering is fine), Type (Sunday), and the offering Date. Press Add batch.
3. Click that batch in the left list so it is highlighted.
4. On Add contribution, type the giver’s name as it should appear.
5. Link person: choose the matching household from the directory when you can.
6. Enter the Amount, choose the Category, and optionally choose the Fund.
7. Choose Type: CHECK, CASH, ONLINE, or CARD. Add a memo if needed.
8. Submit. The gift appears in the table and the batch total updates.
9. Enter the next envelope the same way until the count matches the plate.
10. Use the category totals under the batch list to prove the count before you leave.

1. Open Giving, then Pledges.
2. Choose the Person and the Category.
3. Enter the pledged Amount, the Start date, and an End date if you have one.
4. Add Notes if the board needs context, then submit.
5. The table lists each pledge. Compare it with actual gifts on the person’s page and on Statements.

1. Add giving categories first (Giving → Categories) and link each to a fund.
2. Open Giving, then Online giving.
3. Choose Add bank account and finish Stripe’s form with the church legal name, tax ID, and routing/account numbers.
4. When payouts show as ready, copy the church giving link and share it.
5. A donor chooses an amount and category, then pays by card. Stripe sends that gift to this church’s bank, not another church.
6. The gift appears in a batch named Online giving for that day, linked to the household email when possible.
7. When the Stripe payout hits the bank, record a Bank Deposit so checking matches.
8. Turn online giving off from the same page if you need to close the form.

1. Open Bank Deposits after the offering is at the bank.
2. Enter the Date and the Amount that posted.
3. Choose the Bank account (your checking ASSET) and the Fund.
4. Add a Memo such as “Sunday 9/7 deposit,” then submit.
5. Checking and the fund both increase by that amount.

1. Open Expenses.
2. Enter the Date and Amount.
3. Choose the Vendor if you added one.
4. Choose the Account to pay from (usually Operating Checking) and the Fund.
5. Add a Check # and Memo if you have them, then submit.
6. The account balance and the fund balance both go down.

1. Open Payables.
2. Fill Bill date, Amount, Fund, and optionally Due date, Vendor, Invoice #, and Memo. Submit.
3. The bill appears under Open bills. Overdue bills are flagged.
4. When you pay it, use Record payment on that bill: Pay date, Pay from account, Amount (it defaults to what is still due), and Check #.
5. Submit the payment. The bill moves to Paid when it is fully settled. Checking and the fund go down.

1. Open Receivables.
2. Enter Invoice date, Amount, Payer name, and Fund. Add Due date, Invoice #, Memo, and a directory person if you want.
3. Submit. The invoice appears under Open invoices.
4. When the check arrives, use Record receipt: Receipt date, Deposit to account, and Amount.
5. The invoice moves to Received when it is fully paid. The bank account and fund go up.

1. Open Budget.
2. Enter a Name (Annual Budget is fine) and the Year, then create the budget.
3. On that budget, add a line: Category, Fund, and Amount.
4. Repeat for every category the board approved.

1. Open Reports to see total deposits, total expenses, open receivables, open payables, and each fund balance.
2. Open Dashboard for the same cash picture plus recent expenses and deposits.
3. If a number looks wrong, open the source page (Deposits, Expenses, Payables, or Receivables) and check the last entries.

1. Open Contribution Statements.
2. Choose the calendar year and press Show year.
3. Only households with linked gifts in that year appear. Unlinked batch gifts will not show here.
4. Review each household’s gift lines and deductible total.
5. Print letters opens a print-friendly page. Use your browser’s Print dialog to print or save as PDF.
6. Download PDF saves a PDF of the letters.
7. Email statements sends one email per household that has an email address. Households without email are skipped.
8. You can also print or download one household at a time from that household’s row.

1. Open Parish Letters.
2. Edit the Subject and the Letter body.
3. Use merge fields exactly as written: {{firstName}}, {{lastName}}, {{churchName}}, {{year}}, {{address}}.
4. Under Send to, choose Active members, Everyone in the directory, Households with gifts this year, or One household.
5. If you chose One household, pick that person in Household.
6. Set Year if you are writing to this year’s givers.
7. Email letters sends the merged letter. Print letters opens a print page. Download PDF saves a file.
8. What went out at the bottom keeps the last 20 letters and how many were sent, skipped, or failed.

1. Open Events & Attendance.
2. Enter Title and Starts (date and time). Add Location, Ends, and Description if you have them.
3. Submit, then click the event.
4. Add a registration: type the Name and optionally Link person from the directory.
5. Change a registrant’s status to REGISTERED, ADDED (walk-in), CHECKED_IN, or CANCELLED.
6. Under Attendance, type a name and mark them present when you need a simple headcount.

1. Open Worship.
2. Create a service: Title (Worship Service is fine) and Starts, then submit.
3. Click that service in the left list.
4. Add an outline item: Start time, Title, and optionally Key, Led by, Notes. Check Highlight if the row should stand out.
5. Repeat in order — call to worship, songs, sermon, blessing.
6. Open Song library (from Worship) to add Title, Artist, Key, and CCLI.
7. Open Teams to add a team name, then add members with Name and Role. Link a directory person when you can.

1. Open Website & App.
2. Add cards. Visibility WEB is for guests, APP is for the member view, ALL is both.
3. Open Page setup and check Published on any inside page (About, Visit) you want on the live site.
4. On Website & App, choose Publish site.
5. Copy the Web link (/c/your-church) for the bulletin or the church Facebook page.
6. Copy the App link (/c/your-church/m). Members can save that page to their phone home screen.
7. Visit plans submitted on the public form land under Form responses.

1. Open Users.
2. Enter the person’s Email and choose a Role: STAFF, TREASURER, or ADMIN.
3. Submit. A pending invite appears with a link that starts with /invite/.
4. Copy that full link and send it by email or text yourself. The app does not send the invite email automatically.
5. The teammate opens the link, enters their name and a password of at least 8 characters, and lands on the Dashboard.
6. Members already on the church appear in the Members table with their role.

1. At the bottom of the sidebar, click Change password.
2. Enter your current password and a new password of at least 8 characters.
3. Submit. A confirmation appears when it worked.
4. If the current password is wrong, you will see an error. Try again carefully — passwords are case sensitive.

1. Open Billing. You will see the church name, plan, status, and trial end date if you are on a trial.
2. Monthly plans: Starter $19.99, Standard $29.99, Plus $59.99. Each checkout is handled by Stripe.
3. Full access: press Pay $250 once. That is a one-time charge for every module with no monthly fee.
4. If you still have a trial and no subscription yet, monthly checkout includes a 14-day Stripe trial.
5. To update a card or cancel, press Update card or cancel. That opens the Stripe customer portal.
6. To redeem a gift code later, paste it in the gift code box on Billing and submit. The church becomes LIFETIME and ACTIVE.
7. After a successful payment, wait for the success message. Status should read ACTIVE.

1. Open Referrals.
2. Copy your referral code or the full signup link (/signup?ref=YOURCODE).
3. Send it to another church.
4. When they create a workspace with that code, a $25 reward appears as PENDING.
5. When they pay, redeem a gift code, or are granted full access, the reward becomes APPROVED.
6. KingdomLedger marks it PAID after the $25 is sent. That status is updated by the operator.

1. Open Backup & Restore.
2. Click Download backup JSON. Save the file somewhere the treasurer can find — it is named kingdomledger-backup.json.
3. The file includes accounts, funds, vendors, expenses, deposits, budgets, people, notes, giving, pledges, events, worship, website cards, and form responses.
4. To bring names back in, choose that JSON file under Restore and submit.
5. Restore adds vendors, people, funds, and songs. It does not replace the whole church or reload every expense and gift.