Global Settings

Global Settings is at the bottom of the admin menu, under the SETTINGS heading. Click it to open its list of pages. They appear in this order, and this guide follows the same order:

Giving Settings

Giving switches (envelopes, edits, approvals), giving categories, payment methods and online payment gateways.

Tax Receipt Settings

What your yearly donation receipt says and looks like.

Event Settings

Which payment gateways paid events can use.

Daily Devotional Settings

The audiences devotionals are written for, e.g. Adults, Teens, Children.

Task Notifications

The reminder messages volunteers get about their service tasks.

Marital Status

Which marital status choices show on member forms.

Billing & Subscriptions

Your EkklesiasOne plan, invoices and receipts.

Theme Settings

Your church's colour across the whole system.

These four switches control how gifts are recorded on the Giving page. A dark (on) switch means the feature is turned on.

Envelope Number Tracking

On: each gift can be matched to a member's numbered offering envelope. Off: envelope numbers aren't tracked.

Unmatched Pool Giving Entry

On: gifts that can't be matched to a member yet (e.g. loose cash) can be recorded into a pool and matched later.

Allow Post-Entry Edits

On: the accounts team can correct a gift after it has been posted. Off: saved gifts can't be changed.

Require Approval for Edits

On: an edited gift doesn't take effect until someone approves it (signed off by the Pastorate / Finance).

1. 1In the admin menu, click Global Settings, then Giving Settings.
2. 2Under Module Settings, click the switch next to the setting you want to turn on or off.
3. 3Click Save Changes at the top right.
4. 4Wait for the green Success — Settings updated successfully message.

Further down the same Giving Settings page is Data Configuration. Giving Categories are what people can give towards (Tithe, Offering, Seed, Building Fund…). Manual Payment Methods are the ways a gift can be paid when staff record it (Cash, POS, Bank Transfer, Online…). Both show up as drop-down choices when giving is recorded.

To add a giving category (for example Love Offering):

1. 1Scroll down to Giving Categories.
2. 2Click inside the box and type the new name, e.g. Love Offering.
3. 3Press Enter (or click Add item). It appears as a new tag in the box.
4. 4To remove a category, click the small × on its tag.
5. 5Click Save Changes at the top of the page.

To add a payment method (for example Text2Give):

1. 1Under Manual Payment Methods, click the Add new method box and type the name.
2. 2Click the blue + button. The method is added to the list with its switch on.
3. 3Use a method's switch to turn it off without deleting it, or the red bin icon to delete it.
4. 4Save, and wait for the green Success message.

Online payment gateways take card payments when members give online. Available now: Stripe, PayPal, Interac and Zelle. More, such as Paystack, will be added later. Each gateway has an on/off switch and a gear (settings) button.

1. 1Scroll to the bottom of Giving Settings, to Online Payment Gateways.
2. 2Turn the gateway's switch on, then click its yellow gear button to open its settings.
3. 3On TEST, paste your test public key and secret key from your Stripe or PayPal account. Use test mode to check that payments work.
4. 4When you're ready to take real money, click LIVE and paste your live public key and live secret key.
5. 5Click Save Config and wait for the green Success message.
6. 6Do the same for PayPal or any other gateway you use.

This page sets up the official donation receipt for income tax purposes that members get for the year (used mainly by churches in Canada and the US). The left side is the form; the right side is a Live Receipt Preview that changes as you type. When receipts are generated, the system fills in each member's name and their total giving for that year.

1. Church information on the receipt

1. 1Click Global Settings, then Tax Receipt Settings.
2. 2Under Church Information on Receipt, fill in or correct: Church Name, Church Address, Charity Registration / BN No., Location Issued, CRA Website Text, Receipt Number Format and Currency.
3. 3Check the Live Receipt Preview on the right as you type.

2. Logo and signature

1. 1Under Logos & Signatures, click Choose File next to Church Logo and pick your logo (max 2MB).
2. 2Under Logo Position, choose Left Align or Right Align.
3. 3Next to Authorized Signature, click Choose File and upload the signature image. A transparent PNG looks best.

3. Receipt message and footer

1. 1Under Receipt Message & Terms, edit the Custom Body Message: the letter text donors read.
2. 2Keep the tags in square brackets, such as [DONOR_NAME], [DONATION_YEAR], [TOTAL_AMOUNT] and [CHURCH_NAME]. The system replaces them with each donor's real details.
3. 3Optionally type Terms & Conditions (Footer) for the bottom of the receipt.
4. 4Click Save Settings at the top right.

4. Test print

1. 1Click Test Print at the top of the Live Receipt Preview.
2. 2Your printer window opens with a sample receipt. Check the layout, logo and text.
3. 3Print or cancel, then make any changes and click Save Settings again.

Choose which payment gateways people can use when they register and pay for an event. For example, you might use only Stripe for events, even if PayPal is on for giving.

1. 1Click Global Settings, then Event Settings.
2. 2Turn on the switch for each gateway you want for events, and turn off the ones you don't.
3. 3Click the gear button on a gateway to enter its keys (same as for giving).
4. 4Click Save Changes.

Audiences are the groups devotionals are written for, such as Adults, Teens or Children. The names you set here show in the Daily Devotional library and in the member portal.

To add an audience:

1. 1Under Add New Audience, type the Audience Name (e.g. Young Professionals).
2. 2Leave Status as Active.
3. 3Click Create Audience. It appears under Existing Audiences.

To rename or edit an audience (e.g. change Children to Toddlers):

1. 1In Existing Audiences, click the pencil (edit) button on that row. The left panel changes to Edit Audience.
2. 2Change the Audience Name, or set Status to Inactive to hide it.
3. 3Click Update Audience. A green Audience updated message confirms it.

When you assign someone a service task, they get messages automatically: Immediately (when assigned), 3 Days Before, 1 Day Before and 1 Hour Before the service. Each arrives as a portal notification and an email. Here you choose which ones are sent and write their wording. They run automatically — you don't need to send them.

1. 1Click Global Settings, then Task Notifications.
2. 2Use the switch on each reminder to turn it on or off.
3. 3Edit the Message Template under each one. Use the placeholders in the blue box: [MemberName], [TaskName], [ServiceTitle], [ServiceDate], [ServiceTime]. They're replaced with the real details.
4. 4Scroll down and click Save Settings.

The marital status choices (Divorced, Married, Separated, Single, Widowed) show on member and visitor forms. Your church can hide the ones it doesn't use.

1. 1Click Global Settings, then Marital Status.
2. 2Use the Visibility switch on each row: on shows it on forms, off hides it.
3. 3The change saves straight away.

See your EkklesiasOne plan, the next billing date and what your plan includes, and download invoices and receipts.

1. 1Click Global Settings, then Billing & Subscriptions.
2. 2Subscription Detail shows your plan, price, next billing date and plan features. Use Upgrade or Downgrade Plan to change plan.
3. 3Click Invoices & Receipts to see your Payment History. Filter by plan or status (paid, pending).
4. 4Click View to see an invoice, or PDF (or Download PDF in the invoice window) to save it.

Pick your church's colour. It's used for buttons, the sidebar and highlights across the whole admin panel.

1. 1Click Global Settings, then Theme Settings.
2. 2Click a colour under Choose a Preset Color, or click the colour box under Or Pick a Custom Color to choose any colour or type its code.
3. 3Check the Live Preview buttons.
4. 4Click Save Theme. The colour changes across the system.