Counting up and recording envelope giving

When counting up the offering after a service, please write on the outside of each envelope the sum contained within that envelope and keep all of the envelopes as a record. In Gift Aid audits, problems are most often found to occur at the counting-up stage.

Here are some pointers to ensure that this process is handled in line with good financial practice:

• Offerings should be counted on the premises immediately following the service
• At least two people should count
• Those counting should not be related or live in the same household
• Gift Aid envelopes, non-Gift Aid envelopes and loose cash should be separated
• Loose cash should be counted by the first person, checked by the second person and the amount noted. The cash should then be set to one side whilst the envelopes are dealt with.
• Each envelope should be opened and the amount contained within it then written on the envelope and checked by the second person
• When all envelopes have been opened, the total cash and cheques from the envelopes on the table should be counted and should match the totals on the envelopes
• The total of the donations should then be recorded. A template document is available to download.
• The envelopes (with amounts written on) plus a note of the totals should be passed to the Gift Aid Convener, who then records the amounts on a donor record spreadsheet.