NEW for 2009

Formation Sessions

Formation Office 101: Getting Started
See how the PDS Formation Office program can be used either by itself or with Church Office to help manage your religious education programs. Learn best practices, including:
  • Planning and preparation – getting started on the right foot
  • Using the sample data
  • Reviewing the License Registration Wizard
  • Initial Setup/Admin. configuration including security, keywords, and setup options
  • Choosing the correct options under Initial Setup for integrating with Church Office
  • Selecting the appropriate sacrament tab names
  • Defining classes/sessions
  • Keeping track of students
  • Keeping track of catechists
  • Searching for records
  • Quick Posting classes/sessions
Formation Office 102: Beginning the New Year
See how the PDS Formation Office program can save you time when starting a new formation year (whenever that is).
  • Updating class schedules with the Add New Year/Period process for classes/periods
  • Making student class/session assignments using the Class/Session Promotion or Enrollment process
  • Cleaning up your keyword lists
  • Preparing attendance tracking worksheets
  • Quick Posting of attendance
  • Printing class/session rosters
  • Printing the family schedule letter
  • Printing family and student labels
  • Running the classes/sessions deletion process
Formation Office 103: Tuition & Fees, An Easier Way
Discover the basics of billing for your religious education program. Learn tips to become a more efficient financial processor. This class will cover:
  • Establishing funds, periods, and activities
  • Posting one-time charges
  • Posting recurring charges
  • Posting and editing payments
  • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments
  • Importing financial data from a tuition management company (Smart, Facts, etc.)
  • Printing receipts
  • Printing customer statements
Formation Office 104: End of Year Procedures
See how the PDS Formation Office program can be used to save time when finishing a formation year (whenever that is).
  • Archiving your end-of-year backup
  • Printing final versions of “current year” reports
  • Running the remove/advance end-of-year process
  • Processing grade promotions
  • Learning when to run the inactivation process
Formation Office 105: Tips & Tricks
Explore some of the neat tricks that the PDS Formation Office program can do. Led by the individual responsible for the Formation Program at PDS. An open question and answer session with a programmer will follow. This class covers:
  • Keeping track of catechist certifications
  • Quick Posting of dates
  • Printing sacramental certificates
  • Customizing certificate reports
  • Running the Catechist Exchange process
  • Running the Reassign Class Dates/Times process
  • Combining duplicate family and member records