Summary UUSS Business Office Procedures

1. NEWSLETTER: Unigram
   1. Deadline is 10^th of current month for the next month’s publication. For example the due date for November Unigram is October 10. The Unigram is published each month. It is typed, compiled, edited, by a great team of volunteers then sent to printer around 20^th of each month. Volunteers are needed monthly to send out hard copies to those who do not receive an electronic copy. Articles are cheerfully accepted prior to deadlines by email to unigram@uuss.org. Articles in electronic form or via email are especially welcome.
   2. Submit articles in writing. Fax is okay too: (916-483-4934) by 10 a.m. on deadline date.
   3. No articles by phone please.
   4. Flyers, surveys, prospectuses (enclosures in the newsletter)
      1. Do your own typing and paste up and send to unigram@uuss.org or bring it to the office by deadline
      2. If possible, provide a volunteer from your committee to help fold and process the newsletter the week you have an insert
      3. Be sure your committee's budget can accommodate outside printing costs of the insert if necessary.
2. BLUESHEET: Bluesheet deadline is on Wednesday at 1 pm. The office assistant submits the Bluesheet to the Business administrator for review on Thursday and printing on Friday morning. Submitting input after 1pm on Wednesday may result in your information not being included the bluesheet.
3. DATABASE REPORTS: We can provide Committee Chairs certain database reports of a simple nature from our database system. Generally the recipient may be required to further analyze and interpret raw data that may be requested. Our database and office staff have limited time and expertise in developing detailed analysis and reports. So you must be prepared to do some analysis of the data sent to you in the format you request, like Excel which is our primary reporting tool.
4. PHOTOCOPYING:
   1. Limit photocopying to items that are absolutely necessary. Use email to send when possible. Be cognizant of copyright laws and copying of books and music in generally not allowed and are copyright infringements.
   2. The church's photocopier is available for committee copying Monday through Thursday during church office hours and after church on Sunday. The office assistant is available during office hours to train someone on your committee or activity group to use the photocopier for small copying jobs. Larger print jobs may be processed by our outside printing service depending on size of job.
   3. Bluesheet: Thursday is dedicated to printing the Bluesheet and Order of Service for Sunday
   4. For more than 50 copies, please discuss copying options with the office assistant.
5. WORD PROCESSING AND MAILINGS:Please try to handle all your own typing and mailing.Church office can provide the following:
   1. Postage
   2. Mechanical Folding for lightweight paper
   3. Paper
   4. Computer in office for volunteer use when available
   5. Envelopes, Labels
   6. Copier
   7. Advice
   8. Encouragement
6. DIRECTORY INFORMATION: For privacy purposes, only pledging Members and Friends are authorized access to the UUSS printed directory and online version. Send an email or call the office to obtain a User ID and Password to access the online directories. Please keep the office updated with changes to your address, telephone, email and other key data.
7. CONSULTING: To consult with the Business Administrator for longer than a few minutes, please call and make an appointment. The Business Administrator can adjust work to accommodate you if enough notice is given.
8. FACILITIES USE:
   1. Reserve meeting space at the church in advance by completing online room use request form. If you have borrowed a key from the church, that does not mean that you may schedule your own meetings. All meeting must be scheduled through the office to prevent room conflict as much as possible.
   2. Secure all exterior doors after each meeting. Cleanup your own coffee cups, refreshments, etc. and return them to the kitchen. Cleanup supplies are found in the Custodial Room and in the kitchens.
   3. Saturday night use of the main hall requires special arrangements for Sunday set up.
   4. Single committee or group use of the library during the winter months in the evening requires heating the entire building and increases heating cost dramatically. Your group will normally be scheduled in an RE room when available to cut down on heating costs.
9. MAIL BOXES: Mail boxes are provided in the Office for key staff. Mail boxes for most program committees are located in the hallway to the main kitchen. Please empty these boxes weekly. They are for communication and not for storage. This mode of communication saves the church money in postage and staff telephoning or emailing time.
10. KEYS: Keys may be loaned to committee chairs/activity group leaders on a temporary basis for access to the building to hold meetings or work on projects. All users of the buildings are asked to secure the building after use. Copying or loaning the church key you have borrowed is prohibited.
11. CHECK REQUESTS/REIMBURSEMENTS: Please make check requests for payments from your budget line by completing a check request form, available from the office or online at the UUSS webpage under forms. FIVE to SEVEN BUSINESS DAYS' are required for generating church checks. Original receipts only are acceptable for reimbursement.
12. REQUESTS FOR CHILDCARE: Requests for childcare for a meeting or event must be made to the RE assistant, to allow time for childcare providers to be scheduled. RE church has a childcare budget for all church events that will cover the cost of this service. Church events must use the carefully screened childcare staff that has already been hired by the church.
13. REPORTS AND BUDGETING:
    1. Monthly Treasurer reports are posted online under Board of Trustees. More detailed reports can be found on the UUSS website under files. A user ID and Password are required to view the document and can be obtained from the office.
    2. Budgeting is done during January – March of each year, and due to the Treasurer's mailbox by January 31. Program council committees and activity groups submit their budget requests to the program council. Copies of previous year's budget requests should be filed in your Committee Chair Notebook or obtained from the Program Council, but may also be available in the church office or from the Treasurer.
    3. If you have not spent all the committee's budgeted funds by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the balance will help to offset any deficit in the church budget for the year. July 1 starts the new fiscal year and a full budget line, as approved by the congregation.
14. MINISTER'S WEEKLY EMAIL: Send your articles to Rev Roger Jones for inclusion in the Ministers weekly message sent out by email.
15. WEBSITE: Read the UUSS website regularly to keep current on events and UUSS news and information. A lot of work has gone into creating the new website and keeping it current. Send your comments to webmaster@uuss.org.
16. MORE:Helping Us Help You Better
    1. Things to keep in mind:
       1. Bookkeeper  works only 25 hours per week. The Bookkeeper's primary focus is on Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Bank Reconciliations, all accounting for pledges and other receipts, and computer input for all related duties. She is generally not available for copying, mailings, and other tasks you may want her to perform when she is in the office.
       2. The Office Assistant works only 35 hours per week and is primarily responsible for completing the weekly order of service and Bluesheet on Wednesdays and Thursdays for copying on Fridays. She has many other duties to include answering phones, greeting visitors, sorting mail, office mailings, maintaining directory and updating portions of the UUSS website, assisting with room rentals, updating UUSS calendar, data entry for newcomers, members, friends, weekly emails to members and friends, etc. She is generally not available for committee typing, copying, mailings, etc. If assistance is needed with use of office equipment or mailings she can provide you with some assistance and encouragement. Request should be submitted at least 5-7 business days to the UUSS Business administrator for special assistance. We have a volunteer on Fridays that can do small jobs of copying if the office is notified in advance with a work request. We depend on committee chairs and volunteers and activity group volunteers to do all their administrative tasks.
       3. Members should use the online directory located on the UUSS webpage before calling the office for a telephone number or email address.
       4. Request rooms by using the online room request form for all room reservations and changes/cancellations. All committee and activity group room reservations must be resubmitted each year for recurring committee events by June 1 of each year.
       5. If you want to use the church projector, DVD player and screen you must come in to receive training on setup and use of the equipment well before your meeting/ presentation. We do not permit use of the office laptop for presentations. You must use your own laptop for presentations.
       6. Chairpersons and activity groups are reminded of Building Use Stewardship policy to setup, cleanup, and secure rooms after use. If you or your group are physically unable to setup a custodian may assist if available. This policy was set by the board and you should not expect custodians to setup and cleanup for your meeting.
       7. Chairs, Secretary’s, key person of Board, Committees, and Activity Groups are primarily responsible for administrative task of the group. Webpage maintenance, postings, announcements, listserves, minutes, preparing procedures, policies, etc are examples of functions the office does not perform for groups.
       8. All Job descriptions for Office Personnel are located on the UUSS webpage under files.
       9. UUSS.org listserves may be set up through the Business Administrator but all moderation and administration must be completed by an appointed individual on your committee or activity group. UUSS listservs are limited to groups greater that 25 members or more.
       10. The Business Office spends a great deal of time on scheduling events on the church calendar, coordinating rentals, assisting with memorials of members and renters, and conducting office day to day business. Please limit your time when in the office to conducting business when possible. We are also joyful in discussing personal events in our and your lives with you, but please be cognizant of our time limitations.
       11. Being Green: Encourage all to read the website regularly, stay informed by reading the Unigram, Bluesheet and weekly email messages.
       12. If you notice something that needs repair/correcting please advise us by email if at all possible so we can have a record of your concerns or issues.
       13. Depending on your request for assistance and it is not an emergency, it may take 5-7 days for us to respond to your request. If you have not received a response please send a follow-up to us at the email you originally sent the email to. Our spam filters sometimes filters out valid emails from members and friends.
       14. Pledging: Submit your pledge on a yearly basis during the Stewardship drive and pay your pledge in a timely manner to reduce cost of follow-up.
       15. Office computers are not available for use by non-staff personnel. However, if the person has good computer skills, and a staff person has authorized the use of the computer for some specific UUSS project, the staff member can authorize use of the volunteer account.
       16. Due to bandwidth issues and unauthorized use of our Public Wireless internet connection we have restricted access to the router in the main building. The office can provide you with access information.