FirstClass feature showcase #1: Reporting

If you’re a FirstClass user, then you’ll know that the platform has so many functions, all of which have been painstakingly designed to help make legacy management more efficient, more accountable and more advantageous when it comes to monitoring, handling and increasing bequest income.

But do you know everything that the platform has to offer? Possibly not, which is why we’ve decided to launch FirstClass feature showcase – an ongoing series that shines a light of different aspects of the system’s functionality and goes deeper into what it does and how it helps the user.

If you’re not already a FirstClass user, then this series will help you better understand why you should be. First up, then, is reporting.

Ask any user about the benefits of FirstClass, and reporting will likely be in the top three.

After all, it’s the reporting feature that helps charities understand their legacy pipeline, supports accurate forecasting and allows the legacy team to brief trustees on key organisational aspects such as the amount of money that has come in and, equally important, the amount of money that is expected in.

So, here are our top five FirstClass reporting features.

1. Balance of income due

Imagine knowing the balance of income due at any given moment. No just by one legator – but by ALL of them. Now, if you’re a small charity then maybe this isn’t too much of a stretch. But if you have thousands of legators, some of which are gifting over £1,000,0000, then knowing what’s in, what’s owed and when the case is likely to close is essential. Equally, if you want to limit the report to a pre-defined period – such as your organisation’s tax year, or by quarter – then this reporting feature allows you to do just that.

2. Legacy income received

A clear idea of what’s coming in is undoubtedly important. But knowing what’s actually come in is crucial in order to paint an accurate picture when it comes to cashflow. Using this legacy management reporting function, you can establish exactly how much – to the penny – has arrived between any given period. This line-by-line account of what monies have arrived can also be filtered by pecuniary gifts, and even pecuniary gifts by branch allocation type, too.

3. Expenditure by legacy type

Knowing how much each legacy has cost your charity – for example, the legal fees spent on securing a particular legacy – can be invaluable. Equally, if you want to understand how much of the legacy has been allocated to other areas of the organisation, then this report makes determining this level of information quick and easy. As with all FirstClass reports, you can search by pre-defined dates. Also, through the filtering option, you can search via legacy type and expenditure type.

4. Possible duplicate notifications

Imagine reporting to the board of trustees a recent gift of £500,000 – only to then realise that half of it was a duplication, and that the true gift size was £250,000. Or what if not spotting the duplication means the difference between £5,000,000 and £10,000,000? Through this reporting function, users can check for possible duplications by surname and postcode to ensure that all data reported to the organisation is accurate.

5. R185 tax claim

Okay, so this one’s at the more technical end of the reporting spectrum - but it’s important nevertheless. The R185 form provides a statement of income from a trust and helps HMRC ensure that the correct amount of tax is paid on income received. However, HMRC is sometimes paid too much tax. Using FirstClass’s R185 tax claim reporting function, users can quickly establish how much their charity is owed on unclaimed tax.

Would you like a FREE FirstClass report?

Are you already a FirstClass In-House or FirstClass Cloud customer? If so, then you are entitled to two FREE bespoke reports*. Simply approach the FirstClass team with your requirements, and we’ll do the rest.

*Only applies to simple report requests. For clarification speak with a FirstClass representative.

Thinking about maximising your organisation’s bequest management programme? Interested in speaking with the UK’s bequest management software specialists? Contact the FirstClass team on 01257 272730 or email info@firstclass-software.com.

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June 4, 2024

'Emailing!' we hear you cry. 'How is that a feature?'. Email is as prevalent as pen and paper – if not more so. Everyone uses email, but it's crucial to understand how it can be used within the FirstClass platform. Email is critical in helping charities build an online presence. Here are four reasons we believe email deserves a FirstClass feature showcase. 1. Hit send If you rely on an external platform to send and receive emails, then you’re operating outside FirstClass’s secure environment. And it’s one more platform to manage, too. With FirstClass, you can email anyone and everyone related to a specific case. The software works seamlessly with all versions of Outlook, making integration easy. Additionally, you can eliminate email-related admin, which is inevitable when using a third-party email provider. Any email addresses that aren’t on the system can easily be imported. Oh, and everything’s ringfenced, so that only those with admin rights can send emails. 2. Log it When it comes to incoming emails, all attachments, notes, and tags can quickly be logged into the system. So, users can easily track specific items if they've attributed a keyword or search term to them when they go into the legator's records. If, for example, you've previously logged a copy of the will, you can locate and recall that specific document by searching 'copy of the will'. 3. Flexible templates With FirstClass, users can easily create letter templates. While they look exactly like standard printed letters, they can be emailed to anyone in seconds, saving charities time and money in postage fees. Additionally, users can incorporate their own branding, such as logos and fonts, so that all digital communication can be on brand and consistent with other assets. 4. Scans well With FirstClass’s email import attachment wizard, users can log critical documents – such as estate sales brochures, Smee & Ford notifications and sensitive information relating to a case – almost instantly with the scan-to-email functionality. Once an item has been scanned and emailed to the user, they can use the importing attachment tool to select which attachments they would like copied from the email to the FirstClass directory. Ready to go paperless and futureproof your organisation? Contact the FirstClass team on 01257 272730 or email info@firstclass-software.com .