CHARMS Fundraising Entrees Explained

The following letter is from our booster club treasurer:

Dear Band Students and Parents,

There has been some confusion regarding the Rock-a-thon entries that show up on the student financial statements in CHARMS.  I am sending out this message to clear things up.

As the Rock-a-thon approached, we started receiving many requests from students/parents who wanted to know how much had been mailed in for them.  Instead of answering each request, I entered the mail-in numbers for each student in their CHARMS account.  They showed up under the fundraising section and were marked “cash”.  This information was only meant to show the current mail-ins and any donations received after that date were not entered.  Also, any donations that were brought in on the day of Rock-a-thon were not entered into CHARMS.

As per IRS rules and CCISD policies, we are not allowed to individually allocate fundraising efforts.  All donations must be used for the entire band and cannot offset any individual band fees or expenses.  The information I entered was only meant to show current donations since some students were trying to meet certain goals.

I have removed the entries from CHARMS for mail-in donations.  Any entries that remain were made on the CHARMS website and were placed there automatically when the donation was made.  Again, all fundraising money must be used to support the entire band and will not be credited to an individual.

Thank you,

Glen Santos
Treasurer, Clear Springs Band Booster Club

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2014 Show Shirt

Heartland Show Shirt Clear SpringsWe are now taking orders for our 2014 Show Shirt the design of which can be seen here, every year we have a shirt with a design that is specific to that year’s show.  This is a great souvenir for both band students as well as family to purchase.  All orders must be made through the CHARMS Store.

ORDER DEADLINE:  WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17!
Order Instructions:
  1. Click here or the CHARMS link at the top of the page.
  2. Students & Parents please login.
  3. Click the “Online Store” icon (guests may click the “Guest Shopping” icon)
  4. Click the button labeled “choose” next to the 2014 Show shirt.
  5. Select your size
  6. Click “No Description (click to add to cart)”
  7. Enter the quantity you want.
  8. Click “Update Cart”
  9. You may repeat the process to add additional show shirts to your order.
  10. When you have finished adding items to your cart click “Checkout”
  11. If paying with credit card, click “Checkout with Paypal” and you will be taken to paypal to complete your order.
  12. If paying with cash or check (payable to “Clear Springs Band”), click “Bill And Print”
  13. Print the order form that appears and drop this order form and your payment in the band hall safe.
Important Notes:
  • You MUST bring in BOTH the order form and your payment if paying with cash or check.
  • Orders are made through the CHARMS online store NOT through the cshschargerband.org online store.
  • Do NOT just make a miscellaneous payment in CHARMS; you must actually order the shirt in the CHARMS online store.
  • Make checks payable to “Clear Springs Band”.  If checks are returned due to insufficient funds, the amount of the check and any additional fees will be added to the student’s account on the campus fine and fee list.

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CHARMS Financial Statement Demystified

The CHARMS financial statement is an incredibly useful tool for both students/parents and directors.  This statement gives students/parents a snapshot of exactly what has been paid and what has yet to be paid.  It includes trips, equipment, uniforms, game meals, band dues, etc….

The statement consists of the trip ledger balance, the fixed payments due, the fundraising balance, and the miscellaneous balance, which are summarized at the top of the financial statement.  We will occasionally email this statement, however, for your convenience it is accessible online 24/7 through CHARMS.  For directions on how to access this statement, scroll to the bottom of this page or click here.

Quick Links:

Click the links below to skip ahead to the section that interests you or simply keep reading to read about all of the sections.

Trip Ledger Balance:

The trip ledger balance will list any trips you will be attending and show each payment you have made and show how much you have left to pay.  You may make an online payment with paypal by clicking on the button labeled “make trip payment” or you may make a trip payment by bringing cash, money order, or cashiers check to Mr. Brown.  Personal checks are not accepted.

If you are not planning on attending any trips and a trip is still listed for you in the trip ledger, it is likely that you have not turned in the trip Letter of Intent indicating that you will not be going on the trip.  For more information on the Letter of Intent and our 2015 Orlando Trip click here.

Fixed Payments Due:

This section will show equipment and uniform purchases, band dues, and game meals.  The due date for each item is listed to the right of each item.

You may make an online payment with paypal by clicking on the button labeled “pay fixed payments” or you may make a fixed payment by bringing cash, money order, or cashiers check to Mr. Brown.  Personal checks are not accepted.  For more information about equipment and uniform purchases read the Equipment Night articles by clicking here and here.  You can also find more information about equipment, band dues, and game meals by reading the Parent Survival Guide in CHARMS.

Fundraising Balance:

IRS rules and CCISD policy does not allow us to have individual fundraising accounts, which means that any amount that an individual fundraises cannot be applied to that individual.  Instead, the amount that an individual fundraises must go into the general fund and benefit everyone.

However, the fundraising balance section of the financial statement is used to track how much each student has fundraised for informational purposes only.  Any amount shown here cannot, per IRS rules and CCISD policy, have any effect on any other portion of the financial statement.

For more information on fundraising visit our fundraising page by clicking here or by clicking the fundraising link in the left sidebar.

Miscellaneous Balance:

As the name suggests, this area is used for any miscellaneous items or costs.  E.g., if a student loses a required equipment item and needs to purchase a new one in the middle of marching season, the item will be listed here.  This section may also include sales tax and shipping for equipment and uniform purchases if they were not purchased on June 3, our tax free day.  If you paid for your equipment and uniform items on June 3 there will not be any sales tax or shipping charges.  There is never any sales tax on band dues or game meals.

Also, CHARMS does not allow a single online payment to be made to multiple sections at the same time, e.g., making a trip payment and paying your game meals at the same time.  To work around this, make a single payment in the miscellaneous ledger and once completed click the “request transfer” tab at the top of the financial statement page and make a request for the payment to be applied to specific areas and items.

You may make an online payment with paypal by clicking on the button labeled “make miscellaneous payment” or you may make a miscellaneous payment by bringing cash, money order, or cashiers check to Mr. Brown.  Personal checks are not accepted.

How to access the CHARMS financial statement:
  1. Click here or the CHARMS link at the top of the page.
  2. Enter your student area password (this will initially be your CCISD student ID)
  3. Click the “finances” icon

Posted on by Lester Williams. 0 comments

Charms Info

charmslogo1

CHARMS is the band’s online database and is used by the directors and boosters to communicate with students and parents through email and text messaging.  CHARMS is much more than an email database though, as there are several items that can easily be tracked including student finances, attendance at band rehearsals, assigned inventory items such as instruments and uniforms, volunteer signup, and forms and handouts. One of the best parts of CHARMS is that students and parents/guardians can login to CHARMS, view all the information listed above, and update their own contact information. In fact, the key to receiving communication from the directors and boosters is to always ensure that BOTH student and parent/guardian email, cell, and cell carrier information is entered and entered correctly.  We cannot overemphasize the importance of this enough.  If this information is not in CHARMS you will miss important information as we do not send information home with students on paper handouts and we do not always make announcements to students in class in order to utilize rehearsal time efficiently.

How do I create a CHARMS account?
  1. Click here to create an account.
  2. Click the “NEW Students Click Here!” button.
  3. On the next page, enter the information in ALL fields (not just the ones in red). This includes email, phone number, instrument, cell phone number, and cell phone carrier (needed in order to receive text messages).
  4. When you are done, be sure to click the green “Register” button.
  5. On the next page, click “Add Adult”. Be sure to click the green “Update” button before leaving the page. Do this for each adult you want to add.
  • How do I login?
  • To login simply click here or the CHARMS link at the top of the page and enter you CCISD student ID, including any leading 0’s.
  • alternatively, you can visit charmsoffice.com directly and use school code “cshschargerband” to access the parent/student area and then enter your CCISD student ID.
How do I get even more information about CHARMS?

The information in this post should be enough to get you started.  Once you have access to CHARMS you will be able to view our Parent Survival Guide as well as our Band handbook. Both of these documents contain additional information about CHARMS.

Posted on by Lester Williams.