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Having been on the Finance Committee in the past, I think this is a good idea overall. Over my 20 years as an advisor and on VST, I have seen almost every chapter I've worked with end up in some sort of finance hell. I also tried to get one chapter set up to accept credit/debit cards and it was so much work and so expensive that we nixed it. OF makes that an option for everybody. I do remember having to recreate the books for an entire year from checking account records, before online banking options existed, (and do the 990) for Alpha Beta before they ended up recolonizing and can honestly say that it's something I would never wish on anybody. Trying to figure out who has paid dues and who hasn't, if a VPF hasn't been vigilant is nearly impossible. It's much easier to figure out disbursements. I think people will feel more positive about it later. Especially since OF provides training for their system. That could help a lot with the VPFs who disappear without training their next officer.
My first knee jerk reaction was "ugh, what a nightmare" but I've put more thought into it since then and am feeling more positive about it.
As an aside, for the first time, the Canadian dollar and the US dollar have reached parity, so that makes things interesting for the Canadian chapters. When they were upset about having to pay everything in US dollars, I pointed out to them that this could work to their advantage some day and, some day may be sooner rather than later at this point. This is a huge financial boon for them.
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