Household name is the only one that is required. Write it the way your congregation would say it, for example “The Rosen Family”. This is what appears in your directory, on the dues list, and on donation records, so consistency helps. Pick a pattern and stick to it.Address, city, state, and postal code are the mailing address. Fill these in if you send anything by post, or if you want to be able to see who lives near whom.Phone is the household’s shared number, if it has one. Personal mobile numbers belong on the member record instead.Joined date is when this family joined the congregation. It matters more than it looks: it decides which dues years the household appears on. A household is not shown on a dues year that ended before it joined. If you are importing history and genuinely do not know, leave it empty, and the household will appear on every year. See Households that join mid-year.
The household exists but has nobody in it. Add the people next. See Add a member.Once there is at least one member, you can set the primary contact, which has to be someone in this household.
If you are setting up your congregation for the first time, do not create households one at a time. Bring your existing list across in one go. See Importing members and households.
Open any household from the Members page and choose Edit. Everything above can be changed at any time, including the joined date.Changing the joined date can change which dues years the household appears on. If a household disappears from a year you expected to see it in, the joined date is the first thing to check.
