Help and fixes
ACK St. James Kanyange
Find the problem you are seeing, and what to do about it. No technical knowledge needed.
44 of 44 answers shown
Public website
I tried to open the member or staff sign-in from the main website and landed somewhere else
Usually affects: Visitors
Why: The main website never signs anyone in. Sign-in lives on its own addresses: portal.ackkanyange.or.ke for members and ministries, staffportal.ackkanyange.or.ke for staff.
What to do
- Use the Sign in button; it takes you to the correct address.
- Bookmark the portal address you use.
The Give page opened but I do not know which fund to choose
Usually affects: Visitors
Why: The fund list is set by the treasurer.
What to do
- Choose Tithe for ordinary giving, or the named fund if you were asked to give to a special appeal.
- You can change the amount before you approve.
A sermon, event or photo is missing
Usually affects: Visitors
Why: It may still be a draft or waiting for approval.
What to do
- Reload the page.
- Ask the content owner to check it is published, not saved as a draft or waiting in Pending changes.
The bulletin will not download or print
Usually affects: Visitors
Why: The browser blocked the pop-up preview.
What to do
- Allow pop-ups for the site.
- Press Download bulletin (PDF), then Print / Save as PDF in the preview.
- Use Chrome or Edge for page numbers.
Member portal
I forgot my password
Usually affects: Members
Why: Passwords are never shown; they are reset by email.
What to do
- Open the sign-in page and choose Forgot password.
- Open the email on the same device and follow the link.
- Check Spam or Junk if nothing arrives in a few minutes.
If it continues: Call the parish office if the email never arrives.
Signed in, but the portal asks me to confirm my identity
Usually affects: New members
Why: The portal could not match your account to a member record automatically.
What to do
- Enter your member number and the phone number the parish has on file.
- Press Verify & continue.
- Once matched, the portal remembers the link.
If it continues: If you do not know your member number, ask the parish office. Staff can link your email to your record.
My giving record or statement is empty or missing a gift
Usually affects: Members
Why: Your account email is not linked to your member record, or the gift was recorded under another name, or an M-Pesa gift is still being confirmed.
What to do
- Make sure you signed in with the email the parish has for you.
- Wait two minutes after an M-Pesa gift and refresh.
- Ask the office to link your email to your member record.
If it continues: Treasurer checks the giving entry and the M-Pesa callback log.
The portal says it is switched off
Usually affects: Members
Why: Staff can switch the member portal off from Portal control, for example during updates.
What to do
- Wait and try later; the message from the parish is shown on the screen.
If it continues: Contact the parish office if it stays off.
I want to use the portal like an app on my phone
Usually affects: Members
Why: The portal can be installed from the browser.
What to do
- Open the portal in Chrome (Android) or Safari (iPhone).
- Choose Add to Home screen.
- It will open straight to sign-in.
I stay signed in on a shared computer
Usually affects: Members
Why: Remember me keeps you signed in for up to 30 days.
What to do
- On shared computers, untick Remember me when signing in.
- Always press Sign out when finished.
Ministry & department portals
My ministry has no sign-in page, or it says sign-in is closed
Usually affects: Ministry leaders
Why: Each ministry sign-in can be added, hidden or disabled by the webmaster in Portal control.
What to do
- Check you are using the correct ministry address.
- Ask the webmaster to enable the ministry sign-in.
I signed in but I cannot see my ministry dashboard
Usually affects: Ministry leaders
Why: You may be a ministry member, not the leader. Leaders and admins go to the ministry portal; members go to the member portal.
What to do
- Ask the webmaster to set you as the ministry leader.
- Sign out and in again after the change.
Join requests or members are not showing
Usually affects: Ministry leaders
Why: Requests wait for the leader or an administrator to approve them.
What to do
- Open the Requests tab on the ministry portal and approve or decline.
The meeting time shown is wrong
Usually affects: Ministry leaders
Why: Ministry meeting times can follow a service time set by the webmaster.
What to do
- Ask the webmaster to correct the ministry's meeting time or the linked service.
Staff portal (admin)
I forgot my staff password
Usually affects: Staff
Why: Passwords are reset by email.
What to do
- On the staff sign-in page press Reset password and enter your staff email.
- Open the link on the same device.
- If nothing arrives, check Spam, then ask the webmaster to resend.
My account says it is locked
Usually affects: Staff
Why: By default, 5 wrong passwords pause sign-in for 15 minutes (administrators can change this in Security).
What to do
- Wait for the pause to end, then try again.
- Or reset your password to start fresh.
If it continues: Administrators can review attempts in Activity & visits.
I signed in but cannot see anything
Usually affects: New staff
Why: A new account needs an administrator to give it a staff role first.
What to do
- Ask the administrator to add your role in Staff & roles.
- Sign in again after the role is added.
A page I expect is missing from my menu
Usually affects: Staff
Why: Your role does not allow that page. The menu only shows what your role may use.
What to do
- Check with the administrator which roles you hold.
- Ask for the page, or the role, to be added.
If it continues: Administrators can review the permission grid.
I was asked to change my password
Usually affects: Staff
Why: A temporary or expired password must be changed before using the dashboard.
What to do
- Follow the Change password page.
- Choose a password that meets the security policy.
My change did not go live
Usually affects: Staff
Why: Your role may need approval, or you were using the data-entry desk, where every entry waits for an administrator.
What to do
- Open Pending changes (or Approvals) and check for the entry.
- An approver opens it, compares, then approves or rejects with a note.
A member or ministry account tried the staff page
Usually affects: Members and ministry leaders
Why: Staff sign-in is only for parish staff. Other accounts are sent to the portal.
What to do
- Use the member portal or your ministry sign-in instead.
Data-entry clerk cannot sign in or lost their PIN
Usually affects: Data-entry clerks
Why: PINs are issued by the administrator and are never shown again.
What to do
- Ask the administrator to set a new PIN in Data-entry clerks.
- Never share a PIN.
A rejected entry came back
Usually affects: Data-entry clerks
Why: An approver rejected it with a note.
What to do
- Read the note, correct the record and send it again.
A page shows blank or "You don't have access" for one role
Usually affects: Staff
Why: The database refuses that table to the role.
What to do
- Ask the administrator to check the permission grid for that role.
If it continues: Webmaster checks the role and its row-level security.
The dashboard shows a dash instead of 0
Usually affects: Staff
Why: A dash means your role is not allowed to read that count. It is never a real zero.
What to do
- No action needed, or ask the administrator for access.
Live updates stopped or say Offline
Usually affects: Staff
Why: The live connection dropped.
What to do
- Press Refresh.
- Reload the page; live updates resume.
Giving & M-Pesa
An M-Pesa gift did not appear
Usually affects: Treasurer
Why: Confirmation from Safaricom can take a couple of minutes, or the callback did not arrive.
What to do
- Wait two minutes and refresh Giving.
- Ask the treasurer to check the callback log.
- Do not ask the giver to pay again until confirmed.
If it continues: Webmaster checks the M-Pesa callback address and secret.
A gift is waiting for approval
Usually affects: Treasurer
Why: Where the grid requires approval, the entry stays pending until an approver confirms it.
What to do
- The approver (treasurer, churchwarden or vicar) opens the entry and approves.
- The person who created an entry should not approve it.
Fund transfer does not balance
Usually affects: Treasurer
Why: A transfer must have both sides and a reason.
What to do
- Open the transfer and check both funds appear in the ledger.
- Correct with a new transfer; do not edit history.
Printing & certificates
The Print button is hidden
Usually affects: Everyone
Why: The preview is taller than the screen.
What to do
- Scroll within the preview; the button is pinned at the bottom.
- Reload and report the device and browser if it stays hidden.
Printed text is too small or too large
Usually affects: Everyone
Why: Text size follows the parish print settings.
What to do
- Change your own scale in the preview, or ask the webmaster to adjust Text size under Webmaster Tools, Printing.
Page numbers are missing
Usually affects: Everyone
Why: Not every browser supports them.
What to do
- Use Chrome or Edge and check that Page numbers is on.
A certificate cannot be verified
Usually affects: Public
Why: The code was mistyped, or the entry was removed.
What to do
- Open the link or QR code printed on the certificate (/verify/code).
- Type the code exactly as printed.
If it continues: Contact the parish office.
Email & newsletter
Emails do not arrive
Usually affects: Staff
Why: Emails are queued and sent in a background job every couple of minutes.
What to do
- Wait a few minutes.
- Check Spam folders.
- Ask the webmaster to check the email queue for failed messages.
A newsletter is stuck or only partly sent
Usually affects: Staff
Why: Some recipients failed.
What to do
- Open the newsletter history and use Retry to send only to people it failed for.
- Use Duplicate to start a new draft from an old one.
Someone wants to stop receiving the newsletter
Usually affects: Staff
Why: Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link.
What to do
- Ask them to use the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email, or remove them in Subscribers.
Windows apps
Windows shows "Windows protected your PC"
Usually affects: Office staff
Why: The installer is not code-signed, so SmartScreen warns.
What to do
- Click More info, then Run anyway.
The app shows a blank window or an offline screen
Usually affects: Office staff
Why: The computer is offline or the page did not load.
What to do
- Check the internet connection.
- Use Reload (Ctrl+R) from the app menu.
The M-Pesa or bank page opened in my browser
Usually affects: Office staff
Why: External links always open in your normal browser. This is expected.
What to do
- Complete the payment there.
Any portal
The page shows "Checking your sign-in…" for a long time
Usually affects: Everyone
Why: The browser is waiting for the sign-in check, usually on a slow or dropped connection.
What to do
- Wait about 20 seconds on mobile data.
- Check your internet connection, then reload the page.
- If it keeps spinning, sign out and sign in again, or try a private/incognito window.
If it continues: If it happens on every device, tell the webmaster; it may mean the database is slow or down.
A message says the site is under maintenance
Usually affects: Everyone except admins
Why: Maintenance mode is on. It stays on until an administrator switches it off, and anyone who is not an admin is signed out.
What to do
- Nothing is broken. Come back later.
- Administrators can still sign in to switch maintenance off (Webmaster Tools).
If it continues: Ask the webmaster how long the maintenance will last.
I was signed out suddenly
Usually affects: Everyone
Why: Sessions end after a period of inactivity, or an administrator used "sign out everyone", or maintenance mode started.
What to do
- Sign in again.
- Re-enter any form you were filling in; unsaved work may be lost.
If it continues: If it happens within minutes of signing in, tell the webmaster.
Pages look broken, old, or will not update after a release
Usually affects: Everyone
Why: The browser is holding an older copy of the site.
What to do
- Reload with Ctrl+Shift+R (Cmd+Shift+R on Mac).
- On a phone, close the tab and reopen the site.
- If you installed the portal to your home screen, remove it and add it again.
The Sign in button stays greyed out
Usually affects: Everyone
Why: The security check (Turnstile) has not finished, or it is being blocked.
What to do
- Wait a few seconds.
- Switch off ad-blockers or privacy extensions for this page.
- Check your connection and reload.
If it continues: If it never enables on any device, the webmaster must check that the site address is allowed in the Turnstile settings.
Still stuck?
Call the parish office (Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm) or write to us.