Find out about OPAS and how we use it in our parishes

Since starting her role as Finance Support Manager, for Nottingham Diocese in 2021, Rheann Byrne was tasked with a significant project, rolling out OPAS (online parish accounting system) across one of the largest geographical Catholic dioceses in the country. For some people the words ‘online’ and ‘accounting’ immediately evoke trepidation, but Rheann has managed to successfully deliver OPAS training to 94 people and hopes to support many more.

But what exactly is OPAS and why is Rheann so passionate about it? OPAS is popular because it is an online system which means it doesn’t require parishes to download new software.  It removes some duplication of tasks, is user friendly and easy to pick up by non-qualified users. The bonus is the diocesan Curia Finance Team are well versed in the workings of OPAS, they are on hand to support parishes after training is completed, and in the years ahead.

OPAS was developed by Birmingham and Westminster Archdiocese as a bespoke system for Catholic dioceses, to simplify all the financial complexities, such as submitting annual parish returns, managing gift aid donations, analysing fundraising and other financial tasks. Rheann tells me that it is also easy to adapt, so that it serves individual parishes and their unique requirements.

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“The fundamentals are the same across parishes in common expenditure, but they’re quite different in the way they’re set up so you can make certain elements bespoke for each parish but still be within the constraints of regulations around diocesan accounting.”

Rheann has long standing experience in supporting Catholic parishes with administration and financial compliance. Before she began working for Nottingham Diocese she served as Parish administrator for Olton Friary, for 12 years and she was the first point of contact for the whole parish community; managing administration, finance, IT and GDPR compliance.

She also achieved many significant accomplishments throughout her career, including a BA Honours degree in Business Administration,  GCSE in Italian and in 2021, she was awarded the Ubi Caritas Award by the Archdiocese of Birmingham, in recognition of her service to the diocese.

Throughout all of this, Rheann raised two children and cared for her brother Kyer who was diagnosed with MS back in 1983, when he was only 11 years old.

Rheann tells me: “My brother taught me so much patience! He was reading Shakespeare age 10 and was an amazing poet, but due to muscle wastage from his condition, he was also losing his voice, and it could be very difficult to understand him, so you had to be patient.”

After living “a very full life,” Kyer died in 2016, aged 44. Rheann tells me that her brother’s legacy has been one which has made her even more willing to assist and support others.

“I like people to go step by step, I don’t throw everything at them at once. I like to go at varying speeds, depending on the learner’s abilities,” she explains. “I am quite easy going and supportive. I really want to help people achieve what they want to in a parish. Because I’ve got the experience, I can guide things in a certain way, but I like to do it with people walking with me, not just telling them what to do so! My role is about trying to encourage people to see how OPAS will help them to achieve the goals of their parish.”

If you would like to now more about OPAS please contact opas@dioceseofnottingham.uk

Hear from our parishes

We contacted different OPAS users: Alison Lokes, Parish Administrator at the Cathedral; Anne Cartwright, Parish Office Manager Holy Family Cluster Leicester; Alison Peck, Accounts Our Lady and the Beauvale Martyrs; and Philip Martin, Admin Support with the Dona Machine at Good Shepherd, to about their initial experiences, the ease of use, the benefits they've observed, and their advice for other parishes switching to this system.

Could you share a bit about your experience transitioning to OPAS?

• Alison Lokes: "The programme I was previously using was a very old version of Quick Books, which could not be backed up due to its age, so I was very excited to be able to switch to OPAS as I had heard good things from others about it."

• Philip Martin: The Gift Aid written guidance (albeit 28 pages long!) from the diocese was pretty clear and helpful, although, like most things, it is only when you begin to use the system that things begin to fall into place and the guidance makes sense. It's important also to say that we weren't abandoned after the initial training- both Rheann and Debra (the diocesan Gift Aid administrator) have been very helpful and have promptly responded to any issues we have experienced. I may need to get out more often, but I like using OPAS!

How easy was it to get started with OPAS?

• Anne Cartwright: “The fact that we shared the same accounting system meant that I could take over the day-to-day finances of this Parish relatively seamlessly. Another key benefit is the support that you get from Rheann and now from Liza, the Financial Support Assistant, who are always on hand to help with queries and to help resolve any inputting errors that may occur. They both have access to your OPAS system and can step in at any time to help. They are happy to have short Teams meetings with you too, which can be so much more beneficial than sending emails back and forth."

• Alison Lokes: “Rheann was very committed in making sure I became use to the system, and I was surprised at how quickly I picked it up.”

• Alison Peck: “An additional problem that arose for us is that three parishes merged into one in January 2024. Having two of the three with a full year’s information already on OPAS made the process a little easier from a book-keeping perspective.”

What are the biggest benefits you've seen since using OPAS?

• Alison Lokes: It is very beneficial to have access to the Gift Aid section, as sometimes there is a need to check whether someone is signed up in the parish. And finally, the main bonus of the system, is that Rheann is always on hand, should problems be encountered, and they can be sorted with ease.

• Philip Martin: "The benefits of the system for me are that it helps to produce the quarterly Gift Aid return very quickly and accurately. It is easy to navigate and it enables you to produce data on income and expenditure relatively quickly to inform the production of the parish's Annual Return to the diocese and other parish specific management reports."

• Alison Peck: "As I also do the Gift Aid for the parish, having the Gift Aid linked together with OPAS has been really useful. And the way in which second collections are handled means we are much quicker now at transferring the money to the appropriate people. Once all the data was correct and tidied, the PAR was easier to complete."

Any tips for parishes just starting out with OPAS?

• Alison Lokes: I would imagine that parishes would find the transition from their current system to OPAS would be very smooth, as the system is very easy to use and navigate.  I highly recommend this system.

• Alison Peck: " You will find that you have a few things (both income and expenditure) that could theoretically be counted in more than one way… all equally valid. Decide for your parish how you intend to classify these things, and make a note somewhere – especially if more than one of you is updating OPAS. It helps to be consistent. Think about what you need to capture – you need to record enough information, but don’t over-complicate. If you have a hall and a lot of groups hire it regularly, get those groups added to the list. If you have receipts and can’t enter them immediately into OPAS, make a note on them somewhere exactly what they are for.

• Philip Martin: "Firstly, don't panic! It is a really good system and with time and support form the diocese you'll get to grips with it. Keep up to date- reconcile the transactions on OPAS with the parish bank statement as regularly as possible- once a month as a minimum. Try to avoid backlogs- for example, ensure the offertory envelope donations that are eligible for Gift Aid are entered on the system promptly (each week if possible). The OPAS coding structure is very important and is at the heart of the system - so try to ensure you code transactions correctly from the outset. When in doubt don't guess -seek advice from the diocese OPAS team - they are very supportive."