How to reconcile payouts from processors not supported by ExpensePlus?
ExpensePlus supports of the 13 most commonly used payment processors, enabling payment processor transactions to be uploaded to ExpensePlus, which streamlines and simplifies transaction reconciliation. To view detailed information on how this process flow works for each payment processor, click here then select the link for the relevant payment processor.
This article covers how to reconcile donations via payment processors not supported by ExpensePlus.
Set up your payment processor as a donation method
In order to reconcile income transactions received through your payment processor, you will first need to add it as a donation method.
- Within Settings, go to Donation Methods, and select 'Add New Donation Method'.
- In the popup that appears, select the payment processor from the drop-down menu or select 'Other' at the bottom of the list and enter the name.
- Then click 'Submit'.
Note: If when you view your donation methods, you see the payment processor you added appear under 'Payment Processors (Supported)' this means your payment processor is supported by ExpensePlus. If it has a warning triangle next to it, you can convert it into a payment processor account. View this help guide article for instructions on how to reconcile income transactions and set up your payment processor account.
Reconciling payouts that appear on your main bank statement
When you reconcile your uploaded bank transactions, select the payout on the left-hand table of your match transactions screen and click the + button. Then, in the popup that appears, select the transaction type as 'Mixed Income'.
View or download the payout statement from your payment processor.
Within the 'Enter Mixed Income' screen, enter the details for the transactions from your payment processor's payout:
- Named Donations - a line per donation transaction. Select the correct donation method as the name of your payment processor.
- Income (other) - for all other income, such as ticket / book / cafe sales.
- Less Expenditure - for the total of the fees deducted (typically grouped into a single expenditure line).
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't ExpensePlus support my payment processor?
ExpensePlus supports 13 payment processors most commonly used by churches and charities. They require individual setup as every payment processor is different and the payout reports differ too.
Using one of the supported payment processors will save you time and effort as you can simply upload your payout statements each week or month rather than manually entering transactions and splitting the fees from payouts as above.
Can ExpensePlus start supporting my payment processor?
Every year we add hundreds of new enhancements to ExpensePlus. When donation methods that aren't supported become used by a sufficient percentage of churches and charities, where it is possible we add these to those we already support.
Can I just record the total income on my bank statement as income?
No. You need to split the payout amount as described in the process above because you need to record the gross income (not the net income) and record the fees that were paid as expenditure.
In addition, if you do not record individual donations, this information will not show in your donation reports or within donor statements, and you also won't be able to claim Gift Aid.
Top tips when choosing which payment processors to use to collect income:
- Is it supported by ExpensePlus? If so, you will be able to save time and effort by simply uploading your payout statements each week or month rather than manually key in data.
- Can you easily claim Gift Aid on donations? It always surprises us how many churches and charities don't think about Gift Aid, and choose a payment processors that either don't handle Gift Aid, handles Gift Aid but not GASDS, or that doesn't integrate with HMRC.
- What are the transaction fees? Different processors have different transaction fees, typically ranging from 2% to 5%. Different providers have different ways of charging fees, but typically ease of use and functionality can be more important than saving 0.5% in fees.
If you are looking for a donations portal, then check out Love Giving. It's quick to set up, easy to use, and has low fees. Best of all, it's fully integrated within ExpensePlus, including the handling of Gift Aid!
To better understand the Bank Reconciliation functionality, please watch the module overview video here.