Welcome to the world of Donation Entry! Subsplash Donation Entry allows you to log external contributions manually, creating a single home for donor management and end-of-year tax statement generation. This article walks you through the Donation Entry workflow from start to finish, enhancing your overall administrative experience.
The Batching Process
Managing manual entries in groups, or batches, helps keep your records organized and accurate.
Create a Batch
Navigate to Giving > Batches within your Dashboard.
Select Create batch in the upper-right corner.
Name your batch and click Save.
The Dashboard automatically takes you to a new page to begin entering your donations. If you navigate away, this batch appears under the Active tab on your main Batches page until you finalize and commit it.
We highly recommend using a date range as part of your batch name, as it makes locating specific donations much easier in the future!
Enter Donations
Select Create Gift in the center or upper-right corner of the page.
Enter the donor's name, the gift amount, the payment method, and the receiving fund.
Fill out any additional applicable gift details.
Click Save.
Prior to committing your batch, you can export your active batch to review it. Click the three dots in the top right and select Export to generate a CSV file.
Adding a New Donor
If a donor does not exist within your Dashboard yet, you can add them on the fly.
Select the + Create... option from the donor dropdown menu.
Enter the first and last name of the donor in the pop-up window.
Select Create.
Take note of any newly created donors while entering gifts. Once you finish the batch, locate the donor profile in People > All people to add additional details like their email or mailing address.
Donation Methods
Donations fall into two main categories: tax-deductible and non-tax-deductible. Within each category, donors can contribute through a variety of methods. Non-tax-deductible donations still count toward the progress of a donor's pledge. For a more detailed breakdown of these donation methods, please check out this article.
Non-tax-deductible donations are counted towards the progress of a donor's pledge.
Split Donations
If a donor wants to allocate their single gift to multiple funds, you can split the entry.
Select the + icon to the right of the Amount field to add a new fund row.
Distribute the amounts accordingly.
Click Create gift.
If you need to remove a fund row, select the X to the right of that row. You may add as many splits as needed. Donations cannot be split within the exact same fund; you must allocate splits to different funds.
Committing a Batch
When you finish entering and verifying your donations, your final step is to commit the batch to your permanent records.
Select Commit Batch in the upper-right corner.
Confirm by selecting Yes, Commit.
Committing the batch moves the entries into your primary giving data. This action makes them searchable on the Gifts page and includes them in your Analytics & Reports. At the same time, the records sync to donor profiles so they show up in their giving history on your church app. The batch will move to the Committed tab on the Giving > Batches page.
After committing a batch, additional donation entries cannot be added to the batch. For information about editing donation entries in a committed batch, please refer to Modifying Donation Entries below.
Managing Batches & Donation Entries
Editing & Deleting Batches
While a Batch is Active, you may delete or rename the batch. To do so, click the three dots in the upper-right corner, then select Rename batch or Delete batch.
Once a batch is committed, you can delete the batch entirely, but you cannot rename it. Select the three dots in the upper right corner to Delete batch.
Remote deposit batches cannot be deleted. For more information about remote deposit, please refer to our complete guide, Bulk Check Scanning & Remote Deposits from Start to Finish.
Modifying Donation Entries
Gifts in Active Batches
Navigate to Giving > Batches and select your active batch.
Select the donation you wish to edit or delete.
Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the entry.
Select Edit gift or Delete gift.
Click Save when finished.
Gifts in Committed Batches
Once a batch is committed, individual entries cannot be deleted, but you can update their details or adjust their status.
Navigate to Giving > Batches.
Select the Committed tab.
Locate the Batch containing the gift you wish to edit.
Select the gift to view its details. You can also open the gift from the Giving > Gifts page.
Click the Pencil icon in the upper-right corner to edit.
Make any necessary changes. While a gift in a committed batch cannot be deleted, you can change its status to Failed.
Select Save when finished. Any edits to the gift will be logged in the Adjustment History section.
Marking a committed entry as Failed prevents it from appearing on the donor's giving statement since it cannot be deleted. The Dashboard logs any edits to the gift in the Adjustment History section for auditing purposes.
Efficiency Tips
Before you begin, we recommend sorting gifts by type. This will allow you to have all of your cash/check donations grouped together inside the batch as you enter them.
Decide if your team will count cash per envelope or enter it as a lump sum. Maintaining individual gift amounts assists your finance team in determining your total number of unique givers and average gift sizes.
You may record a $0.00 value for stocks, bonds, crypto, or in-kind donations initially, and then edit the financial value later once verified.
To log anonymous cash donations, consider creating a donor profile named Anonymous Cash. This keeps your anonymous gifts organized in a simple, searchable way.
Add any new funds or campuses to the Funds or Campuses pages of your Dashboard before starting. They will then automatically appear in your Donation Entry dropdown menus.
FAQs
When recording checks, what is considered the donation date?
The donation date for a check is either the date the organization received it or the date it was mailed, whichever is earlier. This is especially important for donations made around the end of the year. For example, if you received the check in 2026 but it was mailed in 2025, the donation should be recorded as occurring in 2025. (Source 1 & Source 2)
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax advice. For questions about the legal or tax implications of a donation, consult a licensed accountant—ideally one with nonprofit expertise.