This guide is designed for bookkeepers working within an organisation.
Our aim is to help you get started with handling data from OnlineFundraising and to make your bookkeeping tasks easier.
In this guide, you will find:
A short introduction to key terms
The systems you need access to
An overview of when different payment providers release funds
Practical tips for reconciling payments
How to handle refunds
We also recommend watching our webinar on bookkeeping, which you’ll find linked at the end of this guide.
Key terms explained
When a donor completes a form and approves a payment, a lot happens behind the scenes. Having a basic understanding of this process can be very helpful.
Below, we explain how things work for both one-off donations and regular giving agreements.
Note: Blue text indicates a link to a more detailed article.
| One-off donation | |
| Who does what? | What happens in OnlineFundraising |
| The donor completes the form and submits it | A Contact and a Payment are created with status Pending. |
| The donor authorises (e.g. swipes in MobilePay) | If the payment is not authorised, the Contact is kept but the Payment status is set to Cancelled / Rejected / Failed. |
| The Gateway withdraws the funds | The Payment status changes to Charged and is time-stamped. |
| The Acquirer releases the funds | |
| The bookkeeper reconciles | Data can be retrieved on the Purpose Accounting Code from OnlineFundraising or from the CRM. |
| Recurring agreement | |
| The donor completes the form and submits their details | A Contact, a Subscription and an Agreement are created with status Pending. |
| The donor authorises |
MobilePay: The donor swipes, and the agreement status changes to Active. If immediate payment is required, the Payment status changes to Charged. A receipt is sent to the donor. |
| OnlineFundraising sends withdrawal requests at the agreed frequency | A Payment is created for each withdrawal, with the status reflecting its stage – Pending, Charged, Cancelled, Refunded, etc. |
| The Gateway withdraws the funds | The Payment status is updated. |
| The Acquirer releases the funds | |
| The bookkeeper reconciles | Data can be retrieved on the Purpose Accounting Code from OnlineFundraising or from the CRM. |
As mentioned above, this is only a brief introduction to the topic.
We recommend that you take part in the New to OnlineFundraising course to get a proper introduction.
Which systems do you need access to?
In addition to access to OnlineFundraising, you will also need access to the various payment methods.
Here you can view transaction details and gain insight into applicable fees.
| Gateway | Acquirer | Who pays out to the bank | Where to find the fee overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| NetsEasy | NetsEasy or Teller | Nets | Fee report available from NetsEasy |
| ePay | Bambora | Bambora | ePay transaction costs appear on the invoice from OnlineFundraising |
| QuickPay | Clearhaus* or Teller | Clearhaus | Export from Clearhaus’ payout overview. Shows total per payout, but also possible to view fee per individual payment |
| SMS-CPH | 4T | OnlineFundraising | Invoice from OnlineFundraising |
| Betalingsservice | — | Mastercard (owner of BS) | Invoice from Mastercard |
| Vipps / MobilePay | — | Vipps / MobilePay** | Vipps / MobilePay self-service portal |
* Clearhaus closes the day/month at 21:00. Any payments made after 21:00 will be included in the following day’s payout.
** This applies to MobilePay Subscription – i.e. recurring agreements and MobilePay Number – but not to one-off donations, as these are handled by the card acquirer (NetsEasy, ePay or QuickPay).
When are the funds paid out?
One of the challenges for you as a bookkeeper is that payouts are not made with the same frequency across all payment methods. This is determined by the acquirer. Get a full guide here >
Tips for reconciling payouts
We have a number of articles that can help you with bookkeeping:
Finally, you should also know how to issue a refund in OnlineFundraising.