Receipts

Choose whether to generate single individual receipts for all one-time donations. By default, a link to download these receipts will also be automatically emailed to supporters. To disable this, set the One-time receipt email to Do not send in your main Dashboard email settings.

Choose whether or not to generate separate receipts for each installment of recurring donation plans.

An annual summary receipt is a single receipt that covers all the installments made in a tax year as part of a recurring plan.

Annual summary receipts only include installments for which a receipt has not previously been generated. If a recurring plan included 12 installments in the course of the tax year and receipts were generated for the first 6 of those, only the latter 6 (for which no receipts have yet been generated) will be included in the annual summary receipt for that recurring plan.

Page one of an example annual summary receipt for a Canadian organization.

Page two of an example annual summary receipt for a Canadian organization.

If annual receipts are generated from the parent account, they will also be generated for all recurring plans linked to the sub-accounts, provided the subaccounts inherit the parent account’s payment methods settings.

When annual summary receipts are generated, they are automatically sent out to supporters by email too. Once generated, they can then be found in both the Donor Portal and the Dashboard.

Donations made just before the end of the tax year will be included in the annual summary receipt for that tax year, once they have processed successfully. This is because the annual summary receipt includes all installments of the recurring plan that were created in the selected tax year, provided they eventually process successfully.

For this reason, we strongly recommend generating annual summary receipts no earlier than 2 weeks after the tax year ends. Some payment methods can take up to 2 weeks to process, so leaving extra time after the end of the tax year ensures all installments, including those made in the last days of the tax year, have time to process and are then included in annual receipts.

Refunded or disputed donations are not included in annual summary receipts.

Annual summary receipts are automatically reissued when included donations are refunded or disputed, or when supporter details or designation change.

• If some donations remain, the receipt is reissued with status Updated.
• If all included donations are refunded or disputed, the receipt is reissued with status Canceled. The receipt shows a total of 0 in the currency of the recurring plan, does not include a list of donations, and is marked “Canceled.”

Reissued receipts include the note: “This receipt was reissued and replaces any previously issued receipts.”

When you click Generate annual receipts, you’ll then be asked to give the first day of the tax year in your country. For example, in the USA or Canada this would be January 1st, whereas in the UK it would be April 6th. All dates and times are calculated using your organization’s timezone.

Calculating the year

Once you’ve picked a start date, you’ll see the exact date range, with the year included, for which receipts will be generated.

The tax year end date is automatically set as one calendar day previous to your tax year start date.

The year for generation is set as follows:

• the tax year start date is set as one calendar year earlier than the current year
• the tax year end date is set within the current calendar year (with one exception: if the tax year start date is set as January 1st, then the end date of the previous year — i.e. the 31st of December in that chosen tax year — will be the end date).

Examples

• On June 1st, 2024, you choose to generate annual summary receipts and set the Tax year start date as April 6th. Annual receipts will be generated for April 6th 2023 to April 5th 2024.
• On February 1st, 2024, you choose to generate annual summary receipts and set the Tax year start date as January 1st. Annual receipts will be generated for January 1st to December 31st 2023.
• On November 1st, 2024, you choose to generate annual summary receipts and set the Tax year start date as December 1st. Annual receipts will be generated for November 1st to December 31st 2023. Note that this is not a complete tax year.

The last screen will let you review the details before the annual receipts are generated and emailed to your supporters.

Once you’ve generated your first batch of annual summary receipts, you’ll see it in the receipt generation history table.

The receipt template can be customized to include custom images and text.

This is the logo that will be displayed at the top right of the PDF.

• Minimum resolution: 160×160 px
• Recommended resolution: 320×320 px

You can use the Receipt ID property to create a custom identifier by combining alphanumeric characters and predefined merge tags. This functionality enables you to match your organization’s existing receipt formatting structure or adhere to regulatory requirements within your locale.

Merge tags

You can create custom IDs for your individual donation receipts and for your annual summary receipts. You can combine merge tags to create these custom receipt IDs.

Available merge tags for individual receipts:

• Year: The year the donation was made, formatted as a four-digit number.
• Sequential number: A unique, incrementing number that starts with 1.
• Annual sequential number: A sequence that starts at 1 on the first day of the year and resets at the beginning of the next year.
• Month: The month the donation was made, formatted as a two-digit number.
• Donation ID: The unique identifier for the donation in Fundraise Up.
• Recurring sequential number (monthly): A sequence that starts at 1 on the first day of the month and resets at the beginning of the next month.

Available merge tags for annual receipts:

• Receipt issue year: The year the receipt was generated and sent. This reflects when the annual summary receipt was issued, not the tax year it covers.
• Recurring start year: The year of the first payment in a recurring plan. This helps organizations include the start year of a supporter’s recurring plan in the receipt ID.
• Tax period year: The year of the tax period covered by the annual summary receipt. This is determined by the tax year start date selected when generating the annual summary receipt.
• Sequential number: A unique, incrementing number that starts with 1.
• Annual sequential number: A sequence that starts at 1 on the first day of the year and resets at the beginning of the next year.
• Recurring plan ID: The unique identifier for the recurring plan in Fundraise Up.

Prefixes/postfixes

Because you can include alphanumeric characters for the Receipt ID value, you can add custom prefixes or postfixes to your identifier.

Example: [ORG] 123, or 123 [ORG]

Special characters

You can use special characters such as hyphens, brackets, or underscores, to create a custom format for your receipt identifier.

Example: Receipt_1234_06-2023, or MY-CHARITY_2-40_ABCDEDGH

This image will be displayed above the signature name. In some regions, you may be required by law to include a signature image on the receipt.

There are no resolution requirements for this image, but we recommend uploading a high-quality PNG image with either a transparent or white background.

Requirements for Canadian organizations

If your organization is based in Canada, a signature image should always be included to comply with the Canadian Revenue Agency’s receipting requirements. The signature should belong to someone who is authorized to acknowledge donations on the organization’s behalf.

The signature name property is a text field where you can include the name of the person responsible for processing donations or managing the organization. Most organizations include the name and title of their CEO or executive director.

The footer text property is a multi-line text area where you can include boilerplate legal and regulatory information. This text should be reviewed and modified as needed before accepting donations to ensure it meets any compliance requirements.

For receipts issued by Canadian organizations, to comply with Canadian law, the footer will always automatically include:

Canada Revenue Agency · canada.ca/charities-giving · Agence du revenu du Canada · canada.ca/fr/services/impots/bienfaisance.html

At the beginning of each month, we automatically generate a ZIP archive of all donation receipts that were issued during the previous month. To access these archives, go to Dashboard > Settings > Receipt > Download Receipts.

List of archives with monthly receipts

The archive contains receipts in PDF format, organized by their date of issue, not the actual date the donation was made. This means that a receipt issued in September but for a donation made in August will be found in the September archive.

If a receipt is changed, the new version will be saved in the same archive as the original if the change happens in the same month. But if the change happens in a different month, the new version will be saved in the archive for that month.

The archive includes receipts with the following types:

• Standard: This is the initial receipt generated after a successful donation. There is only one “Standard’ receipt per donation.
• Refunded: This receipt is generated when a donation is refunded. Only one “Refunded” receipt is generated per refund.
• Updated: This receipt can be generated multiple times. It is generated whenever a supporter's personal information is updated after the initial donation or after a refund.

Different types of receipts allow you to track changes in payment status over time. For example, if a payment was initially successful but was later refunded, both versions of the receipt will be included in the archive.

For donations with multiple receipt versions, only the most recent version within that month is included.

Test donations are not included in the archives.

Some countries have specific legal or regulatory requirements for how donation receipts must be formatted. Fundraise Up supports country-specific formatting for the following countries:

• Australia
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• United States

Receipts are issued in the default language set for your Fundraise Up account. You can configure your default language from the Localization page in Dashboard settings.