For a majority of nonprofit organizations, contributions are the main source of income. Organizations receive contributions as payments or pledges. Payments may be gifts, pledge payments, or event registrations paid by cash, check, credit, gifts-in-kind, stock, and property. You can apply payments to many different fundraising vehicles such as pledges, bequests, honor/memorials, and recurring gifts. In addition to contributions, organizations often collect payments for event fees, membership fees, and membership dues. When you receive a payment, its efficient and accurate processing is vital to your business.
A payment record contains information about a payment made by a specific constituent. Payment records store all information related to a single payment in one place. Each payment made to your organization has a separate record. For example, Robert Hernandez contributes $25 toward your Annual Fund. Later in the year, Robert contributes an additional $50 to the same fund. Each time Robert makes a payment, you add a new payment to your database. Later, you can use the program to create reports that describe your fundraising progress.