Best practices for payment entry
A clean payment database is a strategic asset: it feeds accounting, tax declaration, donor tracking and collection management. A messy database generates duplicates, omissions, disputes and hours of correction. This page gathers operational best practices to enter without error.
The five golden rules
1. Enter immediately, never tomorrow
"I'll do it tomorrow" is the source of 90% of omissions and duplicates.
Minimum commitment: any payment received must be entered within 48 hours. Beyond that, memory fades, supporting documents go missing, and the donor is waiting for their receipt.
2. Systematically contextualize
The Comment field is not optional — it's your institutional memory. With each entry:
- Origin: "Check received by mail on 05/12"
- Context: "Following phone call Gala 2026 campaign"
- Actors: "Cash count by two: Yossi Lévy + Sarah Cohen"
- Supporting documents: "Check number 3045, BNP bank"
Six months later, you or a successor will understand in 5 seconds what happened.
3. Choose the right payment reason
This is the most important choice: it determines where the payment appears next in Unisoft (campaign, fund, pledge, booklet) and in your accounting.
| If the payment honors… | Choose the reason |
|---|---|
| A written or recorded pledge | Donation pledge + selection of the pledge |
| A targeted fundraising campaign | Campaign + campaign name |
| An open fund (renovation, equipment) | Fund + fund name |
| A registration, membership or paid service | Form + selection of the corresponding form |
| A free donation without purpose | Main cash register |
| An allocation for a specific budget | Booklet + selection of the booklet |
In case of doubt, ask the donor or your treasurer. An incorrect reason can be fixed (see Edit a payment), but much later and with effort.
4. Check the contact before saving
Contact duplicates are the most frequent error. Before clicking Create a new contact, search:
- By last name: "Cohen" brings up all the Cohens
- By email: if the donor has already given, their email exists
- By phone: another uniqueness key
If a contact seems close but incomplete (just a first name and last name, no email), enrich it rather than creating a new one.
5. Issue tax receipts without delay
The tax receipt is expected by the donor within the week following their donation. Beyond that:
- The donor calls to worry (your time lost)
- They doubt your seriousness
- They forget to declare it or lose the tax benefit
If the contact has a valid email, check Issue a tax receipt + Send by email as soon as you enter.
Discipline by payment method
| Method | Specific discipline |
|---|---|
| Check | Always enter the check number and bank. Mark the check with a pencil once entered. Deposit at the bank within 7 days. |
| Transfer | Copy-paste the bank label as reference. Enter within 48 hours. Coordinate with bank reconciliation. |
| Cash | Count by two. Signed draft. Enter the same day. Deposit promptly. |
| Online card | Automatic entry. Weekly check that webhooks are working. |
| Donation kiosk | Quickly identify donors who request a receipt. No late finalization (beyond the tax year). |
| In kind | Evaluate carefully. Keep supporting documents (invoices, quotes). Document in comment. |
See the dedicated pages: check, transfer, cash, in kind, donation kiosk.
Team organization
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Secretariat | Entry of checks received by mail, transfers visible on the bank |
| Treasurer | Cash counting (with a second person), overall supervision |
| Collection volunteer | Count by two, hand over to a referent within the week |
| Accountant / chartered accountant | Monthly audit, bank reconciliation, declarations |
| Management | Validation of significant in-kind donations |
Rule: a payment is entered by a single person. If multiple people are likely to do it, the risk of duplicate explodes. Define a clear responsibility by arrival channel.
Weekly checklist
To perform every Friday (15 minutes max):
- All checks from the week are entered and deposited
- All cash is entered and placed in the safe
- Visible transfers on the statement are entered or reconciled
- Kiosk payments are checked (volume consistent with the previous month)
- No tax receipt is delayed by more than a week
- Subscriptions have not experienced unexpected failures
Monthly checklist
To perform on the 5th of the following month (1 hour):
- Bank reconciliation: all credits from the previous month are linked to a Unisoft payment
- Audit of anonymous kiosk payments: are they numerous? Should signage be improved?
- Monthly accounting export sent to the chartered accountant
- Tax receipts: no "No" in the Tax receipt filter for eligible donations
- Potential contact duplicates: quick search on contacts created this month
- Statistics: brief comparison with the previous month (alerts in case of deviation)
Classic pitfalls to avoid
Entering the same check twice
Symptom: at the end of the month, the Unisoft total exceeds the bank total. Prevention: mark the physical check once entered. Always enter the check number. Correction: delete the duplicate, check that only one tax receipt was issued.
Choosing a wrong reason
Symptom: the Pessah campaign displays 0 €, while you clearly received donations for Pessah. Prevention: standardize campaign naming, train the entry persons. Correction: edit the payment to change the reason.
Orphan donor (without linked contact)
Symptom: impossible to find the donor from the Contacts module. Prevention: refuse to click Create a new contact without having searched. Correction: open the payment, change the contact to the right one.
Forgotten tax receipt
Symptom: the donor requests their receipt two months after their donation. Prevention: systematic issuance at entry. Correction: regenerate the receipt from the payment panel and send it.
Cash not reconciled
Symptom: 200 € in cash entered in Unisoft, but no corresponding bank deposit. Prevention: strict workflow count → entry → safe → deposit within 7 days. Correction: immediate audit. If loss confirmed, adjust Unisoft and establish an internal report.
Payment assigned to the wrong budget booklet
Symptom: the "Building" budget is artificially inflated, while you entered general donations on it. Prevention: choose the booklet at entry, don't leave the default. Correction: edit the payment or reassign via transfer in Accounts.
Prepare a bulk entry session
If you have 30 checks to enter at once (the day after a major campaign):
- 1
Sort the checks
By campaign or reason, to only change this field for each sub-batch.
- 2
Prepare the materials
Paper draft, pen, "Entered" stamp, computer at hand.
- 3
Enter in series
For each check: new form, complete entry, validation. Stamp or mark with pencil.
- 4
Check the total at the end
The Unisoft total of the session must equal the physical total counted.
- 5
Prepare the bank deposit
Slip prepared with the XLSX export.
Go further
- Add a payment — basic procedure
- Edit a payment — correct an error
- Filter my payments — weekly audit
- Export for accountant — monthly closing
- Tax receipts — issuance discipline