Add a Recurring Credit Card Donation

Recurring donations are credit card donations that are automatically processed on a repeating schedule. Donors may submit recurring donations via one of your online donation forms, or system users can manually enter recurring donations into Salsa CRM directly.

To enter a recurring donation into Salsa CRM directly...

1. Click the +Add button from the toolbar.

2. Click Gift. The New Donation screen opens.

3. Add all required fields, which are the fields at the top of the screen, above the tabs.
   
4. Click the Payment Type drop-down menu, and then select Recurring (not Credit Card).  
5. Click the Details button. The Recurring Details screen opens.                                                                
6. The Recurring Amount represents the amount of the transaction that gets paid every time.
7. The Frequency represents how often the system should go out and attempt to charge the recurring payment. Set the installment payment Frequency by clicking on the Frequency drop-down and selecting the appropriate period, then press Tab.
8. Type the Starting date payments should begin. Alternately, click the Calendar button, click the date, then click OK.

9. Assign credit card information to pay the installments when they are due:

   • Click the New button to assign a new credit card to the recurring payment. Follow the same steps as listed in the Entering a Credit Card Donation article. After you save your new credit card, the credit card's last four digits and the Card Type display in that area.

   • If the donor has a credit card on file, you can choose to use an existing card by selecting that card entry from that drop-down menu.

10. Click the Schedule Payments button. Salsa CRM will generate a schedule of equal installments based on the frequency selected. Installments will be generated until the expiration date of the credit card.

11. Click OK.

12. Finish entering the donation as you typically would.

13. Click Save.

Recurring donation payments are processed automatically at 7 AM in the time zone of your account. If installments are created between midnight and 7 AM, they will be processed on the same day; if installments are created after 7 AM, they will be processed the next day. 

If you create a new, recurring donation with the first installment due the same day—and you want the first installment paid immediately—click the Make Installment button within the Payment Type section of the donation record. Otherwise, the first payment will occur the next day at 7 AM.

Once you click the Make Installment button, a notification will appear to confirm your choice.

If you click "Process Now," you'll be taken to a standard donation page representing the first installment of the recurring donation. You can proceed normally from there, completing the necessary fields and charging the donor's credit card as needed. Future installments will process automatically as scheduled.

Installment payments are assigned to batches automatically, which are labeled 'Auto YYYY.MM', where YYYY corresponds to the current year and MM corresponds to the month in which the transaction is scheduled.

If payments are not being processed in a timely fashion, please check Cardpointe for errors relating to the stored credit card. If necessary, check with Salsa Customer Support to get help on recurring donation issues.