Lesson 7.1 – Importing Transactions (Batch Processing)

Welcome to Module 7! As your nonprofit grows, you may collect donations and receipts from multiple outside channels—such as third-party credit card processors, separate website donation pages, ticket sales platforms, or member dues billing. Manually entering hundreds of these transactions one by one is time-consuming and prone to error.

FastFund Raising solves this by providing a robust Transaction Import tool that allows you to upload bulk files into an unposted batch, review them for accuracy, and post them all at once.

In this lesson, we will explore how to format your import files, handle data errors, and successfully post a batch of transactions.

1. Supported Transactions and Prerequisites

Before you begin an import, you must ensure that your FastFund database is prepared to receive the data. The target Chart of Accounts, Donors, Appeals, and Gifts must already be established in your system.

FastFund allows you to import the following transaction types:

• Cash Gifts
• Cash Receipts
• Pledges
• In-Kind Contributions

Crucial Rule: You cannot import Pledge Payments. Because an imported file does not contain the specific system links tying the payment to the original open pledge, pledge payments must be entered or applied manually.

2. Using CSV Templates

FastFund strictly requires your import file to be formatted as a Comma Delimited (.csv) file. Furthermore, each transaction type has a specific, downloadable template that your data must match perfectly.

Required Fields for Import generally include:

• Entity ID, Entity Name, or Entity Email: FastFund uses one of these three fields to find the existing donor in your database.
• Date: Must match the date format established in your Company Preferences (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY).
• Reference: The check number or transaction ID.
• Appeal & Gift: Must be valid, active designations in your system. The Gift must be actively linked to the chosen Appeal, or the transaction will be flagged with an error upon import.
• Amount: The transaction total in a two-digit currency format.

Note: If your file contains extra columns not found in the template, the file will be rejected. Each transaction must reside on a single row.

3. The Import Process

Once your CSV file is formatted correctly using the template, you are ready to upload the batch.

Steps to Import a Batch:

1. Navigate to Transactions on the Main Menu, and under the ACTIVITIES section, click Batch Processing.
2. Click the New + icon or the Transaction Import link.
3. From the Import Type drop-down, select the type of transaction you are uploading (e.g., Cash Gift).
4. Set your Receipt Preference (Email, Print, or No Receipt) and select the corresponding Receipt Template.
5. In the Import File area, click Browse, locate your CSV file, and click Open.
6. Click IMPORT.

If the file format is valid, a Preliminary Summary window will appear displaying the total number of names and rows to be processed. Click IMPORT again to load the transactions into the unposted batch screen.

4. Reviewing and Correcting Errors

Importing a file does not immediately hit your general ledger or donor histories; the transactions land in a Batch Details staging area for your review.

If any transaction contains invalid data, it will appear in the Batch Details list highlighted in red, accompanied by a hint explaining what is missing or incorrect. The most common error is a donor name in your CSV file that does not exactly match an existing constituent in your FastFund database.

To Correct an Error:

1. Click on the red transaction line to open the Transaction Details window.
2. If the donor is missing or spelled differently, you can manually select the correct donor from the drop-down.
3. If it is a brand-new donor who isn’t in your system yet, you can use the Quick-Add feature directly from this window to build their constituent profile on the fly.
4. Once corrected, click SAVE. The transaction line will change from red to standard coloring.

5. Posting the Batch

When all errors are resolved, the batch is ready to be finalized. FastFund automatically handles the accounting side for you—for example, automatically posting Cash Gifts to the Undeposited Funds offset account, or Pledges to the Pledge Receivable offset account.

To Post:

1. In the Batch Details window, use the check boxes to select the transactions you wish to post (or use the Select All box).
2. Click the Selected drop-down menu and choose Post Selected.
3. A confirmation window will appear; click OK to permanently post the batch to your donor histories and general ledger.