We know that tracking and managing donations should be simple and seamless. Whether you’re adding individual contributions or processing a batch deposit, our system is designed to save you time while keeping your records accurate. There are two routes you can take in entering in your donations into your Aplos system. Your real time deposit process you have set up with your organization may determine which option you choose.

1. Contributions screen: If you receive a steady stream of donations from day to day but do not deposit them until later in the week, you may want to enter in each individual donation as you receive them and then batch them together to create a deposit on the day you are going to the bank. 

2. Deposits screen: If you tend to receive your money all on one day (i.e. Sunday Church Services, Events, etc.) and deposit all of that money at once, you may just want to create a batch deposit with all donations included on one screen.

You may find that both options you use interchangeably depending on the type of money you are receiving and how often you are depositing it to the bank. 

Now let’s walk through both of these processes for entering in your donations into Aplos.

Recording Contributions

Step 1: Add a Contribution

To record a single donation, navigate to Donations -> Contributions -> Contributions and click the green + button in the top right corner.

Step 2: Fill Out the Contribution Form

This will open a form where you can enter the details of the donation. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*), so be sure to complete those to save your entry. Once entered, your contributions will automatically generate in the Contributions list, which can be sorted using the column headers.

Here’s a breakdown of the fields on this form:

• Donor Name: Select the donor from your contact list or add a new one.

• Purpose: Select what the donor would like to allocate their money to.
  • to learn more about purposes check out this resource.
• Acknowledged Status: A manual process for you to keep track of donor's you have not thanked for their individual contribution. If the donation has not been acknowledged, mark it as “Unacknowledged”. Select “Acknowledged” if you have already thanked the donor or “Ignore” if you do not plan to do so.
• Contribution Date: This will be the date the donation was given (not the day it was deposited or cleared in your bank)

• Amount: Enter the total donation amount.

• Reference ID: if your organization assigns IDs for each transaction you can enter that here, if not you can utilize this field to enter in a check number if the donor gave via check

• Expense Amount: If a donation is processed online, include any processing fees here. Enter the full donation amount in the Amount field, and the processing fee in the Expense Amount field. Your accounting records will then reflect the net donation.

• Non-Tax Deductible (NTD) Amount: If a portion of the donation is non-tax deductible, enter that amount here. This is useful for fundraising events where a portion of a donation covers the cost of goods or services (e.g., event tickets). Contribution statements will automatically display both tax-deductible and non-deductible amounts.

• Soft Credit Contact: If another individual or organization influenced the donation but is not the direct donor (e.g., a foundation giving on behalf of an individual), you can assign them a soft credit. This ensures they’re recognized without receiving a contribution statement.
  
  

Once you’ve filled out the form, click Save & Close to return to the Contributions page or Save & Add to continue adding more donations.

As you enter contributions, you will see them generate in your Contributions list. This page can be sorted by clicking on column headers if needed.

You can also search the contributions screen by the contact name or donation information.

Depositing Contributions

Aplos makes it easy to track donations in your accounting system. Any un-deposited contributions will display a checkbox. Simply check the box for the donations you want to include in a batch and click Create Deposit.

This will open the Contributions Deposit Form, where you’ll enter:

• Deposit Date: The date the funds were deposited into the bank.

• Batch Name: A reference name for the batch deposit (e.g., “March 15 Event Donations”).

• Description: Any relevant details about the deposit. (optional)

• Bank Account: The asset account where the deposit should be recorded.

Once all details are entered, click Save, and the batch deposit will be recorded in your accounting records. You can edit deposits anytime from the Deposits page.

Note: If the deposit has been reconciled in your accounting, any edits you make from the Deposits screen will NOT be applied to the accounting transaction.

Creating Batch Deposits

If you’ve already made a bank deposit, or are getting ready to, and you would like to record multiple donations at once, you can do so by navigating to Donations -> Contributions -> Deposits and selecting the green + button in the top right corner

This will bring up the same contribution deposit form that is seen when depositing individual contribution. Record the details of each donation, choose a batch date, name, and description, then choose your bank account, and click Save. To add more contribution records to the batch, click the "Add Another Row" option.

Your deposit will now be reflected in your bank account records, and you can edit it anytime from the Deposits page.

Printing a Deposit Slip

For record-keeping purposes, you can print a PDF version of your deposit entry. Simply navigate to the Deposit screen, select the deposit you want to print, and click Print in the top right corner.

Excluding Deposits from Accounting

There are cases where you may want to track donations without creating an accounting transaction. You can do this by selecting Do not post to accounting box when entering a Batch Deposit.

This is useful when:

• One team member manages donations while another oversees accounting.

• You use bank integration tools to import transactions and want to avoid duplicates.

• Recording non-cash donations that shouldn’t impact your accounting records.

With these tools in Aplos, you’re well on your way to effortless donation tracking and donor management. Have more questions? Check out our walkthrough video below or reach out to our customer care team.