Reconcile
Import a CanadaHelps export
Which of the four amount columns is the actual gift, and why it matters for receipts.
A CanadaHelps export is straightforward except for one thing that trips almost everyone: it has four columns with money in them, and they are all different numbers for the same gift.
What the four columns mean
- AMOUNT is what the donor actually gave. This is the gift.
- RECEIPTABLE AMOUNT is the part that can go on a tax receipt. Usually the same, but not always.
- FEE is what CanadaHelps kept.
- TOTAL DISBURSED is what landed in your bank account, after the fee.
Use AMOUNT
If you record TOTAL DISBURSED instead, every gift in your system is a few dollars smaller than what the donor gave, and every receipt you issue is short. Donors notice, and it is awkward to fix later. Relae picks AMOUNT for you and will not be talked out of it: a column named fee, net, payout or disbursed is actively ruled out of being the gift.
The fee is kept on the gift, so the difference between what your donors gave and what reached your bank is recorded rather than lost. It is never subtracted from the gift: your giving totals and your receipts are the gross, which is what the donor gave and what the CRA expects to see.
How to do it
- 1In CanadaHelps, export your donations for the period you want.
- 2In Relae, open Sources and choose Import a file.
- 3Upload the export. Relae recognises the format and fills in what each column means.
- 4Look over what it shows you, then confirm.
Your bank statement will not match your giving total, and that is correct. The gap is the platform fees. Your bookkeeper works from the bank; your fundraising totals work from what donors gave.