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Collect Pledge Payments

Goal: Move money against a pledge — by check, online payment, or staff-recorded — so balance, donor record, and accounting all stay in sync.

Pledge payments are not auto-charged​

Worth saying first: Ayuna does not auto-charge pledge installments. Each payment is initiated either by the donor (paying online via a pledge payment link) or by staff (recording a check or processing a card on the donor's behalf). If you want the schedule to be hands-off, pair the pledge with a Recurring Donation.

Four ways payments come in​

1. Donor self-pays online​

The donor uses their pledge payment page (/my-pledges/:pledgeId when logged in, or a public link for guests). They:

  • See the next installment due and the amount
  • Pay with a saved card, new card, or ACH
  • Receive an immediate receipt

Behind the scenes, this creates a Donation record, marks the installment paid, and updates pledge balance and donor stats.

2. Staff records a payment received​

When a check arrives in the mail, or a card was taken on a terminal:

  • Open the pledge detail
  • Click Record Payment on the installment being paid (or from the pledge header), and stay on the Record a payment tab
  • Pick the installment in Apply to Installment if it is not already selected
  • Check the amount — it fills in with the balance still owed on that installment
  • Choose a payment method (required) and add the date, the check number or reference, plus any notes
  • Save

This tab logs money you already have. Nothing is charged. The payment becomes a Donation record and the installment moves to paid; if the amount is less than what the installment is due, it moves to partial instead.

A recorded payment applies to one installment at a time, and cannot be more than that installment's remaining balance — the form will not let you save a larger amount. When a single check covers several installments, record it against each installment in turn.

3. Staff charges a card on the donor's behalf​

For a donor who calls in and reads out a card number:

  • Open the pledge and click Record Payment
  • Switch to the Charge a card tab
  • Pick the installment and confirm the amount
  • Under Pay with, choose a card the donor already has on file, or Enter a new card and key it in
  • Tick the confirmation that the cardholder authorized the charge, then Charge

The card runs through Finix straight away, with the same downstream effects as a donor paying online: a Donation record, the installment marked paid, an updated balance, and a receipt. A declined card reports the decline in the dialog and moves nothing — correct the card and try again.

Two things to know:

  • Tick "Save this card on the donor's record" if the donor wants it kept for next time. It then shows up under Pay with on the next call, so nobody has to read a card number aloud twice. Cards on file belong to a person, so a pledge made by an organization has none.
  • Bank/ACH is not available on this tab. An ACH debit needs the donor's own authorization on record, which a staff member keying it in cannot give on their behalf. Take ACH as a donor-initiated payment (path 1) or record one collected elsewhere (path 2).

Card numbers are typed into the processor's own secure fields and are never stored by Ayuna — the affiliate only ever sees the brand, the last four digits, and the expiry.

4. Donor taps or swipes at a card reader​

A donor paying at the office, a build site or an event uses the terminal like any other payment. The swipe arrives unclassified, and staff place it against the pledge afterwards:

  • Open Point of Sale → Standalone Payments
  • Categorize the row as Pledge payment and pick the pledge
  • The next unpaid installment is applied, or choose a specific one

If the card payment is still processing when you categorize it, the installment shows the amount as Partial right away, and the pledge's paid amount and balance update when the payment completes. A payment that fails comes back off the installment and leaves the pledge as it was (see Standalone payments).

This produces the same Donation record as the paths above. The one difference is the receipt: it is not sent automatically, because categorizing is a back-office step that can be corrected. Send it with Send Receipt on the same row once the category is right.

What happens when an installment is paid​

For each successful payment:

  • A Donation row is created with pledge_id and pledge_installment_number set
  • The pledge_payment row is updated (paid_date, status, donation_id, and — for a recorded payment — the method and check/reference number)
  • The pledge's amount_paid and balance_remaining recalculate
  • A receipt is generated and emailed (per donor's preferences) — except for a terminal payment, where staff send it from the standalone payments list
  • The donor's lifetime giving, donation count, and giving level update (a card or bank payment still pending counts once it clears; a payment on an organization's pledge counts toward the organization, not its contact)
  • The journal entry posts: debit Cash, credit Pledge Receivable. For an online payment the estimated processing fee is booked as an expense, and if the donor chose to cover it, the covered amount is booked as contribution revenue (the receivable still drops by the installment amount), so Cash matches what the bank receives. See Reconcile donations with your accounting system for how the fee estimate and the processor's actual fee are reconciled.

Partial payments​

A donor can pay less than the full installment amount. The installment stays in partial status until topped up. Common reasons:

  • Donor splits an installment over a few smaller payments for cash-flow reasons
  • Mid-installment refund or adjustment
  • A combined check covers multiple installments unevenly

Reminders​

Ayuna doesn't send automatic dunning notices for past-due pledge payments. For affiliates with active pledges:

  • Run the pledge stats report monthly to surface pending and overdue installments
  • Send a templated reminder email or call the donor. A custom message you type into the reminder keeps its line breaks, and web addresses in it become clickable links
  • Update the pledge notes with what was discussed

Pledge completion​

When the final installment is paid and balance reaches zero, the pledge moves to Completed. Send a thank-you specific to fulfillment of the pledge — this is a different moment than thanking for any individual payment.

When a payment is wrong​

  • Wrong amount — Edit Donation on the donation record; pledge balance recalculates
  • Wrong installment selected — Edit Donation to point at the correct installment number
  • Refund needed — see Refund a Donation; the pledge installment status returns to its prior state
  • Bank returned an ACH payment — nothing to do by hand, unless the installment's journal entry was already synced to your accounting system: the installment reopens to Pending (or Partial, if another payment on it still stands) with a note, the pledge balance is restored by the returned amount, the gift is marked Returned, and the installment's journal entry is voided. A synced entry is left for you to reverse in your accounting system. See When a donor's bank returns an ACH gift