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PDF Giving Receipts

  • Updated

Contents

 

Introduction

ChMeetings supports generating a PDF receipt for an individual contribution. A PDF receipt is different from a giving statement because it represents one contribution, while a giving statement represents multiple contributions over a selected period.

The feature supports both online and manually entered contributions. It is therefore available under Contributions > Online Giving > Giving Settings even if no payment processor is configured.

When PDF Receipts are enabled:

  • A PDF receipt is automatically attached to online giving confirmation emails.
  • Admins can manually print a receipt for eligible contributions. A contribution is eligible for a receipt if completed and for an amount greater than zero.
  • You can customize your own receipt template and preview the generated PDF.

PDF Receipts are disabled by default for accounts created before the feature release on August 13, 2026. The feature is enabled by default for accounts created after the release date. 

Enable PDF Giving Receipts

To enable PDF Giving Receipts, you must reach Contributions > Online Giving > Giving Settings > PDF Receipts. There two paths through which you can access the area: 

  • Go to All Contributions > Print Statement > PDF Receipt Settings. Clicking this option takes you to Contributions > Online Giving > Giving Settings > PDF Receipts where you can enable the feature by turning on the toggle.


     
  • Go directly to Contributions > Online Giving > Giving Settings > PDF Receipts. You can enable the feature by turning on the toggle.

Turn on the toggle to enable PDF Giving Receipts. Once you do so, you will be notified that:

  • A PDF receipt will be attached to every giving confirmation email, and admins can print a receipt for any contribution.
  • Add & Print Receipt on the Add Contribution page will print a receipt for the single contribution just saved, instead of a statement combining the member's gifts for that day and batch.

Disabling the feature removes the attachments and reverts the behaviour of the Add & Print Receipt feature to generating a statement combining the member’s gifts for that day and batch.

Click Enable when ready.


 

Once the feature is enabled, you can manage receipt templates. Click Edit Template to access the feature. 
 

 

This opens up a window where you can edit the body of your receipt template, and add merge fields to it - which will pull personal information from member profiles. The available merge fields are:

  • Receipt Items
  • Payment Date
  • Total Amount
  • Total Amount in Words
  • Name
  • First Name
  • Address
  • Issue Date
  • Transaction ID
  • Church/Ministry Name
  • Funds

There is a prebuilt template available by default, which you can use as-is if you like.


 

Clicking the Preview button lets you preview the template for three scenarios: 

  • Online Gift
  • Manual Gift / Check: Keep in mind that the Transaction ID does not apply in this case, so will print blank.
  • Partially Refunded Gift: This version contains a highlight showing each refund along the amount refunded, the refund date, and the remaining net amount.

Click Cancel or the X at the top right to exit the preview.
 

 

IMPORTANT

The following fields are mandatory and your template will not save until both of these fields are present:

  • Receipt Items
  • Payment Date

 

Click Save when you’re done setting up your template. Your changes will be saved onto the same template - you don’t have to name and save multiple templates. Your saved template will be used for all future receipts.

Receipt Items

The Receipt Items section displays the contribution breakdown by fund. It includes:

  • One row for each fund
  • Amount allocated to each fund
  • Total amount

If a fund is configured as non-tax-deductible:

  • An asterisk is displayed beside the relevant item.
  • A non-tax-deductible note is displayed on the receipt.

Below is an example of what receipt items might look like, including when the fund is non-tax-deductible.
 


 

Automatic Receipts for Online Giving

When PDF Receipts are enabled, the receipt is attached to the existing giving confirmation email. The system does not send a separate receipt email.

Automatic PDF receipts apply to:

  • One-time online contributions
  • Recurring online contributions
  • Manually entered contributions such as cash and check do not trigger a donor confirmation email and therefore do not send an automatic receipt. Administrators can manually print receipts for these contributions.

Manual Receipt Printing

A Print Receipt action is available from:

  • The All Contributions list
  • Online Giving > Payments
  • View Contribution dialog

When using this action, a PDF file will automatically be downloaded. 

Downloaded receipts use the following naming format:

Receipt - <Church Name> - <Payment Date>.pdf

 

Add & Print Receipt Behavior

The behavior of Add & Print Receipt on the Add Contribution page depends on whether the PDF Receipt feature is enabled.

  • On Downloads a PDF receipt for the individual contribution that was just added.
  • Off Downloads a statement containing the member's contributions from the same day and batch. The Off behavior represents the existing behavior before the introduction of PDF Receipts. Because enabling PDF Receipts changes this existing workflow, the feature is disabled by default for existing accounts created before the feature release on August 13, 2026.