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How to Track Pledges in PatronManager: https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/1007401
When your donors pledge gifts, it can be a bit daunting to manually track how much they pledge, how much they've paid, how much they owe, and when they plan to make payments. We've developed a method to track pledges and the associated payment that come in - in this article, you'll learn how to use Pledges in PatronManager so you can accurately track your donors' pledge plans.
- First, we'll make sure your account is set up with this pledge system.
- Then, we'll go over the three steps needed to accurately track Pledge records.
- Create the Pledge record
- Create the Pledge Payment records
- Process Pledge Payments as the money comes in
- Finally, we'll suggest some reporting and workflow tips to help you track pledges even more thoroughly.
Does your patron want to pledge regularly scheduled payments using a credit card? Use Recurring Donations instead!
Before you start, check to make sure you're set up to process pledges using this method
Go to any Contact record and take a closer look; the New Pledge action is located on the Highlights Panel in the upper right of the record.
What do you see?
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If you see the New Pledge action:
- You already have Pledges set up and may proceed!
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If you don't see the New Pledge action:
- You don't have the Pledges system set up - jump over to this article to set up pledges.
All set? Let's build that Pledge!
1. Create the Pledge
Think of the Pledge record as the folder that will contain all of its related pledge payments. In order to make sure you can track the donor's pledge payments, you first need to create the place where they belong - the overarching Pledge record.
In this example, a board member has pledged a $1,200 gift. Let's walk through creating the Pledge record for this pledge.
1. Navigate to the Contact page of the patron making the pledge
2. Click on the "New Pledge" action
3. Fill in the information on the "New Pledge" Action page
- Donation Name, Account Name & Donor: these fields auto-populate based on Contact information
- Pledge Amount: the total amount of the pledge
- Close Date: when you expect to receive the final payment; since Lou wants to pledge $1200 over a 12 month period, we've set the close date to 12 months from today's date
- Stage: indicates where the Pledge sits in the pipeline; here, Lou has verbally committed to a $1200 gift, but we haven't received any money yet, so we'll choose "Pledged"
- Click "Save"
4. Great! You've just created a pledge. Hover over the Donations link in the Related Quick Links section on the Contact and click on the pledge you just created
5. Let's take a look at a few other fields on the Pledge record
- Sales Path: a visual aid to help you quickly see what stage the pledge is in - it will update when you change the Stage field
- Amount Paid: no need to edit this field - it automatically updates as you enter pledge payments
- Probability:this will automatically update based on the Stage field
- Payment Schedule: how often the donor will make payments; in this case, Lou will pay $100 once per month, we chose "Monthly"
- Pledge Amount Due: this will also automatically update as you enter pledge payments - no need to edit this field
2. Create Pledge Payments
For accurate Reports and Accounts Receivable tracking, you'll want to create the Pledge Payments right away. Even though you haven't received these Payments yet, it's important to indicate that you will.
In our example, Lou plans to pay twelve $100 payments, on the 15th of each month. Let's represent each of those Pledge Payments in PatronManager.
1. On the Pledge, click the "New Pledge Payment" Action
2. Fill in Pledge Payment information on the "New Pledge Payment" action page
- Amount: the dollar amount of this specific pledge payment
- Close Date: the date you expect the Pledge Payment to be paid
- Stage: where the Pledge Payment is in the pipeline; Lou's first payment hasn't come in yet, so we'll set the Stage to "Pledged" until we receive the check
- Payment Type: the payment method the donor will use; if you're not sure, choose check for now and edit if necessary as actual payments come in
- Check Number & Check Date: if the patron pays their first installment when they make the pledge, put that information in now; in this example, Lou promised to pay the first installment by February 15th, so we'll keep them blank for now
3. Woohoo! You just created a Pledge Payment record. Hover over the "Payments" link in the Related List Quick Links section and click on the record you just created
4. Let's take a look at a few other fields on the Pledge Payment record
- Donation Name, Account Name, & Donor : these fields automatically populate - you shouldn't need to edit them
- Probability: the likelihood this Pledge will be paid, automatically filled in and based on the Stage
- Parent Record: this automatically fills in the Pledge this Payment is related to - click on the Parent Record link to easily access the related Pledge record
- Donation Details: similar to the same fields on a normal Donation, these fields are used to classify the Pledge Payment for tracking and reporting purposes
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Transaction Details: just like a normal Donation, how the patron submitted payment
- Leave these fields blank if the money hasn't come in yet and update them as pledge payments come in!
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Description: just like a normal Donation, it holds information that doesn't fit in the other fields
- This field should not be used to store information you plan to report on later
5. Now we're ready to set up future Pledge Payment records - Click the "Clone" button
6. Now, edit a few fields - future you will be so thankful
Top Section
- Donation Name: Change the date on the Donation name to the date you expect to receive the pledge payment
- Stage: Make sure the stage is set to "Pledged"
- Close Date: Change the Close Date to the date you expect to receive the pledge payment. In this example, Lou committed to sending a $100 check on the 15th of every month for 12 months
Don't click "Save" yet!
Donation Details & Transaction Details
- Donation Details: Most likely, you'll leave this alone for now.
- Transaction Details: Leave these fields blank for now; you'll update them as actual payments come in
- Click "Save"
7. Repeat until you create all the expected Pledge Payments
8. You're all done for now, and you're ready for the donor to pay off their first Pledge Payment
3. Process a Pledge Payment
Lou has sent us their first check, and we didn't even have to remind them! They told us they'd send their first payment on 1/17/2019, and we've now received it. Let's make that update in PatronManager.
1. Go to the Pledge record and click on the Related tab
2. On the Payments related list, click on the corresponding Pledge Payment link
Lou's first pledge payment is for January 17th, so we'll click the record with the January 17th Close Date.
3. Click "Edit"
4. Edit fields with new information
Top Section
- Donation Name: If the Pledge Payment came in on a different date than you originally predicted, update this field with today's date
- Close Date: If the Pledge Payment came in on a different date than you originally predicted, update this field with today's date
- Stage: Change the Stage to "Posted" to indicate you've received the Pledge Payment
Don't click "Save" yet!
Donation Details & Transaction Details
- Donation Details: If this payment should go to a different Fund or Primary Campaign source for some reason, update those fields the Pledge Payment record as needed
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Transaction Details: Fill in the Payment Type appropriately, and the Check Number and Date if necessary
- See below for credit card instructions
- Click "Save"
1. Set the Payment Type field to "Credit Card", and Click "Process Credit Card Transaction"
2. Swipe the credit card on the next page and click "Process Transaction"
5. Go back to the Pledge record
6. On the Pledge record, edit the Stage to "Partially Paid"
Note the Amount Paid and Amount Due fields are automatically updated
As Pledge Payments come in, these fields will automatically update to reflect the total amount of the Pledge Payments that have a Stage equal to "Posted".
What next?
Now that you've put all the elbow grease into accurately tracking these Pledges and Pledge Payments, put that data to work! Here are some ideas to get you started.
Tips for reporting on Pledges
Here are some important things to keep in mind when building donation reports for tracking Pledges:
- Remember to report on the "Pledge Amount" field, not the regular "Amount" field. The "Amount" field appears only on Pledge Payments, to avoid double-counting, and is intentionally blank on Pledges!
- Consider filtering by Probability percentage (e.g. 100% or >= 90%) or Status (e.g. Closed Won or Open), rather than by specific Stage values. Pledges often include extra Stages (especially if you're using moves management) and it can be tricky to remember them all. You can still group your report by Stage, though!
Here are a couple ideas of the kinds of reports you might create:
- An "Accounts Receivable" report that tells you the total value of outstanding Pledges.
- Status = Open, Record Type = Pledge, group by Stage, display Pledge Amount.
- An "Overdue Pledges" report that shows you what Pledges should have come in by now, but haven't.
- Status = Open, Record Type = Pledge, Close Date less or equal to TODAY
Automation options
Here are a couple examples of what's possible with Flow, a Salesforce feature that your admin would need to set up!
- Create a "Payment Due" flow that sends you an automatic reminder that a Pledge Payment is supposed to come in today.
- Create a "Pledge Paid" flow that sends you an automatic message when a Pledge has been fully paid - indicating you should reengage the patron to commit to a new Pledge.