Planning Center Giving integration
Record Planning Center Giving by fund, from the gift to the bank deposit.
Online gifts paid out by Planning Center Payments are summarized by gift date, and cash and checks by batch. When the church pays out through its own Stripe account, each online gift posts as its own sales receipt once Stripe confirms it. Posting records contributions by fund, and each payout or deposit moves the money to your bank without recording the gifts again.
Planning Center Giving
ImprestHow it works
Five common scenarios, step by step.
Online gift split across two funds
Keeps the donor's split while clearing the exact bank payout.
Example: a $1,000 online gift, $700 to General and $300 to Building. The processor keeps $21.80, and this example allocates the fee between the funds.
Gift received
Planning Center records two designations
$1,000.00 Gift
Giving summary prepared
Gifts grouped by gift date, fund split preserved
$978.20 Net amount awaiting payout
Summary accepted
Contributions by fund, fees as an expense
Payout recorded
From the payout detail report, matched to the deposit
$0.00 Clearing after payout
The $1,000 gift, $21.80 of processing fees and $978.20 in the bank are recorded. Clearing is zero for this payout.
Online gift through the church's own Stripe account
Each online gift becomes its own sales receipt, and each payout a transfer.
Example: a $100 online gift to General through a Stripe account the church owns. Stripe keeps $2.45 and pays out $97.55.
Gift received
Planning Center records it; Stripe processes it
$100.00 Gift
Stripe line paired
The Stripe balance line names the donation number
$97.55 Stripe balance line
Gift receipt posted
Once Stripe confirms the gift, with no review step
Payout recorded
A transfer from the Stripe balance, matched to the deposit
$0.00 Stripe balance after payout
The $100 gift in General, $2.45 of processing fees and $97.55 in the bank are recorded. Each gift has its own receipt, and the Stripe balance returns to zero once its payout arrives.
Sunday cash and check batch
Records the gifts when the batch is committed, then the deposit when it reaches the bank.
Example: one Sunday batch holds $1,100 for unrestricted General and $140 for donor-restricted Missions. The full $1,240 is deposited together.
Collection entered
The batch stays open while it is counted
$1,240.00 Batch total
Batch summary prepared
After the batch is committed in Planning Center
Batch accepted
Gifts by fund, cash held in Undeposited Funds
Deposit recorded
The batch's gifts selected and matched to the bank line
$0.00 Batch awaiting deposit
Contributions are recorded once. The later deposit moves $1,240 from Undeposited Funds to the bank.
Restricted gift and money held for others
Two gifts of the same size can belong in different places in your books.
Example: a $500 Building gift restricted by its donor, and $500 collected for a missionary. Fees are $0.30 and $11.05.
Two gifts received
Each names its fund
$1,000.00 Gifts received
Funds classified
Restricted by the donor, or passed through
Summary accepted
Restricted contributions and a liability, kept apart
Payout and check recorded
The missionary's share is paid out by check
Building shows $500 of restricted contributions. Once the missionary check posts, nothing remains owed to the missionary.
Refund after the payout
Reverses the gift on its refund date and follows the money through clearing.
Example: a $100 General gift with a $2.45 processing fee. After the $97.55 payout, the donor receives a full refund and the processor returns the fee.
Original summary accepted
The gift and fee are recorded together
Original payout recorded
$97.55 reaches the bank
Refund synchronized
Prepared for its refund date, on the original accounts
Refund accepted
Recorded against clearing; the bank is unchanged
The gift's contribution and processing expense total zero. The earlier deposit stays recorded, and clearing tracks the $97.55 still to settle.
Scope
Synchronized data and your controls.
Data synchronized
Gifts, funds, batches, refunds and pledges, read every 15 minutes by default, with webhooks triggering earlier updates for supported changes. Planning Center Payments payouts are explained by the payout detail report you upload; on the church's own Stripe account, the Stripe balance feed shows each gift and payout as it happens.
Your controls
You choose the start date, describe how earlier giving was recorded and classify funds in Imprest. A ready giving summary is held until you choose Accept, unless automatic posting is on. Gift receipts on the church's own Stripe account post on their own. Imprest never writes gifts or people back to Planning Center.
Set up
Setting up Planning Center Giving.
Requirements
- An owner, admin, accountant or bookkeeper role in Imprest. Changing how funds are classified needs accounting access.
- A Planning Center Giving Administrator or Bookkeeper sign-in, with Giving fully set up in the same currency as your books.
- For a church paid out through its own Stripe account, admin access to that Stripe account.
Connect and go live
- Open Apps, choose Add a connection and pick Planning Center Giving.
- Choose Connect Planning Center and sign in to Planning Center.
- Choose the date Imprest starts recording from and say how your old books recorded giving before it.
- Say how online gifts are paid out, through Planning Center Payments or the church's own Stripe account, then classify each fund.
- Check the contributions already entered by hand, choose Record opening entries, then choose Go live.
A start date years back adds a History tab, where each month is checked and the months that tie post in one run.
Full Planning Center Giving setup guide →All integrations →Planning Center Giving is a trademark of its owner, used here only to name the service Imprest connects to.