How to record Givebutter donations and payouts.

Before you start

To connect Givebutter you need a role in Imprest that can connect apps: owner, admin, accountant or bookkeeper. Changing how funds are classified needs accounting access.

On the Givebutter side, you need an API key. In Givebutter, open Settings → Developers → API and create a new API key. Only Givebutter admins can create one, and it covers the whole account. Your Givebutter account needs at least one campaign.

You don't need to set up funds first. Connecting turns on funds and adds the accounts Givebutter needs.

Connect and go live

1. In Imprest, open Apps, choose Add a connection, and pick Givebutter.
2. Connect. Paste the key into Givebutter API key and choose Verify and continue.
3. Start. Choose the date Imprest should start recording your gifts from, then say how your old books recorded Givebutter before that date: each payout as a bank deposit, each gift, or not at all. Choose Save and continue.
4. Funds & money. For each fund, choose what kind of money it holds: Unrestricted, Donor-restricted, Pass-through or Payment. Pick the bank account under Givebutter pays out to, say whether you log cash and checks in Givebutter, and how to count tickets and donor-covered fees. Choose Save and continue.
5. Go live. Check your books on the start date and choose Record opening entries to record the entries that join your old books to Imprest. Then choose Go live.

If you use Givebutter Wallet, pick the bank account you set up for your Wallet. Go live stays off while any fund with gifts isn't classified.

How gifts land in your books

• Online gifts. Each day's online gifts are one entry through a Givebutter Clearing account, split by fund.
• Cash and checks. Each day's cash and checks are one entry through Undeposited Funds.
• Funds. Gifts go to Contributions, Contributions with donor restrictions, Funds Held for Others, or the revenue account you pick for a payment fund, according to each fund's kind. Every Givebutter fund becomes a fund in your books, joining one you already have with the same name.
• Fees. Fees Givebutter keeps are an expense tagged to the fund. Instant payout fees go to the same fee account.
• Tickets. A ticket's event value is kept apart from the contribution.
• Refunds. A refund posts on the day it happened.
• Payouts. A completed payout moves the money from Givebutter Clearing to your bank and matches the deposit on your bank feed.

Imprest never writes back to Givebutter, never moves a gift to a different fund than the donor chose, and doesn't turn donors into customers.

Day to day

Givebutter tells Imprest when a gift or refund comes in, and Imprest also checks every 15 minutes by default. You can change how often in settings. To check right away, choose Sync now on the Connection tab.

Each day's entries wait on the Summaries tab. Choose Accept on a day, or Accept all. To let days with nothing to check post on their own, open Integration Settings and, under Reviewing before anything posts, choose to post entries with nothing to check automatically.

Record payouts on the Payouts tab. The Reconciliation tab compares each payout with the gifts inside it, and Exceptions lists anything waiting on you.

Common problems

• That key was not accepted. Check it was copied in full, or create a new key in Givebutter.
• Create a campaign in Givebutter first. Imprest uses a campaign to identify your account.
• This key belongs to a different Givebutter account. Disconnect first if you meant to switch accounts.
• Givebutter stopped accepting our key. New gifts aren't coming in. Choose Reconnect Givebutter and paste a new API key. Your settings and history stay as they are.
• A day is on hold. The Summaries tab names the reason, such as a fund not classified, the bank for cash and checks not chosen, or a ticket with no value set. Most are fixed in place.
• A payout doesn't tie to its gifts. Open it from Exceptions or Reconciliation. A difference you can explain, such as a lost chargeback, is recorded from there.

Disconnect

1. Open the Givebutter page in Apps and choose the Connection tab.
2. Choose Disconnect, then Disconnect Givebutter to confirm.

Imprest stops bringing in new gifts and payouts and removes its webhook from your Givebutter account. Everything already in Imprest stays: posted entries, gifts waiting for review, and checks waiting to be deposited. You can reconnect the same account with a new API key at any time.

Imprest forgets its copy of the API key, but the key still works in Givebutter. If you no longer need it, delete it in Givebutter.