Record a gift

Gifts in EscBooks#

A gift is money, goods or services given to the organization, with nothing (or less than it's worth) given back. Gifts are for a Tax-exempt organization (501(c)): pick it in Settings → Business, as Business tax structure explains. For any other filing type, Record Gift isn't there.

• Each gift is listed under Gifts on Income, with its donor, what was given, its receipt, and the fund it went to, if any.
• The donor is one of your clients, so one list holds everyone who gives or pays: a sponsor can give a gift and be sent an invoice. A gift with no donor is anonymous.
• A gift counts on the day it was given. A promise to give (a pledge) is recorded when the money comes in, on cash and accrual basis alike.

This guide uses EscBooks' own words. The Nonprofit preset calls clients Donors and projects Programs; change the words in Terms and features, and everything here works the same.

Record a gift of money#

Income

Income

Money received, by month and by client. Retainer deposits count when they're applied to invoices.

CSVOther IncomeRecord Gift

Received

$18,410.00

9 payments · $6,970.00 in gifts

Invoiced

$4,800.00

6 invoices dated in this period

Still Owed

$1,200.00

2 invoices

Gifts

Donations of money, goods or services. A gift of $250 or more, or over $75 when the donor received something back, needs a written receipt.

Year-End StatementsRecord

ReceivedClientGiftReceiptAmount

Apr 18, 2026Catalina VineyardsOperating checkingGala dinner for two, $300.00Needs a receipt$2,500.00

Apr 12, 2026Margaret EllisonOperating checkingNeeds a receipt$250.00

Apr 9, 2026Montauk DesignServices: Website redesignIn kindThanked$6,000.00

Apr 2, 2026AnonymousOperating checkingGivebutter, $4.20 fees$120.00

Mar 30, 2026Tomás ReyesOperating checking$100.00

Step 1 of 5PauseStart over

1. 1On Income, click Record Gift. It's in the command menu too (press Esc, then Record Gift), and on a donor's page.
2. 2Pick the donor from your clients, add a new one, or leave it Anonymous. Enter the amount given and the day it came.
3. 3Given for: leave it Unrestricted, or pick the fund a restricted gift goes into. Deposited to: the account the money went into.
4. 4A sponsorship or a gala ticket? Tick The donor received something in return, and say what it was and its fair value. The deductible part is worked out.
5. 5Click Record Gift. It's at the top of Gifts, marked Needs a receipt until its receipt goes out.

1. On Income, click Record Gift. It's also in the Command Menu (press Esc, then Record Gift), and in the Giving card on a donor's page.
2. Under Client, pick the donor, choose New client… to add one (a name, a contact for a company, an email for receipts, a phone), or leave it Anonymous.
3. Enter the Amount given, before any platform's fees, and the Date received.
4. Given for: leave it Unrestricted: for anything, or pick the fund a restricted gift goes into (see Restricted gifts and grants).
5. Deposited to: the account the money went into, or Not picked yet (Undeposited funds) while it waits for the bank. A Note (such as Spring appeal) is for you.
6. Click Record Gift. A gift that needs a receipt is marked Needs a receipt until one goes out (see Thank donors).

Anonymous gifts#

Leave Client at Anonymous when the donor asked not to be named, or you don't know who gave. Use it too for several people's gifts deposited together, such as a collection plate or a donation jar.

• An anonymous gift has nobody to send a receipt to, so it's never marked Needs a receipt.
• It's in no donor's giving and no year-end statement, and Schedule B leaves it out.
• On Income it's listed as Anonymous, and with other anonymous gifts in the money received by client.

Goods or services given#

A gift in kind is something other than money: books, supplies, a professional's work. It's recorded at its fair value as a contribution, and at the same moment as the expense it saved you, so it adds to both sides and holds no money.

1. In Record Gift, tick Gift of goods or services.
2. Given as: Goods or Services.
3. Expense category: the cost it saved. Donated design work is Legal & professional; boxes and packing supplies are Supplies.
4. What was given, such as Website redesign or 300 boxes and packing supplies.
5. Fair value: what it would have cost to buy. It's in the books, not on the receipt. Then the Date given, and Record Gift.

• The receipt describes what was given and states no value: the donor values goods themselves.
• Count services only when they need a specialized skill (a designer, an accountant, a builder) the organization would otherwise pay for. Montauk Design rebuilding the website counts; a volunteer's afternoon at the book sale doesn't. Volunteer time isn't recorded.
• Donated services are in your statements but stay off Form 990, revenue and expenses alike. Donated goods are on it, as noncash contributions.
• Its expense is listed in Expenses with a note saying which gift it came from, and Open the gift. Its value, day and category change on the gift; the expense follows. Its Function (program services, say) is set on the expense (see Programs and functional expenses).
• Goods or services given hold no money, so they go into no account and no fund.

A gala ticket or anything given back#

When a donor pays and gets something back worth more than a token (a dinner, a ticket, a gift basket), only the part over its value is a gift. The IRS calls this a quid pro quo contribution.

1. In Record Gift, tick The donor received something in return.
2. What they received, such as Gala dinner for two, and Its fair value: a good-faith estimate of what it would cost to buy.
3. The dialog shows the Deductible part: what was given less what was received.

Catalina Vineyards sponsors the spring gala with $2,500.00 and gets dinner for two worth $300.00: the deductible part is $2,200.00. A $150.00 ticket with a $60.00 dinner is $90.00 deductible. In the books, the value of what was received is Special events revenue; the rest is a contribution. The dinner's own cost is an expense marked Cost of direct benefits to donors, set against that revenue.

• Only a gift of money can have something given back; goods or services given can't.
• A payment over $75 with something given back needs a written disclosure, even when the gift part is small. EscBooks marks it Needs a receipt, and the receipt carries the wording.

Gifts through a giving platform#

Givebutter, Zeffy, PayPal and others collect a gift and may keep a fee before they pay it out. The gift is what the donor gave; the fee is a cost.

1. In Record Gift, tick Came through a giving platform.
2. Platform: pick one from the list, or type its name.
3. Platform fees: what it kept. Amount given stays the full gift, and the hint shows what was deposited after the fees.

The fees are recorded as a Fees expense, kept with the gift: change or remove the gift and they follow. The receipt is for the full amount the donor gave.

A gift found on a bank statement#

Gifts often show up first as a deposit. While you review a statement (see Reviewing and approving), say the deposit is a gift:

1. On the deposit's line, pick Donation… under Income with no invoice.
2. In Donation, pick the donor, New client…, or Anonymous (also for several people's gifts in one deposit).
3. Given for: unrestricted, or its fund.
4. Came through a platform that kept fees? Tick Came through a giving platform, name it, and enter its fees: the gift is the deposit plus the fees.
5. Click Mark as Gift. It's recorded when you approve the statement, or at once on a statement already approved.

A gift from a statement keeps the statement's amount, fees, date and account. Its donor, what they received back and its note change on Income with Edit Gift; add a gala dinner's value there. To take it back out, undo the line on the statement.

Change or remove a gift#

• On Income, open the gift's ⋯ menu (on a phone, tap the gift) and click Edit Gift or Remove Gift.
• Changing the donor, the day, the amount, what was given or what they received on a gift already thanked marks it unsent, so a new receipt is due.
• A gift given for a fund that has since spent it can't be reduced below what the fund spent, and a closed fund's gifts stay as they are until it's reopened.

What it does to your books#

• Gifts of money are money received: they're in Income's Received total, shown as gifts, and in the account they were deposited to.
• The statement of activities shows Contributions (without donor restrictions, or with them for a gift to a fund) and Special events revenue apart from Program service revenue, which is income from invoices.
• On the Form 990 worksheets, contributions are line 1 of Form 990-EZ, and what donors received back at events is line 6b (see The Form 990 worksheet).

Something's not right?#

• Record Gift isn't on Income. The organization isn't set up as tax-exempt. Pick Tax-exempt organization (501(c)) in Settings → Business.
• "What the donor received is worth less than what they gave." The value of what was given back has to be less than the payment. If it's worth as much or more, it's a sale, not a gift: record it as other income or an invoice.
• "Donated services stay off Form 990…" The gift's expense is marked Cost of direct benefits to donors, which services can't be. Change the function on the gift's expense in Expenses, then change the gift.
• No email under the donor. Add one on their page, so receipts can be emailed.