Thank donors

Who needs a receipt, and why#

Two IRS rules decide which gifts need something in writing from the organization. EscBooks marks each such gift Needs a receipt on Income until one goes out.

• $250 or more: a donor can't deduct a single gift of $250 or more without a written acknowledgment from the organization. It's counted after anything the donor got back, so a $300 ticket with a $100 dinner is a $200 gift.
• Over $75 with something given back: when a donor pays more than $75 and receives goods or services (a gala dinner), the organization owes them a written disclosure of what they received, its value, and the part they can deduct.

Anonymous gifts have nobody to send a receipt to, so they're never marked. Any other gift can be sent a receipt too, whatever its size.

What a receipt says#

• The organization's legal name and EIN, from Settings → Business, with its address and logo.
• The donor's name, the day of the gift, and the amount given.
• For goods or services given: a description of what was given, and no value. The donor values goods themselves.
• Whether anything was given in return. With nothing: No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. With a gala dinner: what it was, its good-faith value, and that only the payment over that value is deductible, with the amount.

Each receipt is a page behind a private link, and a PDF.

Send a receipt#

Income

Income

Money received, by month and by client.

Record Gift

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

All 6Needs a receipt 2

ReceivedClientGiftReceiptAmount

Apr 18, 2026Catalina VineyardsOperating checkingGala dinner for two, $300.00

Needs a receipt

Thanked

$2,500.00

Apr 12, 2026Margaret EllisonOperating checkingSpring appeal

Needs a receipt

Thanked

$250.00

Apr 9, 2026Montauk DesignServices: Website redesign

Needs a receipt

In kindThanked

$6,000.00

Apr 2, 2026AnonymousOperating checkingGivebutter, $4.20 fees

Needs a receipt

Thanked

$120.00

Mar 30, 2026Tomás ReyesOperating checking

Needs a receipt

Thanked

$100.00

Mar 21, 2026Calloway Family FoundationOperating checkingFor Summer Reading Grant

Needs a receipt

Thanked

$40,000.00

Step 1 of 5PauseStart over

1. 1On Income, Gifts marks each gift that needs a receipt: $250 or more, or over $75 when the donor got something back. Show Needs a receipt lists only those.
2. 2Open the gift's ⋯ menu and click Send Receipt.
3. 3The donor's email and a message are filled in; change either. Click Send: the receipt goes as a private link and a PDF, and the gift is marked Thanked.
4. 4Handed the receipt over in person or by mail? Click Mark as Thanked in the same menu.
5. 5In January, Year-End Statements emails each donor their giving statement for the year: every gift, and what they can deduct.

1. On Income, under Gifts, pick Needs a receipt beside All to list only the gifts waiting for one.
2. Open the gift's ⋯ menu and click Send Receipt. On a phone, tap the gift.
3. To is the donor's email, and Message a short thank-you. Change either, then click Send.

The receipt goes as a private link and a PDF, and the gift is marked Thanked. Send Receipt Again sends it once more.

Handed over another way#

• Gave the receipt in person, or mailed a letter? Click Mark as Thanked in the gift's menu.
• View Receipt opens it, to print or save. Copy Receipt Link copies its private link, to send any way you like.
• New Receipt Link makes a new link and stops the old one opening, for a link sent to the wrong person.

Year-end giving statements#

In January, donors want one statement of everything they gave in the year, and what they can deduct. EscBooks makes one for each donor who gave.

1. On Income, under Gifts, click Year-End Statements.
2. Check the Year. Donors whose statement for that year already went out are left out; tick Send again to everyone to include them.
3. Click Send Statements. They go 40 at a time, a moment apart; Send to the Next 40 sends more.

• Donors with no email on file are listed under Not sent, to send another way.
• Each statement lists every gift in the year, and the total they can deduct. Deductible counts gifts of money only, less anything given back, as their receipts do; goods given are listed with their description.

A donor's page#

The Giving card on a donor's page shows the year you pick beside all years: Given, Contributions (given less anything received back), Deductible, Gifts, Largest gift, Last gift and Receipts due. Below are the year's gifts, each with its receipt's menu.

• Send 2026 Statement emails that donor's statement for the year picked, and the card says when it went.
• The ⋯ beside it has Copy Statement Link, View Statement and New Statement Link.
• Record Gift there opens with the donor picked.

Churches: intangible religious benefits#

A church or other religious organization may give only intangible religious benefits in return for gifts: things not usually sold outside a donation, such as taking part in a service. The IRS lets its receipts say so, in place of "no goods or services".

1. Open Settings → Business. With Tax-exempt organization (501(c)) picked, tick Only intangible religious benefits are given in return for gifts.
2. Click Save Changes.

Receipts then say Only intangible religious benefits were provided in exchange for this contribution. Gifts with something of value given back, such as a dinner, still carry the disclosure.

Something's not right?#

• No Send Receipt in the menu. The gift is anonymous. Edit it and pick the donor, if you know who gave.
• A thanked gift says Needs a receipt again. Its donor, day, amount, what was given or what they received changed, so the receipt that went out no longer matches. Send the new one.
• The receipt has no EIN or the wrong name. Add the EIN and legal name in Settings → Business, then send the receipt again.
• A donor lost their receipt. Send it again from the gift's menu, or copy its link.