Recurring Plans Table Guide

Recurring Plans Table Guide

The Recurring Plans Table is a key feature for managing recurring donations in your nonprofit's platform. It allows you to filter, track, and manage recurring plans, including viewing important details such as payment status, donor information, and transaction history.

Accessing the Recurring Plans Table

1. Navigate to the Payments tab in your dashboard.

2. Click on Recurring Plans to view a list of all active and archived recurring plans associated with your nonprofit.

Understanding Recurring Plan Statuses

Each recurring plan has a status that indicates its current state. Understanding these statuses helps you manage your recurring giving program effectively.

Active

The recurring plan is running normally and will automatically process payments on the scheduled date. Active plans have a valid payment method attached and are ready to charge when the next payment date arrives.

Paused

The recurring plan has been temporarily stopped. No payments will be processed until the plan is resumed. The donor's information, payment method, and schedule are all saved and ready to restart when needed.

Plans can be paused by:

• The donor through their donor portal

• An administrator through the WeGive dashboard

• The system automatically after multiple failed payment attempts (see Dunning Flow below)

Closed

The recurring plan has ended permanently. This happens when:

• A plan is manually cancelled by the donor or administrator

• The plan reaches its scheduled end date

• The plan is deleted

No future payments will be processed for closed plans. Past transaction history is preserved.

Missing

The recurring plan does not have a payment method attached. This status applies to two scenarios:

Offline/Manual Donations Many organizations track offline recurring commitments in WeGive, especially if they use a CRM like Salesforce to manage their recurring giving program. These are plans for donors who give by check, cash, stock, DAF, or other offline methods. The plan tracks the expected recurring gift and syncs to your CRM, but payments are recorded manually rather than processed automatically by WeGive.

Payment Method Needs Attention This occurs when a plan that previously had a payment method no longer does. Common causes include:

• The donor deleted their saved card or bank account

• A payment method expired and was removed

• A plan was imported or created without payment information

Plans in this state need a payment method added before they can process automatically. You can identify which scenario applies by reviewing the plan's history and whether it ever had a payment method attached.

Tip for CRM Users: If you use Salesforce or another CRM to track offline recurring donations (check, cash, etc.), the "Missing" status is expected for those plans. These plans will sync to your CRM with the correct schedule and amounts, allowing you to track expected revenue and record offline payments when received.

Filters and Views

You can filter recurring plans based on a variety of criteria to help manage the recurring donations more effectively. These filters allow you to view plans based on their status, the donor, payment details, and more.

Plan Status Filters

View recurring plans by their current status. The available statuses include:

• Active: Plans that are running normally with a payment method attached

• Paused: Recurring plans that have been temporarily suspended

• Missing: Plans without a payment method (includes offline/manual donations)

• Ending Soon: Plans that are about to expire

• In Arrears: Plans where payments are overdue and the donor owes money

• Canceled or Archived: Plans that have been canceled or archived

Dunning Flow Filter

Displays plans that are in the Dunning Flow, which means the donor is being reminded about missed payments.

If a donor repeatedly misses payments on their recurring plan, the Dunning Flow will send them reminders at regular intervals. After multiple failed attempts, the system will automatically pause the plan. This can be configured under settings.

Amount Filters

Sort plans by the donation amount, fee amount, or total value of the recurring plan. You can filter for plans with amounts greater than or less than a specific value.

Frequency Filters

View plans by payment frequency, such as:

• Monthly

• Weekly

• Bi-weekly

• Quarterly

• Yearly

• First and 15th of the month

Other Filters

You can also filter plans by:

• Donor (the supporter associated with the plan)

• Designated Fund (the fund the donation is supporting)

• Campaign (the specific fundraising campaign)

• Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser (if the recurring plan was created through a peer-to-peer fundraiser)

• Payment Method (e.g., credit card, bank account, or no payment method for offline plans)

• Source Message (the message or method by which the plan was created)

You can easily apply these filters using the dropdowns in the table view, allowing you to find specific recurring plans with just a few clicks.

Viewing Recurring Plan Details

Once you've applied your desired filters, the table will show key details for each recurring plan. Here are the details you can expect to see:

• Plan ID: A unique identifier for the recurring plan

• Status: The current state of the plan (Active, Paused, Closed, or Missing)

• Amount: The recurring donation amount associated with the plan

• Frequency: How often the donation occurs (e.g., monthly, weekly, etc.)

• Fee Coverage: If the donation fee is covered by the donor, it will be marked with a green checkmark

• Total Value: The total value of the recurring plan, including any fees, or the amount the nonprofit will receive after the fee

• Next Payment Date: The next scheduled payment for the recurring plan

• Designated Fund: The specific fund or project the recurring donation supports

• Supporter: The donor associated with the recurring plan

You can click on the amount associated with any recurring plan to view more detailed information about the donation plan.

Managing Recurring Plans

From the Recurring Plans Table, you can manage various aspects of your recurring plans. Below are the available actions:

Pause a Plan

Temporarily suspend the recurring plan. You can choose to pause it for:

• Indefinitely (similar to deleting the plan but with the option to resume it later)

• 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months

Edit a Plan

Make changes to an existing recurring plan, including:

• Changing the donation amount

• Modifying the payment method

• Adjusting the frequency of the donations (e.g., changing a monthly plan to a quarterly plan)

• Updating the campaign or fund associated with the plan

• Setting an end date if you want the plan to stop at a specific time

Delete a Plan

Permanently delete a recurring plan. Important: Deleting a plan will stop future payments, but it does not delete past installment data or transactions. Once deleted, the plan cannot be restored.

Re-Sync to CRM

Sync the recurring plan data back to your CRM to ensure your donor records are up-to-date. This is especially useful for:

• Ensuring offline recurring plans are reflected in Salesforce or your CRM

• Pushing status changes after pausing or resuming a plan

• Updating amounts or frequencies that were changed in WeGive

Export a Plan

Export the recurring plan data into a file (e.g., CSV) for further reporting or analysis.

Tag Supporters

Add tags to the supporters associated with a recurring plan. This can help you better organize and manage your donor database.

Recurring Donation Details Page

When you click on a recurring plan's amount, you will be directed to the Recurring Donation View Page, which provides detailed information about the plan and its payments.

Here's what you can find on this page:

Plan Overview

Information such as the status, amount, frequency, next payment date, and designated fund.

Transaction Details

Details of each installment, including:

• The amount received after fees

• The payment method associated with each installment (e.g., credit card, bank transfer)

• The amount of fees covered by the donor, if applicable

• Effective rates and whether the plan is tax deductible

Installment History

View each installment associated with the recurring plan, including:

• Installment status (successful or failed)

• Transaction ID

• Payment method used

• Fee details (whether the fee was covered)

• Discount applied, if any

Dunning Flow Information

If the plan is in the dunning flow (i.e., the donor has missed payments), you can see when the donor will receive their next reminder email and how many retry attempts remain before the plan is automatically paused.

Audit and Integration Logs

You can also access detailed logs related to changes and integrations for each recurring plan:

Audit Logs

Track all actions related to the recurring plan, including:

• Changes made (e.g., updated plan details, status changes)

• The user who made the change

• IP address and user agent used during the action

Integration Logs

View logs related to integration activities, such as errors or successful updates with third-party services (e.g., Salesforce, Virtuous, Bloomerang). These logs also include the integration status, date, and action taken. This is helpful for troubleshooting sync issues with your CRM.

Charging an Installment

If you need to charge a specific installment manually (outside of the normal recurring schedule), you can use the Charge Installment feature:

Charge a Single Installment

This will create a payment associated with the recurring plan and process it immediately. The charge will not affect the plan's next payment date; it's just a manual payment for that particular installment.

Edit Through Virtual Terminal

You can edit the installment details through the virtual terminal if needed before processing the payment.

Note: The Charge Installment feature is only available for plans with an active payment method. For offline/missing plans, you would record the payment manually when received.

Working with Offline Recurring Plans

If your organization tracks offline recurring donations (check, cash, stock, DAF, etc.) in WeGive, here are some best practices:

Creating Offline Plans

When creating a recurring plan for an offline donor, simply skip the payment method step. The plan will be created with "Missing" status, indicating it's an offline commitment.

Recording Offline Payments

When you receive an offline payment for a recurring plan:

1. Navigate to the recurring plan

2. Use the Virtual Terminal to record the payment

3. The transaction will be associated with the recurring plan and sync to your CRM

CRM Sync for Offline Plans

Offline recurring plans sync to your CRM just like online plans. The status will reflect as "Active" (if not paused) in most CRM configurations, and the expected schedule will be maintained for forecasting and reporting purposes.

Distinguishing Offline vs. Needs Attention

To identify which "Missing" plans are intentional offline donations versus plans that need a payment method added:

• Review the plan's creation source and history

• Check if the plan ever had a payment method attached

• Look at the donor's giving history to see if they typically give offline

Conclusion

The Recurring Plans Table is an essential tool for managing recurring donations. It offers a comprehensive view of each plan's status, payment details, and transaction history. By using the filters and actions provided in the table, you can efficiently manage and track recurring donations, identify overdue payments, and make necessary adjustments to donor plans.

Understanding plan statuses—especially the difference between active online plans and offline commitments—helps you maintain accurate records and provide excellent donor stewardship whether your donors give online or offline.