--- title: "Creating and reconciling pledges" slug: "creating-and-reconciling-pledges" description: "How pledges are created in infoodle, manually or via forms with Stripe or ezidebit, and matched to transactions on the Add Transaction or Reconcile screens." tags: ["Pledge"] updated: 2026-11-04T08:54:05Z published: 2026-11-04T08:54:05Z canonical: "help.infoodle.com/creating-and-reconciling-pledges" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.infoodle.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Creating and reconciling pledges A pledge is a forward-looking commitment to give — it is not a payment itself. This article explains the two ways pledges are created in infoodle (manually by an administrator, or automatically via a form submission), and how those pledges are then reconciled to actual transactions. **Remember:** A pledge is a promise, not a payment. It will not appear in a donor's giving total until an actual transaction is recorded against it. Use the [Pledge vs Actual](/v1/docs/pledge-vs-actual-2025) report to compare what has been pledged against what has been received. --- ## Before you start #### Permissions required You need the **Manage Pledges** permission to create or edit pledges. Contact your administrator if you don't see these options. --- ## How pledges are created Pledges can be created in two ways: 1. **[Manually](/v1/docs/creating-and-reconciling-pledges#manually-adding-a-pledge)** — added directly to a contact's profile by an administrator. 2. **Via a form submission** — created automatically when a donor submits a form that includes a recurring payment field. --- ## Manually adding a pledge To add a pledge directly to a contact's record: 1. Open the contact's **profile** page. 2. Select the **Finance** tab. 3. Select the **Pledges** tab. 4. Click **Add**. Fill in the pledge details and save. infoodle will generate a schedule of planned payment occurrences based on the start date, frequency, and amount you enter. For a full walkthrough of the pledge fields, see [Adding a Pledge](/v1/docs/adding-a-pledge). --- ## Pledges created via a form submission When a donor completes a form that includes a **recurring period** field, infoodle automatically creates a pledge when the form is submitted. The pledge schedule depends on the frequency and start date the donor selected. ### What happens on submission Depending on the payment method on the form, one of the following flows applies. #### Non-payment gateway (e.g. automatic payment, cheque, cash) - An email notification is sent to the donor and any configured Notify contacts. - The form is not marked as paid. - A pledge is created based on the schedule the donor selected: | Scenario | What is created | | --- | --- | | One-off payment, starting today | A one-off pledge dated today, marked Scheduled | | One-off payment, starting 1st of next month | A one-off pledge dated 1st of next month, marked Planned | | Recurring (e.g. weekly), starting today | A pledge with the first occurrence marked Scheduled, all subsequent ones marked Planned | | Recurring (e.g. weekly), starting 1st of next month | A pledge with all occurrences marked Planned from 1st of next month | > **Note:** Tracking data (account code, campaign, etc.) is not added to the pledge at this point — it is added when the form is approved. #### Payment gateway (e.g. Stripe, GoCardless/ezidebit) - An email notification is sent to the donor and any configured **Notify** contacts. - A pledge is created on the same schedule as above. - The payment history on the form records each stage: **Request** (when the donor is sent to the payment gateway), **Token** (when the gateway returns a token), and **Paid** or **Scheduled** depending on the gateway. | Scenario | Stripe | ezidebit/GoCardless | | --- | --- | --- | | One-off, starting today | Form marked as paid in full; payment history shows Paid | Form not marked paid; payment history shows Scheduled | | One-off, starting next month | Form not marked paid; payment history shows Request and Token only | Same as Stripe | | Recurring, starting today | Form marked as paid in full; payment history shows Paid | Form not marked paid; payment history shows Scheduled | | Recurring, starting next month | Form not marked paid; payment history shows Request and Token only | Same as Stripe | **To stop further payments being taken before a form is approved: delete the form**. Transactions are not created until a form is approved, but payment gateway requests may continue to be processed against an existing pledge. --- ## Approving a form Transactions cannot be created from a form pledge until the form has been **approved**. Approval connects the form — and its associated pledge — to a specific contact. When you approve a form, infoodle will: - Link any emails sent to the chosen contact (visible to the approving user or the selected group). - Connect the pledge to the chosen contact. - Check whether pledge data already exists; if it doesn't, it creates it — leaving any already-scheduled or paid pledge occurrences intact. Once approved, the Add Transaction and Reconcile processes can see the form and pledge data and use it to create transactions. > **Note:** You need the Manage Pledges permission to approve a form that includes a recurring period field. ### Editing a form before approval You can change the **amount**, **account code**, and **tracking data** on a form before it is approved. After making changes, click Save changes — the recurring payment field will refresh to show the updated details. Review these carefully before approving, as this is the data that will be used to create transactions. > **Note:** Changing the start/end dates or amounts after submission will not affect any occurrences that have already been scheduled or paid. ### Disconnecting a form from a contact If you approved a form against the wrong contact, you can select **Disconnect** to remove the link. This does not remove the pledge or any transactions — those remain with the original contact. If you then re-approve the form to a new contact, the entire pledge and its associated records are transferred to the new contact. Any transactions already created remain with the original contact. --- ## Reconciling a pledge to a transaction Pledge occurrences are matched to actual transactions through the **Add Transaction** or **Reconcile screens** — not through a collective or Xero import on its own. ### Matching a pledge in Add Transaction 1. Open **Add Transaction** and search for the contact by name. 2. If a date is entered, infoodle uses that date to filter available pledges. Otherwise, today's date is used. 3. The screen shows pledge occurrences within **50 days before** and **14 days after** the supplied date, with a status of **Scheduled** or **Planned**. Paid or deleted occurrences are not shown. 4. Select **Match** next to the relevant pledge occurrence. #### What Match does: - Creates a transaction for the contact using the account code, campaign, tracking data, and payment method from the pledge. - Uses the amount and date from the specific pledge occurrence. - Marks that occurrence as Paid on the transaction date. - Links the occurrence to the matching transaction. > The transaction data comes from the pledge, not from how the record was reconciled in Xero. Where Xero tracking and infoodle tracking differ, both are shown on screen for comparison. #### Receipting - **Who to receipt** (individual or organisation) is taken from the Reconcile screen settings. - **When to receipt** (one-off or combined) is also taken from the Reconcile screen settings. --- ## Managing an existing pledge | Task | How to do it | | --- | --- | | Stop further payments being taken | Delete the pledge from the contact's **Finance → Pledges** tab | | Adjust the amount or date of a one-off occurrence | Edit the specific occurrence on the contact's **Finance > Pledges** tab | | Change future occurrence amounts, account codes, campaigns, or tracking data | Edit the pledge itself on the contact's **Finance > Pledges** tab | --- Related articles [Adding a Pledge](/v1/docs/adding-a-pledge) [Finance Tab](/v1/docs/finance-tab) [Configure Pledge vs Actual Report Options](/v1/docs/configure-pledge-vs-actual-report-options) [Online Payment Gateways](/v1/docs/online-payment-gateways) [Adding a Form](/v1/docs/adding-a-form) ## Related - [Adding a Pledge](/adding-a-pledge.md) - [Finance Tab](/finance-tab.md) - [Configure Pledge vs Actual Report Options](/configure-pledge-vs-actual-report-options.md) - [Online Payment Gateways](/online-payment-gateways.md) - [Adding a Form](/adding-a-form.md)