Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between DONATION and ACCOUNTS, and do I need both?
DONATION is for tracking your donors and donations and issuing charitable receipts. ACCOUNTS is for your more general bookkeeping, including simple automated fund accounting. Neither program includes the functionality of the other one.
Which version of the program is best for me?
To assist you in selecting the most suitable program and version, we have put together a helpful guide. If you are interested in the DONATION program, please click HERE . Alternatively, if you are interested in the ACCOUNTS program, please click HERE .The most relevant differences between Standard and OnDemand are:
Standard only works on Windows; OnDemand also works on Macs. With Standard, you can only have one user doing data entry at a time; with OnDemand, you can have multiple simultaneous users. Standard works anywhere in the world; OnDemand only works in Canada and the USA.
What do I get in my 30-day free trial?
During your 30-day free trial, you will have access to all of the program’s features. If you need more time, we are happy to consider an extension upon request. After the evaluation period ends, the program will stop working, but your data will remain safe and accessible once you purchase a license key.
Do I need a license key right away?
The Standard version of DONATION is free and does not require a license key until you have more than 50 donors with donations in the current working year.
How can I make a payment to purchase the license key?
To ensure a seamless payment experience, we process all payments through Stripe. When you register for the program, the welcome email will include payment links. If you cannot find that email, please contact us using the contact form on the right side of this page.
Credit Card ACH from your bank account (for U.S. users) PAD (Pre-Authorized Debit) from your bank account (for Canadian users)
How do I request a license key after payment?
Once we receive your payment, we will send you an email acknowledgement, with instructions for requesting your license key. That is done from the Licensing and Evaluation window that comes up when you start the program. In some cases, your program may automatically retrieve the license key. Otherwise, that window sends us an email with your license key request. We will send back the license key, with instructions for installing it, which is done on that same Licensing and Evaluation window.
What are the minimum computer specifications needed to run the programs?
Our DONATION and ACCOUNTS programs are designed to be lightweight and efficient, and therefore do not require high-end computer specifications. The programs are compatible with Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2008 SP2 or later, and will run smoothly on both 32-bit and 64-bit machines.
You will have to download the installation program, and any upgrades, elsewhere, and bring them to your non-Internet computer to do the installation. You will have to request license keys (needed after each payment) more indirectly through another computer. No Internet-related features will be available, including emailing anything to donors, emailing backups, Internet Backups, and the Cloud Storage Service for safely sharing your data between computers.
Do the programs run on a Mac?
If you’re using a Macintosh (Mac) computer, the OnDemand versions of our DONATION and ACCOUNTS programs are the only ones that can be run directly. This cloud-based version can be accessed through a small OnDemand client program that is compatible with Macs. While it will maintain its functionality, it will still appear and operate as a Windows program.
How often do I have to pay for the program?
DONATION and ACCOUNTS are subscription software that require annual payments to continue using them each year. Your first payment establishes an automatic annual subscription. You may change or cancel your subscription plan at any time by contacting customer support.
Can I use the program for multiple organizations?
The Standard version allows you to create up to 5 databases, while the OnDemand version allows you to create as many as you need.
Can I upgrade to another version before the license expires?
Yes. If your license key is still valid, you’ll only need to pay the difference between the cost of the upgraded version and the remaining portion of your initial payment. However, if your license key has expired, the full price will apply.
How do I move the program to a new computer?
Are there videos of the program to help me get started?
For DONATION, your best start is the introductory videos HERE .For ACCOUNTS, we also recommend the introductory videos HERE . In addition, please be sure to read the Help topic “Accounting Concepts”, including its section “Funds and Fund Accounting”. And if you are first starting to use ACCOUNTS and need to enter your prior balances, see the Help topic “Opening Balances”.
How to learn different features and options of the programs?
Your best resource for learning the DONATION or ACCOUNTS programs is their Help files, accessed via the Help -> Contents and Index menu option on the main window, and also from Help buttons on most other windows. The Index in the Help file can be particularly helpful, for looking up things based on sensible keywords, or based on topic titles we give you in response to questions.
You can redisplay the receipts in DONATION, without changing their status to Duplicate or Corrected, with the Receipt -> Reprint Range menu option. Then you can print them or email them as desired. If you aren’t sure which numbers you want to reprint, check the list of them via Reports -> Receipt -> All Receipts .Receipt -> Reprint Range window to mark your redisplayed ones as Duplicate or Corrected.
How can I add a new database to the programs?
We have a detailed guide to adding a new database for another organization, or switching to another database in the programs. Please look up “Switching Databases” in the Index of the Help! (You get to that via Help -> Contents and Index on the program’s main menu.)
How to search for pre-built reports in the programs?
When you are looking for reports your best bet is to use the Report Browser (the first option on the Reports menu), which lets you see all of the reports (and try them out), with a description of each one, including what it can be selected on.
Contact Software4Nonprofits for Support
You can email us at info@software4nonprofits.com, use the form to the right, or use features in the programs to send us emails or screenshots of windows or messagesboxes, with your questions about them.
Getting Error 106 while trying to update the program or request a license key.
To fix this issue, simply upgrade your current named version by downloading it from the website’s download page and installing it on top of your existing installation. If you’re unsure which named version you have, check the program’s Help -> About DONATION or About ACCOUNTS menu option.
All of the receiptable regular donations have already been included in the receipts
If you’ve encountered an error in DONATION while trying to print or email receipts and are unable to print the receipts again, don’t worry – you can easily redisplay them using the Receipt -> ReprintRange menu option, without changing their status to Duplicate or Corrected. Then you print or email them as needed. If you’re not sure which receipts you need to reprint, just check the list of them under Reports -> Receipt -> All Receipts .
License key is 33 characters long
If you get this message when trying to install a license key, most likely the reason is that you’re using an older version of the program which cannot correctly process an up-to-date key. Updating the program is easy – just check for updates by clicking on Tools -> Check for Updates . Once that is done, the license key should be accepted
I’m locked out from logging in to OnDemand because of too many bad tries
In OnDemand, there aren’t any lockouts for multiple failed login attempts. After a few unsuccessful tries, the login window will simply kick you out. However, you can immediately try logging in again without any issues.
I can’t configure my email address in the program to send emails
To make things easier, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide that walks you through the entire process step-by-step. We hope you’ll find it really helpful! To read the guide, please click on the following link: https://www.software4nonprofits.com/smtplist.htm
How can I share the error message I’m getting or window I’m unsure about with customer support?
In recent releases of our programs, you can take a screenshot of any window by clicking on the camera icon that you will see in some corner of the window. That will then immediately prompt you to email the screenshot to us, with your comments. Alt+PrtSc (or on some laptops, Fn+Alt+PrtSc). Pressing that doesn’t appear to do anything, or make any sound, but it puts that screenshot into the Windows clipboard. You can then paste that directly into an email with Ctrl+V or the Edit -> Paste menu option in your email program. If that doesn’t work in your email program, you can instead paste it into a Word document that you can send to us. Please be sure to use Alt with PrtSc, so it doesn’t take a screenshot of your whole Windows screen, and please do not send camera photos – both of those alternatives are generally huge, and much harder for us to read. (If you have any problems following the instructions in this paragraph, you can watch our short video demonstration of it at https://youtu.be/7EhKrFFc-WM .)
I’m getting the error message, “Error posting to web service”. What should I do?
The error message “Error posting to web service” may be due to a momentary Internet problem on your computer. This error may occur when your computer is unable to find the IP address of the website via DNS.https://apps.software4nonprofits.com . If the webpage loads saying it’s not our main website (which is what it should say!), then the error may have been temporary. However, if the website cannot be found, there is still a problem on your computer, and you may need to seek more general computer help.
What should I do if I can't make a payment using my credit or debit card?
If you’re located in Canada, you can use PAD (Pre-Authorized Debit), available to anyone who can write a cheque. You can pay either by logging into your online banking, if your financial institution is listed, or you can click on a link for a “manual” payment and just enter the information from your cheque.
How can we proceed if online banking is unavailable or our financial institution is not listed in the PAD or ACH link?
You can click on the blue “manually verify” link located near the bottom of the screen and input your cheque information. Please note that this method will require further verification, which involves a couple of small deposits being made to your account which you then have to report back to our payment processor, Stripe.
If my subscription has been expired for a long time, will there be an additional charge to renew my license key?
Rest assured that renewing your license key, even if it has been expired for a long time, will not incur any additional charges beyond the standard Annual Fee.
How can I check the expiry date of my subscription?
Your subscription is valid for a period of 12 months starting from the date of your last payment, or 12 months after your previous expiry date for existing users, whichever is later. As long as you have either automatically retrieved, or requested, received and installed a license key after that payment, your support expiry date will be visible in the Tools → Request or Install License Key window in the program.
Can the auto-renewal of the subscription be disabled?
To deactivate the auto-renewal feature, you can contact us, and we will provide you with a link to the customer portal. From there, you can disable the recurring payments option.
Can I read the DONATION Manual Online?
Yes, HERE.
Can I read the ACCOUNTS Manual Online?
Yes, HERE.
