Allocating receipts to projects¶

In short: Allocations live inside the receipt. In the Allocations section, pick a Project, enter an Amount, and click Add Allocation to split across more projects. The allocation amounts must add up to exactly the receipt total or the save is rejected. At least one project must already exist.

Overview¶

A receipt allocation records how much of a donation goes to which project. In ActiveDonor every receipt must be split across one or more projects, and the total of the allocations must exactly equal the receipt amount. This is how the system knows which fund or cause each rand was given to, which in turn drives project totals, the Projects report, and Section 18A eligibility. Allocation is done inside the receipt itself — there is no separate "allocations" screen.

Before you start¶

You'll need:

The Add Receipt permission to create receipts and their allocations, and Manage Receipts to edit existing ones.
At least one project to exist before you can capture a receipt, because every allocation must point to a project. See Managing projects (a project is a fund or cause you allocate donations to, such as "Building Fund").

⚠️ Important: The allocation amounts must add up to exactly the receipt amount. If they don't, the save is rejected with "The total allocations amount must equal receipt amount entered above."

Allocating when creating a receipt¶

Step 1: Start the receipt and enter the amount¶

Start a new receipt (Receipts > Add Receipt, or from a donor's page) and enter the receipt Amount at the top of the form. For the full receipt-capture flow see Creating a receipt.

Step 2: Open the Allocations section¶

Scroll to the Allocations section. One allocation row is shown by default, with a Project dropdown and an Amount field.

Step 3: Choose a project¶

Choose a Project for the row. The dropdown lists your active projects; it pre-selects a sensible default — your configured default project, or the project you have allocated to most often.

Step 4: Enter the amount for that project¶

Enter the Amount for that project.

Step 5: Split across more projects (optional)¶

To split the donation across several projects, click Add Allocation to add another row, choose a Project and Amount, and repeat. Remove a row with the small red × (delete) icon on the right of the row.

Step 6: Balance and save¶

Make sure the allocation amounts add up to the receipt amount, then save the receipt.

Editing allocations on an existing receipt¶

Step 1: Open and edit the receipt¶

Open the receipt and choose to edit it (the Manage Receipts permission is required).

Step 2: Change the rows¶

In the Allocations section, change the Project or Amount on any row, add rows with Add Allocation, or remove rows with the × icon.

Step 3: Save¶

Save. ActiveDonor deletes the old allocations and saves the new set.

How allocations must balance¶

When you save, ActiveDonor checks that the sum of all allocation amounts equals the receipt's total amount. If they differ, the save is rejected with:

The total allocations amount must equal receipt amount entered above.

Adjust the row amounts (or add/remove a row) until they balance.

Locked allocations (certified receipts)¶

If a receipt has already had a Section 18A certificate issued against it, its amount is locked. On the edit form a locked allocation's amount is shown as read-only (greyed out, with a "not allowed" cursor) and cannot be changed, because changing a certified amount would invalidate the certificate. Trying to edit the amount or date of a certified receipt returns an error such as "Error editing receipt amount. This receipt has a certificate issued." To change a certified receipt you must first deal with the certificate — see Issuing a single Section 18A certificate (you typically revoke and re-issue).

Single-project receipts and the e-mail template¶

When a receipt is allocated to exactly one project, the e-mail used to send that receipt to the donor uses the Receipt E-mail Template configured on that project (if one is set). Splitting a receipt across multiple projects does not apply a per-project template. See Managing projects for how to set a project's Receipt E-mail Template.

Deceased donors¶

A receipt (and therefore its allocations) cannot be captured for a donor marked as deceased — you will see "The deceased donor cannot make donations." See Marking a donor as deceased.

Viewing a donor's allocations by project¶

A donor's page includes a breakdown of how much that donor has given to each project, summed across all their receipts. This "Projects" view per donor is populated from receipt allocations. See Viewing all receipts for a donor.

What this does not do¶

There is no separate allocations screen — you allocate inside the receipt only.
It does not let the allocations differ from the receipt total — they must balance exactly.
It does not let you change a certified receipt's allocation amount while a Section 18A certificate is in force.
It does not apply a per-project receipt e-mail template when a receipt is split across more than one project.

Field reference¶

Field	Required?	Notes
Project (per allocation row)	Required	Choose from active projects; defaults to your default/most-common project.
Amount (per allocation row)	Required	Numeric, two decimals. All rows together must equal the receipt total.

Common issues & solutions¶

What you see	What it means	How to fix it
"The total allocations amount must equal receipt amount entered above."	Your allocation amounts don't add up to the receipt amount.	Adjust the row amounts (or add/remove a row) until the total matches the receipt amount, then save.
An allocation amount is greyed out / shows a "not allowed" cursor and can't be edited.	The receipt has a Section 18A certificate issued, so its amount is locked.	Resolve the certificate first (revoke and re-issue) — see Issuing a single Section 18A certificate.
"Error editing receipt amount. This receipt has a certificate issued."	You tried to change the amount or date of a certified receipt.	Deal with the certificate before changing the receipt.
"The deceased donor cannot make donations."	The donor is marked deceased; you cannot capture receipts for them.	Use a different donor, or un-mark the donor as deceased if that was an error — see Marking a donor as deceased.
No projects appear in the Project dropdown.	You have no active projects to allocate to.	Create at least one active project first — see Managing projects.

FAQ¶

How do I allocate a receipt to a project? Inside the receipt, scroll to the Allocations section, pick a Project, enter the Amount, and save. There's no separate allocations page.

How do I split a donation across two or more projects? In the Allocations section, click Add Allocation to add a row for each project, set each Project and Amount, and make sure all the amounts add up to the receipt total before saving.

How do I add a fundraiser/project to a receipt I already saved? Open the receipt, edit it (you need Manage Receipts), add an allocation row with Add Allocation, and re-balance the amounts to equal the receipt total.

Why won't my receipt save — it mentions the allocations and receipt amount? Your allocation amounts don't add up to the receipt total. The exact message is "The total allocations amount must equal receipt amount entered above." Adjust the rows until they balance.

Why can't I change an allocation amount? The receipt has a Section 18A certificate issued, so its amount is locked. Resolve the certificate first.

Which projects show in the dropdown? Your active (non-archived) projects. If none appear, create a project first — see Managing projects.

Creating a receipt
Managing projects
Receipt fields and the Section 18A toggle
Editing or deleting a receipt
Viewing all receipts for a donor
Marking a donor as deceased
Projects report
Section 18A certificates explained

Need a hand?¶

If a receipt won't save and the allocation total looks right, check for a stray extra row or a rounding difference in the cents. If you're still stuck, contact ActiveDonor support with the donor name and the receipt amount.