Add a Standard Payment to a Contact

There are several ways to add payments into Vega.

• Online payments made through widgets or the API are processed automatically. Vega matches the contact, records the payment, generates a receipt (if applicable), and stores the transaction against the contact.
• Batch Entry and Data Import are ideal for adding multiple payments at once.
• Add Payment allows you to manually record a single payment directly against a contact. This article explains how to use this option.

Add a Payment

1. Open the contact you want to add a payment to.
2. Click Add Payment from the toolbar.

The Payment window will open.

The payment window is divided into several sections, explained below.

Contact Details

The left-hand panel displays key information about the contact for reference while entering the payment.

This may include:

• Vega ID
• Account Name
• Email Address
• First and Last Name
• Salutation
• Organisation
• Phone numbers
• Address
• Membership information
• Contact Branch
• Receipt preference
• Key Attributes (if enabled in Financial Settings)
• Alerts (if enabled in Financial Settings)

These details are read-only and help confirm you're recording the payment against the correct contact.

Note: The Key Attributes and Alerts sections are optional and can be enabled or disabled in Admin > Financial Settings. When enabled, they provide additional contact information and important alerts directly within the payment form to assist when processing payments.

Payment Attributes

Below the Contact Details are any configured Payment Attributes.

By default, the Contact Branch attribute is available. Additional payment attributes can be selected from the available drop-down lists.

For payments processed through a widget, Vega automatically records additional attributes, including:

• Website Log ID – the unique Vega website transaction ID.
• Gateway Reference – the transaction reference supplied by your payment gateway.

Note: The Gateway Reference is supplied by your payment provider and is not the same as a payment token.

Note: For more information on Payment Attributes, see the attached article Understanding Contact Attributes vs Payment Attributes

Payment Type

The centre section of the form is where payment information is entered.

For a standard one-off payment, leave Payment Type set to Standard.

Other payment types include:

For more information on these payment types, refer to the relevant knowledge base articles.

Payment Details

Enter the payment information.

Pay Type

Select the payment method (for example Cash, Cheque, Credit Card or Bank Transfer).

If your organisation has a payment gateway configured, selecting Credit Card allows the payment to be processed directly within Vega.

Total Amount

Enter the total payment amount received.

Distributions

Distributions determine how the payment is allocated.

You can assign the entire payment to one campaign or split it across multiple campaigns, GL Codes, or projects.

Single Distribution

Use a single distribution when the entire payment belongs to one campaign and GL Code.

Select:

• Campaign
• GL Code
• Receipt settings

Then continue to save the payment.

Multiple Distributions

A payment can be divided across multiple distributions.

For example, a donor may make one payment that supports two separate fundraising projects.

Although the payment is split internally:

• only one transaction is created
• the payment receives one Transaction ID
• only one Receipt Number is generated

Payment Notes

Use Pay Details (top right of the form) to record any notes relating to the transaction.

These notes are stored with the payment for future reference.

Receipt Details

Complete the receipt information.

Viewing the Payment

After saving, the payment appears on the contact's Payments & Recurring tab.

The Payments grid displays both single-distribution and multi-distribution payments.

Depending on your configuration and payment data, additional columns may also be displayed, including:

• Reference
• Gift From
• In Memoriam
• Fundraiser
• Team
• Annual Receipt Number
• Annual Receipt Date
• Pledge ID

To edit a payment later, simply click the payment row to reopen it.

Tips

• Verify you're on the correct contact before recording a payment.
• Use multiple distributions when one payment supports more than one campaign or project.
• Save gateway payments before sending receipts.
• Payment notes are useful for recording cheque numbers, donor instructions, or internal comments.