Donorbox receipts can easily be made compliant to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) standards. This article will detail how our receipts are already compliant and what you can do to ensure your receipts further meet the standards set by the CRA.
According to the Canadian government, receipts should be read-only by the receiver. While Donorbox receipts can be viewed or printed by the donor, they are not editable by anyone but the organization. The CRA also requires that an organization retains a copy of all receipts for up to two years. Organizations using the Donorbox platform have access to these receipts on their Donations page. On this page, you need to click on the transaction ID for the donation, and you'll need to go to the receipt tab in order to access the receipt:
When you go to the receipt tab, a full copy of that receipt can be viewed, as well as the option to download a PDF copy of it. To download a copy of the receipt, just click on the down-arrow icon:
The CRA has a full checklist of information that must be included on a receipt. There is some default information already included on our donation receipts that are deemed mandatory by the CRA, such as:
- The name of your organization
- The full name of your donor
- The amount donated
- The receipt number
- The day and year on which the donation was made
In addition to this, the CRA requires the address of the donor to be included on the receipt. In your campaign editor, you have the option to collect postal addresses from your donors:
This is subsequently shown on the receipt when a donation has been made.
A statement that the receipt is for income tax purposes as well as the name and website address of the CRA should also be visible on your receipts. Because receipts are editable by the organization, this information is easily added in the Email tab of your campaign editor.
Lastly, a signature of an individual authorized by the organization to acknowledge donations must be added to the receipt. There are plenty of online signature creators that you can use such as Adobe. After you have created your signature, head over to the receipt settings in your campaign editor and select the Attach Image icon (selected in red in the following image) to upload your signature.
Here's an example of what your Canadian receipt could look like:
When the email is sent, all mandatory information is included in the {donation_details} field. Along with adding your signature to your one-time donation receipt, this can be added to your recurring donation and year-end donation receipts as well.
When logged into your organization account, this can be added on your receipt settings page for your recurring donations, and yearly receipts page.
In addition, Canadian organizations must attach a PDF copy of the donation receipt in the receipt emails. This is done in your account settings. Select Receipt Email Settings and you'll be redirected to a page that allows you to enable the option to add a PDF copy to your email receipts:
There are many Canadian organizations that have signed up with Donorbox to fundraise, including:
If you require any additional information about making your receipts compliant, please feel free to contact us by email at support@donorbox.org.
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