Planning Center Integration with OnlineGiving.org: Comprehensive Guide
OnlineGiving.org integrates directly with Planning Center Online (PCO) to provide churches with seamless donation management and administrative tools. This integration supports automated donation recording, donor profile matching, and much more, all designed to simplify church management.
This guide covers everything you need to know, from setup to advanced features. Explore how Planning Center and OnlineGiving.org work together to enhance your church’s digital giving experience.
Key Functions:
- Seamless donation management: Automatically sync donations, checks, and refunds with PCO.
- Comprehensive integration: Manage donor profiles, events, and communications through PCO with custom forms, mobile apps, and chatbots.
- Continuous monitoring and support: Integration management is available 24/7 with automatic retries for API events.
Key Takeaways:
- Planning Center integration is available with all $30+ plans on OnlineGiving.org.
- Features include automatic donation recording, donor matching, custom forms, and text marketing.
- OnlineGiving.org continuously monitors and manages integration communications for reliability.
Table of Contents
- Planning Center Overview and Integration with OnlineGiving.org
- Key Features of Planning Center Integration
- Getting Started with Setting up PCO Integration
- How to Update Funds/Sub-Funds with Matching PCO Funds
- Automatic Donor Matching with PCO
- Automatic Donation Recording with PCO
- How to View Planning Center Donation ID for a Transaction
- How to Manually Trigger Donation for Recording into PCO
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Planning Center Overview and Integration with OnlineGiving.org
Planning Center is a technology company that provides user-friendly, affordable software to help churches manage their operations efficiently. Their suite of tools supports donation management, event planning, congregational engagement, and more. OnlineGiving.org’s integration with Planning Center connects these capabilities directly to your digital giving, ensuring all donations are recorded and managed effectively.
Key Features of Planning Center Integration
1. Integrated Donation Management
- Donation Recording: All donations are automatically synced into Planning Center, matching donor profiles and providing detailed records.
- Check Scanning & Recording: Scanned check donations are pushed into Planning Center, ensuring that all donor and transaction details are maintained.
- Batching and Refunds: OnlineGiving.org creates daily donation batches automatically, and any refunds or failed Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions are also integrated.
2. Household and Mailing Address Updates
Automatically updates households and mailing addresses, ensuring accurate donor data.
3. Custom Form Builder
- Planning Center Workflows Integration: Use custom forms to manage baptisms, salvations, connection cards, and more through Planning Center workflows.
- Pledge Creation: Automatically create pledge records in Planning Center, linking them to specific campaigns via custom forms.
4. Mobile App Integration
- Event Calendar: Sync events from Planning Center with the church’s mobile app, allowing members to find events by keywords or interests.
- Group Finder: Congregants can search for and join groups, such as small groups or Sunday school classes, through the church’s mobile app.
5. Text Marketing
- Phone List Integration: Sync phone numbers from Planning Center People Lists to the text marketing platform, facilitating enhanced communication.
- Upcoming Features: Additional text marketing tools integrated with Planning Center are in development.
6. Chatbot Integration
Workflows and Pledge Creation: Chatbots automate workflows (e.g., baptisms, connection cards) and generate pledge records directly within Planning Center.
7. Church Metrics Integration
Donation Reporting: Access detailed reports that combine digital and traditional giving data for a comprehensive view of church stewardship.
8. 24/7/365 Support & Monitoring
OnlineGiving.org manages and monitors all integration communications, with automatic retries for failed API events to ensure seamless operation.
Getting Started with Setting up PCO Integration
To set up the integration, email our support team at support@onlinegiving.org with the following information:
- Planning Center Administrator Username
- Planning Center Administrator Password
Our team will configure the integration by linking your OnlineGiving.org account with Planning Center, updating your funds accordingly, and confirming successful integration. Please ensure the Planning Center Donations application is activated in your PCO control panel before initiating the integration process.
How to Update Funds/Sub-Funds with Matching PCO Funds
OnlineGiving.org automatically syncs your funds and sub-funds with Planning Center during the integration process. Here’s how to manually update funds:
- Log in to your OnlineGiving control panel.
- Select Funds from the left-hand navigation menu.
- Click the gear icon next to the fund you want to edit.
- Select Edit Fund from the dropdown menu.
- Choose the correct Planning Center Fund from the dropdown.
- Click Save.
- Repeat these steps for each additional fund as needed.
Automatic Donor Matching with PCO
Donor matching is handled automatically using a proprietary algorithm that compares donor data with Planning Center profiles. If a match is found, the donor’s PCO Person ID is saved for future use. If no match is found, a new PCO profile is created.
Note: Donor profiles are only created after a donation has been made, ensuring accuracy.
Automatic Donation Recording with PCO
Once a donation is approved, OnlineGiving.org automatically queues it for recording in Planning Center. This process includes the following features:
- Batches: Donations are grouped by transaction date into batches that are automatically created daily.
- Retries: Failed donation recordings are retried for up to 12 hours.
- Manual Trigger: If needed, you can manually trigger the donation recording process.
How to View Planning Center Donation ID for a Transaction
- Log in to your control panel.
- Click Donations in the left-hand menu.
- Filter and search for the donation you want to review.
- Click the donation entry to open the detail window.
- The Planning Center Donation ID will be displayed at the bottom.
How to Manually Trigger Donation for Recording into PCO
If a donation fails to record, follow these steps:
- Log in to the control panel.
- Click Donations in the left-hand menu.
- Search for the failed donation.
- Click the donation entry to open the detail window.
- Click Retry Recording in the bottom right corner.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
OnlineGiving.org Features FAQ
Q: What is the Planning Center Integration?
A: Planning Center Integration with OnlineGiving.org connects church management systems to digital giving tools, allowing for seamless donation tracking and management.
Q: What are the key features of the Planning Center Integration?
- Automated donation recording and donor matching.
- Integrated check scanning and donation batching.
- Daily batch creation and refund recording.
- Household and mailing address syncing.
Q: What tools are integrated with Planning Center through OnlineGiving.org?
- Custom form builders for managing workflows.
- Mobile app integration for events and group finder.
- Text marketing features with daily syncing of Planning Center phone lists.
- Chatbot integrations for pledge creation and workflows.
Q: How can donations be recorded automatically?
A: Donations made through OnlineGiving.org are automatically pushed into Planning Center, with donor profiles matched for easy tracking.
Q: How are integration issues handled?
A: OnlineGiving.org provides 24/7/365 monitoring with automatic retries for any failed API communications.
Merchant Processing Tips FAQ
Q: How does check donation scanning work?
A: Scanned check donations are automatically recorded in Planning Center, including detailed donor information and batch records.
Q: Can refunds and failed ACH transactions be tracked?
A: Yes, all refunds and failed transactions are tracked within Planning Center, complete with associated donor and batch details.
Q: How can donation batches be automated?
A: OnlineGiving.org creates daily donation batches in Planning Center automatically, grouping donations by transaction date.
For more information, or to schedule a demo, contact us at (615) 206-4000 or support@onlinegiving.org.
