Virtual Terminal: Process Donations by Phone, Mail, or In Person
Picture this: A pastor calls you on Monday morning. A donor wants to give over the phone. Or perhaps a church member walks into the office with a check and a credit card, ready to make a gift. Maybe you’ve received a mailed-in envelope with card information written on a slip. In each of these scenarios, the donor isn’t sitting at a computer or using their phone to give online—they need someone to process the transaction on their behalf.
Manual Entry Made Simple
That’s exactly what the Virtual Terminal is designed for. It’s a secure, card-present and manual-entry tool that lets church staff process donations directly from the control panel. Whether you’re taking a credit card over the phone, entering a mailed-in check’s bank account details, or helping a walk-in donor complete a gift at the church office, the Virtual Terminal provides a familiar giving form that’s already logged in as the donor.
Unlike traditional point-of-sale terminals that require separate hardware, the Virtual Terminal runs entirely within your browser. You search for or create the donor, then the system opens the same giving form your donors use to give online—but with you entering the payment information on their behalf. The donor can select funds, designate amounts, and choose one-time or recurring gifts. All transactions appear in your Donations list and sync to your ChMS just like any other online gift.
One Form, Multiple Entry Points
You can access the Virtual Terminal from several places in the control panel. The most common path is from the Donations page: click the Virtual Terminal button in the header. If you’re already viewing a specific donor’s record or transaction, you can click the Donor Virtual Terminal option from the action menu to quickly open the terminal for that donor. This is especially useful when a donor calls and you need to pull up their profile and process a gift right away.
For multi-campus churches, the Virtual Terminal respects your fund and campus configuration. Donors can designate gifts to any campus or fund they normally would when giving online. The experience is seamless—the only difference is that you’re entering the payment details instead of the donor.
In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Virtual Terminal feature.
Virtual Terminal User Guide:
The Virtual Terminal is a secure, browser-based tool that allows church administrators to process donation transactions on behalf of donors. It is designed for card-present and manual-entry scenarios such as phone donations, mailed-in checks, or walk-in donors at the church office. The feature uses the same giving form that donors see when giving online, but it runs in a special mode where staff enter payment information on the donor’s behalf. All transactions are recorded in the Donations list and integrate with your ChMS and financial batches.
Key Takeaways
- Search or Create: Enter donor information to search for an existing donor, or create a new donor if no match is found.
- Embedded Giving Form: The Virtual Terminal embeds the full giving form with the donor already logged in, so you can select funds, amounts, and payment methods.
- Multiple Access Points: Access the Virtual Terminal from the Donations page, from a donor’s user profile, or from transaction and invoice detail menus.
- Secure Processing: Payment information is entered securely and processed through the same payment gateway used for online giving.
- Full Integration: Virtual Terminal transactions appear in Donations, sync to ChMS, and flow into financial batches like any other donation.
Table of Contents
- Overview
- How to Access
- Processing a Donation
- Embedding the Terminal
- Completed Transaction
- Integration with Donations List
- Tips and Best Practices
- Frequently Asked Questions
Overview
What the Virtual Terminal Does
The Virtual Terminal is a two-step process. First, you identify or create the donor. Second, you enter the donation details in the embedded giving form. The system uses your church’s existing funds, campuses, and giving settings. Donors can make one-time or recurring gifts, and you can designate payment by credit card or bank account (e-check).
When to Use
Use the Virtual Terminal when a donor is not available to give online themselves. Common scenarios include: taking a donation over the phone, processing a mailed-in check or card envelope, helping a walk-in donor at the church office, or processing a gift from a donor who prefers to call rather than use the website.
How to Access
From the Donations Page
Log in to the control panel and click “Donations” in the left navigation under the Giving section. On the Donations page, click the “Virtual Terminal” button in the page header. This opens the Virtual Terminal at the donor search page. If you have a specific donor selected in the Donations view (for example, when filtering by a user), the Virtual Terminal button may open directly to that donor’s terminal.
From a Donor Profile
From the Users & Donors list, open any donor’s profile. In the actions menu or dropdown, click “Virtual Terminal”. This opens the Virtual Terminal already embedded for that donor, skipping the search step. This is ideal when you know the donor and want to process a gift quickly.
From Transaction or Invoice Detail
When viewing a transaction or invoice in the Donations, Payments, or Checkouts area, you can open the action menu and select “Donor Virtual Terminal”. This opens the Virtual Terminal for the donor associated with that transaction. Useful when you’re reviewing a donor’s history and they call to add another gift.
Processing a Donation
Step 1: Enter Donor Information
On the Virtual Terminal main page, you will see Step 1: Enter Donor Information. Fill in the following fields:
- First Name* — Required.
- Last Name* — Required.
- Email* — Required. Must be a valid email format.
- Organization Name — Optional for individuals. Required for organizations (not individuals).
Click “Search” to find matching donors in your database.
Step 2: Select or Create New Donor
After searching, you will see Step 2: Select or Create New Donor. If results are found, the system displays a list of matching donors. Each row shows the donor’s name, email, organization name (if applicable), last login date, and donor since date. Click a row to select that donor and proceed to the Virtual Terminal.
The search may return partial matches. For example, if no exact match is found for the full information provided, the system may suggest donors matching by email or organization name, or by first and last name. A note will appear above the results explaining the match type.
If no donor is found, or if you prefer to create a new donor, use the “Create New Donor” section below the results. It is recommended to only create a new donor if an existing match cannot be located. Fill in First Name, Last Name, Email, and Organization Name (if applicable), then click “Create New Donor”. The system creates the donor and immediately opens the Virtual Terminal for that new donor.
Step 3: Complete the Gift in the Embedded Form
Once a donor is selected or created, the Virtual Terminal displays the donor’s information at the top and embeds the full giving form below. The form is the same one donors use when giving online—it shows your church’s funds, campuses, and giving options. You can:
- Select one or more funds and enter amounts.
- Choose one-time or recurring.
- Enter credit card or bank account (e-check) information.
- Add a memo or note if applicable.
Enter the payment details on behalf of the donor and complete the transaction. The donor will receive a confirmation email if that setting is enabled for your church.
When you are finished processing donations for this donor, click “I’m Finished with Donor” in the panel header. This returns you to the main Virtual Terminal or the donor profile, depending on how you accessed the terminal.
Embedding the Terminal
The Virtual Terminal embeds the giving form in an iframe. The form loads at the same URL as your public giving page but in a special mode that indicates it is being used for staff-entered transactions. The donor is effectively “logged in” so you see their profile and can process gifts on their behalf. The form supports all payment methods your church has enabled: credit card, debit card, and bank account (e-check).
Completed Transaction
After a successful transaction, the giving form displays a confirmation. The donor is still in the embedded terminal until you click “I’m Finished with Donor”. You can process multiple gifts for the same donor before finishing—for example, if a donor wants to give to multiple funds in one call.
When you click “I’m Finished with Donor”, the system ends the session for that donor and returns you to the appropriate page. If you opened the terminal from a donor profile, you may see a completion screen. Otherwise, you are returned to the main Virtual Terminal search page.
Integration with Donations List
All Virtual Terminal transactions appear in your Donations list alongside online gifts, text giving, and other transaction types. You can filter, search, and export transactions as usual. Virtual Terminal transactions sync to your ChMS (Ministry Platform, Rock RMS, etc.) if you have integration enabled. They also flow into your financial batches for reconciliation and reporting.
Tips and Best Practices
- Search first: Always search for an existing donor before creating a new one. Duplicate donor records can cause confusion and reporting issues.
- Verify donor identity: When taking donations over the phone, confirm the donor’s identity before entering payment information. Use the last four digits of their card or other verification methods as appropriate.
- Use organization name for businesses: If the donor is an organization or business, enter the organization name. Organizations require this field for proper record-keeping.
- Process multiple gifts in one session: If a donor wants to give to several funds, complete all gifts before clicking “I’m Finished with Donor” to avoid having to search and select them again.
- Access from donor profile for quick entry: When you know the donor, use the Virtual Terminal link from their profile or from a recent transaction to skip the search step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can access the Virtual Terminal?
The Virtual Terminal is available to users with the Donor Admin role. If you do not see the Virtual Terminal option, your account may not have the required permissions. Contact your church administrator or OnlineGiving.org support to request access.
What payment methods can I use in the Virtual Terminal?
The Virtual Terminal supports the same payment methods your church has enabled for online giving: credit card, debit card, and bank account (e-check). The available options depend on your church’s configuration.
Can I process recurring donations through the Virtual Terminal?
Yes. The embedded giving form supports both one-time and recurring gifts. When you select recurring, you can set the frequency (e.g., weekly, monthly) and the donor will be charged according to that schedule.
What if I search and find no matching donor?
If the search returns no results, you can create a new donor using the Create New Donor section. Enter the required information (First Name, Last Name, Email) and Organization Name if applicable. The system will create the donor and open the Virtual Terminal for them immediately.
What if the search returns multiple donors with similar names?
Review the results carefully. Each row shows the donor’s name, email, organization name, last login, and donor since date. Use these details to identify the correct donor. If you are unsure, you can contact the donor to confirm their email or other identifying information before processing the gift.
Do Virtual Terminal transactions appear in financial batches?
Yes. Virtual Terminal transactions are processed through the same payment gateway as online donations and appear in your Donations list and financial batches. They also sync to your ChMS if you have integration enabled.
What happens if I close the browser before clicking “I’m Finished with Donor”?
The donor session will eventually expire. When you return to the Virtual Terminal, you will start fresh at the search page. Any completed transactions before that point are already recorded and will appear in your Donations list.
Need help setting up? Contact us at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000.