A card, a recurring bill, and the charge that creates next month's.
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Monthly donors are the backbone of your budget. Here's how to set up a recurring monthly gift on a card, and let CMS take care of the rest. Start on the family's page. The Credit Cards tab shows the cards on file. To add one, click Add Payment Method, and enter the card number, expiration, and billing details. A monthly gift is set up as a bill with a schedule. Go to Transactions, and click Plus Bill. Choose what the gift is for. Start typing, and pick the subcategory, like Donation, General. Then enter the monthly amount, thirty-six dollars. Under Card, choose the card to charge. If the family's card isn't on file yet, Plus New Card adds it right here. Now open Schedule, and check Recurring bill. The period is Monthly, and Perpetual means it keeps going until you stop it. For a pledge with an end, uncheck Perpetual and enter the number of payments. CMS shows the date of the last one. We'll keep this gift ongoing. Click Save. The bill is on the family's record, marked Monthly, with no end date. Each month's payment comes due on its date, and everything that's due is listed under Credit Card Charges. Search for the family to find theirs. If your organization charges cards automatically, CMS charges them once a day, and this list shows only the ones that failed. You'll find that choice under Settings, Automation. Here, cards are charged by hand. Their first payment is due today, and it's checked and ready to charge. Need to change the amount or the card? Edit opens the bill right from this list. Click Charge Cards, and confirm. The green check means the card went through. A declined card stays on this list with the reason, and you can email the donor right from here. Back on the family's page, Payments shows the gift, paid by Visa, with its receipt number. It's a payment like any other, so the thank-you email, the receipt, and your reports all work the same way. And under Bills, next month's payment is already scheduled. To see what's coming up, set the Period on Credit Card Charges to thirty, sixty, or ninety days. And when a card expires, the Card Expired tab lists those families, so you can update the card before the next charge. Nothing has expired here. Recurring gifts turn one-time donors into steady monthly support, and CMS charges, records and tracks every payment for you.