Create and Manage Payment Forms

How Do I Create a Payment Form?

Go paperless. Easily convert offline payments and forms online. Payment forms make collecting needed information and payment easy and direct. Think of them as souped up surveys that increase efficiency and accelerate payments.

Features:

Create a payment form using a template

Create a payment form from scratch

Add and edit payment items

Get the link to your payment form

Copy or customize the form URL

Collect payments with the mobile app

Select a bank account to deposit funds

Copy a campaign

Create a payment form using a template

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms, then select Create a Payment Form on the submenu
2. Select a template from the available options

Note: Click on the row of the + sign to expand the category. A preview will appear to the right of your selection.

3. Once you have found the template you want to use, click the Use This Template button

How do I create a payment form starting from scratch?

If you want to completely customize your payment form instead of starting from a template, start from a blank payment form.

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms, then select Create a Payment Form on the submenu
2. Select Blank Payment Form

Customize the look of a payment form

These next steps allow admins to choose a specific color palette and upload a banner -- ideal identifiers for brand recognition and consistency.

1. Click the Colors dropdown menu
2. Select a color palette from the available options

• A preview of the colors selected will appear to the right.

3. Hover over the banner image section and click on the edit icon that appears

• An overlay will appear.

4. Drag and drop your desired photo into the allotted area, or click to browse and upload

Note: The recommended image size is 900 px wide.

5. Click the Upload button

Structure your payment form and determine what info to collect

Admins have a variety options available to customize the structure of their payment form, use different input field types, and further define field options.

On the Add Fields tab, you have the option to drag and drop four different types of fields into the payment form:

Basic: text or paragraph

Selection: dropdown, radio buttons, etc.

Preset: name, address, etc.

Section & Separators: divider or description

1. Name your form
2. Add a new field by dragging it from the Add Field tab and dropping it onto your payment form

• It will embed where you drop it.

Note: On the payment form, you can select fields, including section headers, and drag and drop them to reposition them.

3. Use the Field Options tab to label, assign default values, and add notes to each field

• Click on the field you want to edit and fill in the corresponding text boxes appearing on the left.

4. Remove a field by selecting it on your form and clicking the trash icon located on the Field Options tab
5. When you are ready to add payment items, click Next

Add and edit payment items

Admins have the option to set the following attributes for payment items: Type, Label, and Item Group Label. You can also set any item as required.

Payment Type defines how a user interacts with a payment item. Admins can set the type to:

• Any amount: Users can choose any amount they wish to pay. This is usually done for donations.

• Any amount (multi-item): Users can choose a few different amounts that add up to their total payment.

• Fixed amount: All users will pay the same fixed amount. This displays as a required payment item to a user.

• Fixed amount (multi-item): Users can pick one fixed amount from a few different choices.

• Item quantity: Users will choose a quantity of an item. For example, they can choose the quantity of T-shirts (fixed price) to purchase.

• Item quantity (multi-item): Users can choose quantities of different items.

Payment Label: the name an admin gives to a payment item, which is visible to a user

Item Group Label: the name an admin gives to a group of payment items, which is visible to a user. For example, if your payment form has a group of different sized blue T-shirt items, they may all be labeled under “Blue T-shirts”

1. To add a payment item, click the Add Payment Item button
2. Select Payment Type from the dropdown menu
3. In the overlay that appears, enter the Payment Label and other information for the item for which you are receiving payment
4. Optional - Assign an Account
   • If you have not set up accounts in Chart of Accounts you will need to complete this set up before assignment can be completed
5. Click Save

To edit or delete an existing payment item, click the pencil icon or X icon next to the item name.

6. When you have completed adding and editing payment items, click Save & Close

Get the link to your payment form

 Once you’ve published your payment form, you can get the link to it at anytime.

1. On the left navigation bar, click on Payment Forms
2. Click on the gear icon next to the payment form you wish to get the link for
3. In the dropdown menu, select Get Link

•  An overlay will appear wherein you can copy the entire URL.

Copy, customize, or shorten the form URL

 Admins have the option to modify part of the payment form URL as well as use a built-in URL shortener when the number of characters in the URL is an issue. Modifying the URL works best when you want to create a more memorable URL, use keywords, or use a naming convention. Shortening the URL is convenient when there’s a need to limit the number of characters, such as in a 140-character tweet.

1. On the left navigation bar, click on Payment Forms
2. Select the title of the payment form you want to copy or customize the form URL for
3. In the features list, click on Copy or Customize the Form URL

4. An overlay will appear with the following options:

• To copy either the full URL or shortened URL, click on the respective Copy to Clipboard button

• Click the Customize button to modify part of the campaign page URL. The text box that appears will allow you to edit the portion of the URL that is customizable. Click Save.

Note: After you customize your URL, your previous URL will no longer work. If you have given out your old URL to anyone, they will no longer be able to use it. Shortened URLs do not change, so users can continue to use the same shortened URL whether or not you edit the full URL.

Collect payments with the mobile app

Through memberplanet’s mobile app, admins can collect payments for their group on the go. You can use your smartphone to scan credit cards to accept payments without any additional hardware. This tool can be used to collect payments on site. To view instructions on using this feature on the mobile app, please see How to Collect Payments with the Mobile App.

Select a bank account to deposit funds

Even if you have not yet set up a bank account to deposit funds, you can still create a payment form. If your group has not yet selected a bank account to deposit funds, it’s important to note that you must do this in order to access collected funds. To learn more, please see Add and Verify a Bank Account in the Reporting and Account Settings section.

1. On the left navigation bar, click on Payment Forms
2. Select the title of the payment form you wish to manage
3. In the features list, click Select a Bank Account to Deposit Funds
4. Click the dropdown menu to select a bank account or select Add a New Bank Account

• If you add a new bank account, you will be required to fill in the bank account’s information fields.

5. Click Save & Close

Copy a payment form

 This feature allows admins to make a copy of an existing form, ideal for creating a variation of a payment form without altering the original.

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms and click Create a Payment Form in the submenu
2. Select the Copy a Payment Form option
3. Click the Make a Copy button for the form you wish to copy

4. A copy of the new form will appear in edit mode, which you can customize and save

Manage Payment Form Alerts

There are two types of notifications administrators can receive whenever a user submits a payment form:

• Manage payment alerts via email
• Set up a text message notification

Manage payment alerts via email

You and other administrators can be notified by email whenever someone makes a payment. By default, an alert will be sent to the email address associated with the account from which the payment form was created.

To edit who is receiving payment alerts:

1. On the left navigation bar select Payment Forms
2. Click Manage Payment Forms in the submenu

3. Select the name of the form you wish to manage

Sample:

4. In the dashboard, select Manage Payment Alerts

• You can disable payment alerts by deselecting the checkbox in the overlay that appears, or modify who is receiving payment alerts by typing in or removing email addresses in the text field

5. After making desired changes, click Save

Set up a text message notification

Receiving a text message notification whenever a payment form is submitted is effective if you wish to be notified immediately. Most people carry a mobile device wherever they go, and about 90 percent of text messages are read within three minutes. Some administrators may prefer a text message notification rather than an email, which might get sent to their junk mail if they do not add the email sender to their “safe” list.

1. On the left navigation bar select Payment Forms
2. Click Manage Payment Forms in the submenu

3. Select the payment form you wish to receive alerts for

Sample:

4. In the dashboard, click Text Message Notification

5. Enter the phone number without any dashes or special characters

• To remove a phone number that was previously saved, enter 0000000000 (10 zeros) or replace it with a different phone number.

6. Click Save

More Options to Share and Optimize a Payment Form

Sharing your payment form in-platform can be done easily through multiple options. Admins also have the option to optimize payment forms through many automated features, including managing alerts to be notified whenever someone submits a payment, customizing the automated thank-you message, and setting a close date for your form.

Features:

Share your form on social media

Modify whom your form is visible to

Manage payment alerts

Add a thank-you message

Assign the convenience fee to the payer

Create a button to your form for your email campaigns

Create a button to your form for your external website

Share your form with leaders in another group

Close a form or set close date

Customize the message shown when the form has closed

Enable pay-by-mail

Record an offline payment

Share your form on social media

As soon as you publish your payment form, your page link will be provided, and you can share your campaign to social media directly from the platform, mobile app, or the page itself. Just click on the platform you wish to use.

Admins can share a payment form on social media through the platform at any time.

1. On the left navigation bar, click on Payment Forms
2. Select the payment form you want to share on social media
3. Above the features list, click on the desired social media platform button to share

4. A pop-up window will appear to allow you to type in a custom message when you post to social media. After typing in your message, select your desired share settings, and publish to social media.

Modify whom your form is visible to

By default, all your members can see a published form in their memberplanet activity feed. To modify who can see it, or to send to a different distribution list, follow the steps below. (Learn how to create a distribution list)

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms and click Manage Payment Forms in the submenu
2. Select the name of the form you wish to manage
3. In the features list, select Notify Your Members

4. Select the members you want to share the form with by checking the box next to their names, or choose from a list you’ve previously created

5. Click Save & Close

Add a thank-you message

Once a member submits a payment, a confirmation email automatically goes out to the member. Admins have the option to include a thank-you message in the confirmation email. Customized thank-you messages help keep your members engaged and feeling positive about their contributions.

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms and click Manage Payment Forms in the submenu
2. Select the title of the payment form you want to add a thank-you message for
3. Click Add a Thank-you Message in the feature list
4. You have two checkbox options:

Add a thank-you message to the payment confirmation email

• Upon selecting this feature, a text box will appear wherein you can write a custom message

Send an email campaign as a thank-you when someone makes a payment

• You can select an existing email campaign to be sent

5. Click Save & Close

Assign the convenience fee to the payer

By default, the Convenience Fee, which is the processing fee deducted from payments collected on the system, is charged to the organization.

1. On the left navigation bar, select Payment Forms
2. Click on the gear icon next to the payment form you wish to manage
3. In the dropdown menu, select Edit
4. Click the Next button at the bottom to go to the Payment Items page
5. Click More Options on the Payment Items page
6. Next to Convenience Fee, select the radio button Users Filling Out the Form Will Pay the Fee

7. Click Save & Close

Create a button to your form for your email campaigns

 When creating email campaigns, you have the option to include buttons – not just links – for any form created on the platform.

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms and click  Manage Payment Forms in the submenu
2. Select the title of the form you want to manage
3. In the features list, click Create a Pay Now Button for Your Email Campaigns
4. Admins have one of two options to select:

• Choose a Button: Use the dropdown menu to select the desired button text, then click on the color of your choice
• Upload Your Own Image: Click the Choose Image button, then drag and drop your desired image into the allotted area, or click to browse and upload. Complete the prompts to upload and crop your image if needed, then click Save

Note: Recommended image size is 580 px or smaller.

5. To use your button in an email, navigate to the email you want to use and go to Step 4: Content

6. In the body of your email, place your cursor in the body of the email where you’d like to place the button

• You can also center the cursor using the editing toolbar that appears.

7. Click Buttons in the toolbar to insert your button

8. In the pop-up window that appears, click on the Type dropdown menu and select Form Button

• Your buttons will appear in the list after you've selected Form Button.

9. Click the Go button for corresponding form you want to use

• Your button will appear in the body of them email you have placed your cursor. 
• Learn more: How to Create an Email.

Create a button to your form for your external website

Anyone can fill out a payment form, whether or not he or she is a member of your group. This feature can be used for times when you want to use a button on an external website to drive users to make a donation.

1. On the left navigation bar, click on Payment Forms
2. Select the title of the form you want to create a button for your external website
3. In the features list, click Create a Pay Now Button for Your External Website

4. Admins have one of two options to select:

• Choose a Button: Use the dropdown menu to select the desired button text, then click on the color of your choice
• Upload Your Own Image: Click the Choose Image button, then drag and drop your desired image into the allotted area, or click to browse and upload. Complete the prompts to upload and crop your image if needed, then click Get Code Snippet

Note: Recommended image size is 580 px wide or smaller.

5. A shaded box will contain the HTML code for your button. Copy the entire segment, and paste it into your website

Each external website builder is different. Check out the customer support for your website hosting company for instructions on embedding the code.

Share your form with leaders in another group

Many organizations have sister groups, local chapters or clubs, or other groups they collaborate with. If the group you work with also uses memberplanet, you can share any form or campaign with admins or leaders from that group. This feature helps save time for other admins who will utilize the form on the platform for their own engagement efforts. Sharing your form will give the leaders of the selected group full access to editing or deleting this form. Only the bank account is locked -- leaders of the other groups cannot change the bank account where your funds from this form will be deposited.

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms and click Manage Payment Forms in the submenu
2. Select the title of the form you want to share with leaders in another group
3. In the features list, click Share this Form with Leaders in Another Group

4. Use the search box to search for the group name
5. Select Add for the desired group
6. Click Save

Close a form or set close date

The status of a payment form can either be published, editing, or closed. Closing your form is the same thing as unpublishing it. If you close your form, users will no longer be able to submit a payment using the form. If they navigate to your payment form URL, they will see a message stating: This form is no longer available. You can always re-open a form after it has been closed. Forms will exist in your payment forms list until they’re deleted.

1. On the left navigation bar, select Payment Forms
2. Click on the title of the published form you wish to close
3. To close the form, click Close Form on the right, or to edit the close date, select the Edit link next to the form’s close date

4. In the pop-up overlay that appears, set closing conditions by date and time or processing amount, then click Save

Customize the message shown when the form has closed

When a member attempts to view a form after it has closed, the form fields will no longer be visible. Instead, a message will be shown to the user notifying them that the form is closed. Admins can customize this message.

1. On the left navigation bar, click on Payment Forms
2. Select the title of the form you want to customize the message for
3. In the features list, click Customize the Message Shown When the Form Has Closed

4. Type your customized message in the text box
5. Click Save & Close

Enable pay-by-mail

For security and reporting purposes, mail-in payments are handled differently on the platform. By default, pay-by-mail, is disabled because it only applies to Packets. Packets are multiple online forms bundled together because the information needs to be submitted together. For example, registration usually consists of multiple forms that all need to be filled out and submitted at once.

If you would like to accept mail-in payments, you must first create a Packet that includes the form you wish to receive mail-in payments for. After you have created a Packet, you can then enable pay-by-mail by following the steps below:

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms and click Manage Payment Forms in the submenu
2. Select the name of the payment form you wish to manage
3. In the features list, click Manage Settings for Receiving Payments by Mail

4. In the overlay that appears, select Allow People to Pay By Mail
5. Enter the address to deliver payment to
6. Click Save
7. On the left navigation bar, hover over Packets and click Manage Packets
8. Select the Packet title that contains the payment form you wish to receive mail-in payments for
9. In the features list, click Manage Settings for Receiving Payments by Mail
10. Click the Enable button
11. Select the X icon in the top right to exit the overlay
12. To get the full URL to your Packet, click on the View Packet button

A new browser window will open that will direct people to your Packet. Admins must use this URL to give users the pay-by-mail option. Within your Packet, users will be able to select Pay by Mail in the Use a New Payment Method dropdown menu.

Record an Offline Payment Form Payment

Some of your payees may pay via cash or check offline. You can still keep accurate records within your payment form and keep an accurate inventory by recording the payment in your payment form records..

1. On the left navigation bar, hover over Payment Forms and click Manage Payment Forms in the submenu
2. Select the name of the payment form you wish to manage
3. Click Record an Offline Payment
4. If your form is collecting additional information, fill in your form fields, or proceed to the payment fields and select purchased items, date, payment type, member info/name/email and any additional notes

5. Optional - Assign a Deposit
   • If you have not set up accounts in Deposit you will need to complete this set up before assignment can be completed
6. Click the Record Payment button

View Payment Form Reports

Payment form reports allow you to view how much is collected for each payment form, as well as all the information submitted with each payment. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to determine who was emailed, how much you recently raised, and the progress you’ve made for each payment form. All reports are exportable to an Excel spreadsheet for more advanced sorting and editing options.

Payments are also included in the All Payments report, which allows for more robust searching.

View overall data of your payment forms 

1. On the left navigation bar, click Payment Forms

• Data from the last four months will appear as a summary at the top of the page, and the rest of your payment form data will display in sortable columns.

2. To sort by column, click on the column header

• Data will be sorted by column header in ascending order.

3. To sort by descending order, click on the column header again

View a specific payment form report

There may be times when you want to see all the details associated with your payment form. This includes information submitted in custom fields you may have created, the date and time of the payment, username, the email address the receipt was sent to, the amount submitted, any fees collected for electronic payments, and transferable funds.

1. On the left navigation bar, click Payment Forms
2. Select the gear icon of the Payment Form you wish to manage
3. In the dropdown menu, click Form Responses

• All form responses will be listed in sortable columns. To sort by column, click on the column header.

4. To hide or show columns from displaying, click the Choose Columns button

5. Uncheck or check the box next to the column name you wish to hide or show
6. Click Save

View purchase item breakdown

If you have sold merchandise on a payment form, you can view the details associated with each purchase.

1. On the left navigation bar, click Payment Forms
2. Click on the name of the payment form you wish to manage
3. On the top right, select View Purchases

Data for each purchase will be displayed in sortable columns.

Glossary - Create and Manage Payment Forms

Convenience Fee: the processing fee deducted from payments collected on the system. By default, this fee is charged to the organization.

Item Group Label: the name an admin gives to a group of payment items, which is visible to a user.

Payment Type: defines how a user interacts with a payment item. Admins can set the type to:

• Any amount: Users can choose any amount they wish to pay. This is usually done for donations.

• Any amount (multi-item): Users can choose a few different amounts that add up to their total payment.

• Fixed amount: All users will pay the same fixed amount. This displays as a required payment item to a user.

• Fixed amount (multi-item): Users can pick one fixed amount from a few different choices.

• Item quantity: Users will choose a quantity of an item. For example, they can choose the quantity of T-shirts (fixed price) to purchase.

• Item quantity (multi-item): Users can choose quantities of different items.

Payment Label: the name an admin gives to a payment item, which is visible to a user.

Packets: multiple online forms bundled together because the information needs to be submitted together. Packets are the only forms for which admins have the option of enabling pay-by-mail.