Giving admins and bookkeepers can now preview the donation form and submit test donations to see exactly what their donors would experience in Church Center, before setting up Planning Center Payments.

Donation form preview for Centerville Church in Church Center. Options for fund, frequency, and payment method are displayed, with a $100 test transaction.

How it works

If you haven't set up Planning Center Payments yet, your donation form will automatically enter "Preview Mode". You'll see a banner with a link to submit test donations in Manage → Donation Form. You can configure funds, fee coverage and the memo line, and preview these settings on the donation form. In Church Center, Giving admins and bookkeepers can pick a test bank account or credit card and submit a test donation. Donors and other users won't see the donation form.

Online donation form settings page in preview mode with options for test gifts, credit card donations, and express giving. Provides admin settings and payment setup.

Test donations will show up everywhere a real one would, including the confirmation screen, email receipts, statements, recurring donations, My Giving and pledges, all clearly marked as test. You can also see test donations on your reports and donor profiles on the admin screens in Planning Center.

Donation report interface showing test donations in preview mode, date range filter, and transaction details, including donor name, amount, and fees.

When you connect Planning Center Payments, your test donations are cleared out automatically, and your fund and form settings carry over. You can turn off preview mode anytime by reaching out to support.

Where to find it

The donation form in preview mode turns on automatically if you haven't set up Planning Center Payments. Go to Manage → Donation Form and click "Submit a test gift" to try it. See this help article to learn more.

💛 The Giving Team