Billing and Subscriptions

This article covers everything related to billing and subscriptions in WeGive — from how your organization is billed for using the platform, to how donations are processed, how fees work, and how recurring giving plans are managed.

Organization Billing

WeGive uses Orb as its billing and metering platform. Every WeGive organization is linked to an Orb customer account via an internal identifier, and all subscription and invoice management flows through this integration.

Viewing Your Billing Information

Navigate to Settings > Billing in the WeGive dashboard to view your organization's billing details. From this page you can see your current subscription plan (including plan name and start date), your invoice history, your payment method on file, and your billing contacts.

Invoices

Your invoice history is listed on the Billing settings page. Each invoice shows the amount, due date, and current status. Click any invoice to open it in a new tab, where you can view or download a PDF copy for your accounting records. WeGive invoices are auto-charged on a recurring schedule, typically on the first of each month.

Payment Methods

Your organization's payment method is displayed on the Billing page showing the last four digits of the card on file. You can update your payment method or add a new one at any time by clicking the action menu next to your current payment method. Changes take effect immediately and apply to your next billing cycle.

Billing Contacts

You can add one or more email addresses as billing contacts. These contacts receive invoice notifications and billing-related communications. To update your billing contacts, edit the email field on the Billing settings page and save. Multiple contacts can be entered in a comma-separated format.

Payment Processing

WeGive supports multiple payment processors so organizations can choose the setup that best fits their needs.

Supported Payment Processors

WeGive integrates with the following processors: Stripe (including Stripe Connect and direct accounts), Payrix (with support for multiple merchant accounts), and Finix. Each organization has a default payment processor configured at the organization level, though individual transactions can override this default when needed.

Stripe Integration

Organizations using Stripe can connect in two ways. With Stripe Connect, the organization operates through WeGive's master Stripe account using a connected account ID. With a Direct Stripe account, the organization provides their own Stripe secret key for full control. Stripe also supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, which require domain registration. WeGive automatically registers all necessary domains — including any custom domain aliases your organization uses — for payment method compatibility.

Payment Method Types

WeGive supports credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, etc.), ACH bank transfers (US bank accounts), ACSS debit (Canadian bank accounts), and Apple Pay / Google Pay (Stripe only).

All payment method data is tokenized through VGS (Very Good Security) before being stored. WeGive never stores raw card numbers or bank account details. Each payment method is then tokenized with the relevant payment processor so it can be charged without exposing sensitive data.

Fee Structure

WeGive's fee system has two components: processing fees paid to the payment processor and platform fees paid to WeGive for use of the platform.

Processing Fees

Processing fees are charged by the payment processor (Stripe, Payrix, or Finix) on every transaction. They consist of a percentage of the transaction amount plus a fixed dollar amount. Card transactions have separate rates for American Express (which typically carries a higher percentage) and all other card brands. ACH transactions have their own percentage rate. Processing fees can be capped at a maximum amount per transaction, configured through the organization's product code settings.

Platform Fees

Platform fees are WeGive's fee for providing the donation platform. They are calculated as a percentage of the transaction amount, with separate rates for card transactions and ACH/bank transactions. Like processing fees, platform fees can also be capped at a maximum amount per transaction.

Product Code Configuration

Fee rates are controlled by Product Codes, which are configured per organization. Each organization has product codes for card transactions and ACH transactions. A product code defines the processing fee percentages (Amex rate, other card rate, ACH rate), the fixed processing amount per transaction, the maximum processing fee cap, the maximum platform fee cap, and whether fee pass-through (cover fees) is enabled.

Cover Fees (Fee Pass-Through)

When enabled, organizations can offer donors the option to "cover the fees" on their donation. When a donor checks this option, they pay an additional amount on top of their intended donation so the organization receives the full donation amount after all fees are deducted.

The calculation uses a reverse formula to ensure accuracy. For a donor giving $100 with fee coverage enabled, the system calculates the total charge needed so that after subtracting all processing and platform fees, exactly $100 reaches the organization. The donor sees the breakdown — for example, "$100 donation + $3.50 fees = $103.50 total" — and the full amount they pay (including covered fees) is tax-deductible.

When fees hit their configured caps, the calculation automatically adjusts. Capped fees are treated as fixed amounts rather than percentages, which changes how the reverse formula works to ensure the organization still receives the intended donation amount.

Recurring Donations (Scheduled Giving)

Recurring donations in WeGive are managed through the Scheduled Donation system. A scheduled donation represents an ongoing commitment by a donor to give at a regular interval.

Supported Frequencies

WeGive supports the following recurring frequencies: daily, weekly, every two weeks (bimonthly), 1st and 15th of each month, monthly, quarterly, every six months (semiannual), and yearly. Note that some CRM integrations (such as Virtuous) only support specific frequencies, and using unsupported frequencies like weekly or semiannual can cause sync issues.

Creating Recurring Plans

Recurring donation plans can be created in several ways. Donors can set up recurring gifts through a checkout form that has recurring options enabled. Staff can create recurring plans manually through the dashboard using the Charge Donor interface. Plans can also be imported from other systems, including existing Stripe subscriptions — WeGive can migrate these into its own recurring donation system.

Recurring Plan Statuses

Each recurring plan has one of four statuses. Active means the plan is running normally with a valid payment method on file. Paused means the plan has been temporarily stopped and can be resumed at any time. Closed means the plan has been permanently ended. Missing means no payment method is attached — this status is commonly used for offline or manual tracking of donors who give via check, cash, or other offline methods.

Managing Recurring Plans

From the dashboard, staff can view and edit all aspects of a recurring plan, including the donation amount, frequency, payment method, fund designation, fund allocations (if enabled), start and end dates, fee coverage preference, and tribute information.

Pausing and Resuming

Plans can be paused temporarily or indefinitely. When pausing, you can set a specific resume date — for example, pause for 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months. When the resume date arrives, the plan automatically reactivates. Plans can also be manually resumed at any time before the scheduled resume date.

Failed Payment Handling

When a recurring donation payment fails, WeGive's dunning system takes over. The system tracks a retry date and will attempt to process the payment again. After multiple consecutive failures, the plan can be automatically paused to prevent repeated failed charges. The dashboard shows retry information so staff can intervene if needed — for example, by reaching out to the donor to update their payment method.

Donor Portal: Self-Service Billing

The donor portal gives donors direct control over their billing and payment information without needing to contact the organization.

Payment Method Management

Donors can view all saved cards and bank accounts, add new payment methods, and remove existing ones through the portal. One important note: if a donor deletes a payment method that is tied to an active recurring plan, the plan will be left without a valid payment method and will move to an offline/missing state. Donors do see a confirmation prompt before deleting, but they may not always read the warning carefully.

Recurring Donation Management

From the donor portal, donors can make the following changes to their recurring plans: update the donation amount, change the giving frequency, modify the next charge date, switch the fund or designation, change the payment method, toggle fee coverage on or off, update tribute information, add supporter notes, set an end date for the plan, and pause or resume the plan (with options to pause for 1, 3, or 6 months, or indefinitely).

The system enforces designation restrictions based on the original checkout configuration, so donors can only select funds that the organization has made available.

Receipts and Tax Documents

Individual Donation Receipts

WeGive automatically generates a receipt for each successful transaction. These receipts are linked to the transaction record and include the donation amount (converted from the internal cents format to dollars for display). Donors can access their receipts through the donor portal, and staff can view any donor's receipts from the dashboard.

Annual Giving Summaries

WeGive generates annual giving statements that provide a year-end summary for each donor. These summaries include the donor's name, email, and address, the total amount given during the year, the total number of donations, and links to tax documents. Organizations can export annual giving data as a CSV file, which processes donors in batches of 2,000 for performance. The export supports both full calendar years and custom date ranges.

Tax Documents

Each donor has access to annual tax documents through their portal. These are separate from individual receipts and provide the consolidated year-end summary donors need for tax filing purposes.

Event Payments

An important distinction: payments for event registrations are treated as service revenue rather than charitable donations. This means they do not generate standard donation receipts and are not included in year-end giving statements.

Key Settings Reference

Here is a quick reference for the billing-related settings you may encounter in the dashboard.

Organization Billing (Settings > Billing): subscription plan details, invoice history, payment method on file, and billing contacts.

Payment Processing (Settings > Payments): default payment processor selection, processor-specific account tokens, and product code configuration for card and ACH fee rates.

Donor Portal Settings: toggle whether donors can manage their own payment methods, update recurring plans, and view receipts through the portal.

Checkout Configuration: enable or disable recurring giving options, configure which funds are available for designation, and enable or disable the cover-fees option for donors.