How to sync Planning Center Giving to QuickBooks Online
Last updated October 23, 2026
GivingSync syncs Planning Center Giving to QuickBooks Online. Online gifts for a day become one journal entry, split by fund: the full gift is income, processing fees are an expense, and the rest debits a clearing account so it matches the bank deposit. Each committed cash or check batch is its own entry, and a later refund, edit or deletion is posted as an adjustment that does not change an entry already in the books. Plans are $39 a month or $390 a year.
Steps
Create your church in GivingSync
Sign up with your email. Then enter the church name and its time zone. The time zone decides which day each gift is recorded on in QuickBooks, so it matches your Planning Center reports.
Connect Planning Center Giving
On the Overview page, under Connections, choose Connect Planning Center and sign in as a Giving admin or bookkeeper. GivingSync asks only for Giving access. It never reads your people database, and it does not store donor names, emails, addresses or card details.
Connect QuickBooks Online
Choose Connect QuickBooks and sign in as an admin of the church's QuickBooks company. GivingSync reads the chart of accounts and creates journal entries. It does not edit or delete anything already in your books. A QuickBooks company can be connected to only one GivingSync account.
Match funds, fees and a start date
On Mapping, choose an asset or bank account where online gifts (card and bank transfer) wait until you record the bank deposit. Most churches create an account named Planning Center Clearing. Cash and check batches can use that same account, or a different one such as Undeposited Funds, so you can pick each batch on QuickBooks' Bank Deposit screen. Choose an expense account for payment processing fees. Set "Record gifts received on or after" to the first day your books do not already include these gifts, or leave it empty to include every gift. Then choose a QuickBooks income account for each fund. GivingSync suggests matches from fund names and ledger codes; check them before you save. Only a church owner or admin can save the mapping. During the trial GivingSync records gifts from the last 60 days; when you subscribe, it records the rest of your history.
Review the preview and approve it
On Review, run the preview. It lists the journal entries GivingSync would post, and any gifts on hold, such as a fund that is not mapped yet. Nothing is posted until you approve. Only a church owner or admin can run the preview or approve it. Approving turns on the daily sync. A new church runs around 4:00 a.m. in its time zone. 30 days free. A card is needed to start the trial, and you won't be charged if you cancel before it ends. Add the card on the Billing page after you approve. Posting starts once it is saved.
Doing it by hand
Without GivingSync, you start from a CSV export of the donations, total them by fund, and type a journal entry in QuickBooks. Processing fees are their own line, so income stays at the full gift and the clearing account matches the deposit. Each committed cash or check batch is another entry, dated the day the batch was committed, which is the day that matches the bank deposit. A batch that is still pending is not an entry yet.
A later refund, edit or deletion is another entry for the difference. The original journal entry stays as it was posted. Doing this by hand means repeating the export and the totals for every day gifts come in.
After you approve a preview, GivingSync posts that same shape of entry and then repeats it every day. Each gift is tracked, so running the sync again is designed not to post the same gift twice.
What lands in QuickBooks
Online gifts for one day become one journal entry. The table is what GivingSync's journal planner posts for 3 sample gifts received on Oct 10, 2026: $1,000.00 to General, $250.00 to Missions and $150.00 to Building Fund, with $41.30 in processing fees. Account names are examples. You choose the real accounts when you match funds.
| Account | Description | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning Center Clearing | Planning Center Giving clearing | $1,358.70 | |
| Payment Processing Fees | Payment processing fees | $41.30 | |
| Building Fund Income | Gifts to Building Fund | $150.00 | |
| Tithes & Offerings | Gifts to General | $1,000.00 | |
| Missions Income | Gifts to Missions | $250.00 | |
| Total | $1,400.00 | $1,400.00 | |
Note in QuickBooks: GivingSync: Planning Center Giving online donations received Oct 10, 2026. 3 donations. Planning Center donation IDs: 1, 2, 3
A committed cash or check batch is a separate entry. Its number is PCG-B, the Planning Center batch id, and a sequence, such as PCG-B7-1. The debit goes to the cash-and-checks account you chose, or to the online clearing account if you left that blank. A batch that is still pending is not posted.
A refund, edit or deletion after a gift was posted does not change that entry. GivingSync posts an adjustment. When the fee is not returned, the adjustment debits the fund and credits the clearing account, and the fee stays an expense. If Planning Center reports the fee as returned, the adjustment also credits the fee account.
Questions
- Does each gift become its own QuickBooks transaction?
- No. Online gifts received on the same day become one journal entry, split by fund. Each committed cash or check batch becomes its own journal entry. Refunds, edits and deletions are posted later as adjustments. Entries already in QuickBooks are never changed.
- Which date is on the journal entry?
- Online gifts use the day they were received, in the church's time zone. A committed batch uses the day it was committed. If that day falls in a closed period in QuickBooks, the entry is dated the first open day and the note says what the original date was.
- Will it change entries already in QuickBooks?
- No. GivingSync only creates new journal entries. It never edits or deletes anything in your books; corrections are posted as adjustments.
- What about gifts from before I start?
- You choose a start date, and GivingSync records gifts from that date on. During the trial GivingSync records gifts from the last 60 days; when you subscribe, it records the rest of your history.
- Do I need Planning Center Payments?
- No. Online gifts processed by Planning Center Payments and cash or check batches you commit are both supported.
- What if a gift is not in US dollars?
- GivingSync records US dollars only. A gift in another currency is held and is not posted.