Steward recurring donors like never before while centralizing accounting and reporting and reducing overall costs. We've made it easy to transfer recurring transactions from your current Stripe processor to Givebutter. 👌
For general information, please refer to the migration process in Stripe's partial-migration help article.
These steps are not currently possible directly within a Stripe Express account. Since those accounts are typically managed by another platform, you would need to reach out to that platform's support to see if they are able to retrieve/upload this data on your behalf in Stripe.
You will also want to ensure your donors' payment details are active and up to date for a seamless migration.
Step 1: Connect a payout method to Givebutter
If you haven't already, follow the directions in our help article about connecting a payment method.
Step 2: Download Stripe customer IDs
In your current Stripe account dashboard (not Givebutter's), go to the Customers page.
Filter the data to get customers that you want to migrate to Givebutter.
Click Export in the upper right corner.
In the Columns field, select Custom. Make sure that only the ID option is selected as one of the fields for export so that the data exports as a single column.
Export the selection as a CSV.
Your data should only have 1 column and all values should start with "cus_"
Step 3: Upload and share your data
Within that same Stripe account navigate to the Customers page again.
Click Copy customers.
In the Copy Method field, click Upload from file.
Select the CSV file of customer IDs from their computer.
After selecting the correct file, click Continue. To handle errors, refer to Handle upload errors.
Enter the account ID (format: acct_xxxx) of the recipient account. You will receive a message stating that the recipient needs to authorize your request before the copy occurs.
Givebutter's account ID is acct_17qVRFEBuKNYj3GG
Click Confirm.
After successfully sharing your data, you will see the pending copy request at the top of the Customers page.
Email Givebutter at [email protected] informing us you've started a recurring plan migration so we know to accept your request. Please include your Stripe account number from your previous platform in your message, as well what platform you are migrating your plans over from (i.e. Donorbox, Bloomerang, Fundraise Up, Give Lively, Memberful, Raisedonors).
Step 4: Givebutter accepts your data
Once we authorize and accept your data, the copy process will start. Most data copies finish within 72 hours, but short lists may complete even faster!
When the copy is complete, the sender and recipient can see the completed copy banner at the top of the Customers page of their Stripe dashboard.
After the copy is complete, we will email you some new data that you will need to use in Step 5.
Step 5: Prepare your import spreadsheet
Givebutter needs some basic information about your recurring transactions. This allows us to recreate those records in Givebutter. The data needs to be formatted and uploaded to your Givebutter Dashboard. The raw data you need can be downloaded from your Stripe account by following these steps. You will also use the file our implementation team sends you in the step prior to cross reference your data.
Data formatting of this nature is traditionally a time-consuming step, and to help you prepare that data, we've included a template below. Improper formatting will delay or inhibit the migration, please make sure to follow the template exactly as is.
We recommend copying the template in Google Sheets (or downloading it if you prefer working in Excel), then matching your data to the corresponding columns on the template.
Required fields (in any order):
First Name: The donor's first name
Last Name: The donor's last name
Email Address: The primary email of the donor
Amount: Only numbers, no currency symbols.
Frequency: Available options are Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly.
Last Bill Date: Format is YYYY-MM-DD
Campaign Code: The Campaign code of the Campaign recurring donors will be migrated into. This can be found by clicking on All Campaigns in the left-hand menu bar.
Stripe Customer ID: Stripe metadata (always begins with "cus_")
customer_id_old and customer_id_new are exactly the same
Stripe Source ID: Stripe metadata, this column is called "source_id_new" in the spreadsheet that Givebutter emails you after the initial copy is completed.
Address Line 1
City
State
Zip Code
Country Code: Three symbol country codes only.
Optional Fields (in any order):
Phone Number
Address line 2
Step 6: Upload your import spreadsheet
Navigate to Track, and then Recurring Plans in your Givebutter Dashboard.
Click the Actions button, then click New Import and select the import file from your device.
Click Upload data from file (we do not recommend manually entering data for recurring donation imports.)
Review the data mapping. When you're finished, toggle through some of the records to spot-check for completeness and click Continue.
You will receive an email confirmation from Givebutter. If that status is failed, follow the directions provided in our email to reconcile any errors.
Step 7: Validate the Recurring Plans
Once you receive the email confirmation from Givebutter that your import is complete, navigate to Account and then Imports in your Givebutter Dashboard.
Click into the Recurring Plans tab and select Validate Plans.
Shortly after clicking Validate, you will receive an email confirmation from Givebutter. Each Recurring Donation is validated individually. Follow the directions provided in our email to reconcile any errors.
Step 8: Activate the Recurring Plans
Now it’s time to cancel or disable your recurring gifts while suppressing any "your monthly donation has been canceled" emails on your legacy platform.
Once you've completed that step, return to the Imports tab in your Givebutter dashboard. Click the three dots next to each plan and select Activate Plan.
Admins can also edit the plan amount and the next bill date by selecting the (...) menu next to any imported plan before you activate it.
You're all set! 🎉 These recurring donations will begin processing in Givebutter.
Good to know
While our best-in-class support team is available to guide your way, data migrations can be a challenging and time-consuming process if not well-organized. The state of your data will determine your migration experience. Givebutter is not able to analyze, structure, or organize your data for you. You are the leader of your migration.
Timing is important. You'll need to coordinate canceling your existing subscriptions and the import to ensure no payments are missed or duplicated.
Need support while migrating your recurring donations?
If you have any questions about migrating your recurring donations to Givebutter or difficulties with your legacy platform or processor, reach out to our Migrations team by emailing [email protected] and an actual person on our team will get back to you in 2-3 business days.