InstantDonate
GoCardless integration guide

Taking and managing donations with GoCardless

InstantDonate connects to a charity's own GoCardless account. GoCardless handles the regulated payment flow, while InstantDonate provides the donation page, supporter view, regular-giving controls, payment status and Gift Aid workflow.

1 · Connect

Connect your GoCardless account

New to GoCardlessStart from InstantDonate registration and choose the GoCardless sign-up flow. Your charity name is passed into the hosted GoCardless onboarding flow.
Already use GoCardlessUse the GoCardless sign-in option. InstantDonate uses OAuth, so your GoCardless password is never entered into or stored by InstantDonate.
After connectionYou are returned to the InstantDonate dashboard. Existing GoCardless customers, bank-account references, mandates, subscriptions and payments can be reconciled into the Customers area.
2 · Collect

Accept one-off and regular donations

InstantDonate uses GoCardless-hosted payment authorisation. One-off donations can use Pay by Bank. A regular donation can combine an immediate payment with creation of a Direct Debit mandate for future collections.

The payer completes their bank authorisation on GoCardless-hosted pages. InstantDonate does not ask the payer to type online-banking credentials into the InstantDonate website.
3 · Customers

See payment activity in one place

Open Customers in the InstantDonate dashboard to see the supporter, payment method reference, active mandates, regular-giving subscriptions and payments. Activity created directly in the connected GoCardless account is also synchronised so the two systems do not silently drift apart.

Consumed instant-payment mandates are hidden from the customer view to avoid clutter, while the associated payment remains visible.

4 · Regular giving

Manage subscriptions without leaving InstantDonate

From the customer page you can view upcoming subscription payments and, where GoCardless permits it, edit the subscription amount/name, pause it, resume it or cancel it. Changes are sent to GoCardless rather than being local display-only changes.

5 · Status & refunds

Track payments and issue refunds

Payment and mandate statuses are updated from GoCardless events and reconciliation. Eligible payments expose a Refund via GoCardless action with confirmation, while Mark refunded externally records a refund completed outside the integration.

If a payment has already been included in a Gift Aid export, InstantDonate preserves the history and flags that a Gift Aid adjustment may be required.

6 · Gift Aid

Review Gift Aid separately from payment collection

Gift Aid is an InstantDonate record-keeping feature and does not change the GoCardless payment. Donations created through InstantDonate can follow the payer's recorded Gift Aid declaration. Payments imported from GoCardless are held for review so an unrelated collection is not accidentally included in an HMRC claim.

On an imported payment choose Include or Exclude. Including a payment does not make it claimable unless a valid declaration actually covers that donation.

7 · Troubleshooting

If something does not match GoCardless

Refresh the Customers area and reopen the customer. InstantDonate performs GoCardless reconciliation and updates stored statuses rather than creating duplicate payments for each status change. If a payment remains missing, keep the GoCardless payment/subscription ID and contact InstantDonate support.

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