A pledge is a Donor's promise or commitment to give a certain amount of money over a set amount of time. Pledges are recorded as Gifts with related Gift Payments in akoyaGO.

 

 

Prerequisites

creating a pledge gift and gift payment (to be paid in one instaLLMENT)

 

Navigate to the Donor record. Select the Gifts tab, and click on + New Gift:

 

 

 

This will open the Gift Quick Create form. Set the Gift Type and Gift Payment Type to Pledge. This is very important because it will change functionality when the Gift Payment(s) is/are sent to Business Central.

 

When you set the Payment Type to "Pledge," you can indicate the Estimated Pledge Pay Date on the Quick Create form.

 

 

 

If the Pledge will be paid in one installment and to one Fund, only one Fund/Est Pledge Pay Date will be indicated. This will create one Gift and one Gift Payment upon saving. 

 

 

 

Creating a pledge gift with multiple gift payments (PAID IN MULTIPLE INSTALLMENTS)

Pledges are often paid in multiple installments. If this is the case, a single Gift with multiple related Gift Payments will be entered. You can do this by entering additional Amount(s) and Est. Pledge Pay Date(s) from the Gift Quick Create Form.

 

For this portion of the guide, the following example will be used:

 A Donor pledges to give $4,000 for the purpose of repairing a theater. The Total Commitment (Gift) will be $4,000. The Donor promises to pay this in 3 installments, paid every 2 weeks.

The first two installments will be $1,000 each and the final installment will be $2,000.

 

 

Once the first Fund and Est Pledge Pay Date are filled in on the Gift Quick Create Form, the additional optional fields: Fund 2, Amount 2, and Est Pledge Pay Date 2 will appear. This allows you to split this Gift into multiple Gift Payments.

 

Adjust the Amount for the first installment, and fill in Amount 2 as the amount of the second installment.

 

After you fill in information for the second installment/Gift Payment, a third set of fields will appear. This will continue for up to 12 installments/gift payments towards this pledge. 

 

For our example above, the Total Commitment is $4,000. This represents the Commitment of the Gift. This Gift will have three related Gift Payments.

• The first installment will be $1,000 with a current Est Pledge Pay Date. This will be represented by the first Gift Payment.
• The second installment will be $1,000 with a Est Pledge Pay Date in two weeks. This will be represented by the second Gift Payment.
• The third and final installment will be $2,000 with an Est Pledge Pay Date in four weeks. This will be represented by the third Gift Payment.

 

Here is the Quick Create Form before any adjustments are made. Note it is assuming I am pledging to pay the full Commitment of $4,000 in one installment:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the Quick Create Form after I adjust the first Amount and enter the data for the remaining two installments: 

 

 

Click Save and Close to create the Gift and related Gift Payments. In our example, this will create one Gift and three Gift Payments:

 

 

 

**Important - the Posting Date is set to the same date for all three Gift Payments. Though each Gift Payment has its own unique Est. Pledge Pay Date based on when each installment is expected, the Posting Date should always be the date of the commitment, as this is the date you are accruing the receivable. The Quick Create Form will automatically set the Posting Date for the Gift Payment(s) based on the Gift Date.

 

 

To send the Gift Payments to Accounting, either click the Send to Accounting button from an individual Gift Payment:

 

 

 

*Please note you may see a Business Process Flow (steps marked with bullseye or target icons) at the top of the Gift Payment form. All of the information previously filled in through the Business Process Flow can now be populated directly from the Gift Quick Create form.

If you need to make any adjustments, we recommend you do so directly on the Gift Payment Form. The Business Process Flow is no longer best practice or necessary as of October 2025. 

 

 

You also have the option of sending multiple Pledge Gift Payments to Accounting in bulk from a view: 

 

 

 

The Payment Status will show as Posted. (When the Pledge is sent to Business Central, the amount is recognized as an Open Receivable, waiting to be paid.)

This will not show as a Paid amount yet, since you have not yet actually received this gift.

 

 

Repeat these steps for each of the Gift Payments that will total the Pledge’s commitment. You will send all Gift Payments to Accounting when they are entered/accrued, not when the actual gift is received. 

As previously mentioned, each Gift Payment towards the Gift Commitment can have a unique Estimated Pledge Pay Date, but they should all share the same Posting Date, as you are accruing the full Commitment as a receivable as of the Posting Date. 

 

From the Gift record, you can view all related Gift Payment records which will complete the Commitment. All three Gift Payments have been sent to accounting and have a Payment Status of Posted, but none have been paid yet to bring down the Balance:

 

 

 In Business Central, these Gift Payments would now show as Open Receivables. 

processing payments for a pledge

 

When the actual payment towards a pledge is received, open the corresponding Gift Payment. 

 

In the Pledge Information section, add the Pledge Payment Applied date. This is the date you received the payment (not the initial Posting Date.) This field will lock after a date is entered:

 

 

 

Update Payment Type – Change the current value (Pledge) to be the Payment Type which was actually received. (*Note: If this field is not changed, you will receive an error blocking you from moving forward, as seen in the screenshot above)

 

 

 

If this Gift Payment was received as a check, you also have the option of adding the Check # and Check Date:

 

Click Save. This action will send the actual payment information to Business Central, applying it to the initial Pledge entries created on the “Posting Date.” The payments will then be recognized as undeposited funds.

 

*Please note that Gift Fees cannot be assessed on Pledge Gift Payments. If there is a Gift Fee associated with this payment, it should be entered as a Journal Entry directly in Business Central.

 

The Payment Status on the Gift Payment will update to Received when this happens: 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is an example of a Pledge (from the Gift record) with the first installment received, but the remaining two installments still outstanding. You can see the first Gift Payment has a Payment Status of Received, while the remaining two Gift Payments have a Payment Status of Posted. The Paid and Balance fields on the Gift record automatically update.

 

 

changes to pledges and payments

 

Sometimes changes must be made to Pledge Payment schedule. Examples include:

 

• The amount of the payment is different (too much, too little)
• The donor decides to change which fund a payment should go to
• There was an error in the revenue account, and it needs to be changed (for example from Spendable to Historic)
• The payor changes – for example, Karen Smith is the original donor, but can’t keep her commitment to the pledge, so the organization she works for makes the last 2 payments for her.

 

In general, if something happens that changes the original schedule or details of pledge Gift Payments, you’ll need to Reverse/Adjust the Gift Payments to reflect these changes.

 

 

Using the following example, here are ways to process some common pledge payment changes.

 

Scenario:

 

Mr. and Mrs. Tenn have made a pledge gift with a Total Commitment of $8,000. This amount will be paid in 4 annual installments of $2,000 each.

 

The first installment has been received on 10/1/2025, and final installment is expected to be received on10/1/2028. 

 

The Commitment of the Pledge Gift would be $8,000. This Gift would have four related Pledge Gift Payments, each for $2,000, with unique Est Pledge Pay Dates:

 

 

Amount Change: Over Payment

 

Over payment – Donor has made multiple pledge payments at the same time

 

The Donor sends $4,000 for the second installment. The Donor’s intent is to cover the next 2 installments (10/1/2026, 10/1/2027) on the gift.

1. Go to the 2nd pledge payment record (Est. Pledge Payment Date of 10/1/2026) and set the Pledge Payment Applied date to the date this was received. Process the Gift Payment as usual.
2. Go to the 3rd pledge payment record (Est. Pledge Payment Date of 10/1/2027) and set the Pledge Payment Applied date to the same date. Process the Gift Payment as usual.

NOTE: both Gift Payments will have the same Pledge Payment Applied date and Payment Type. If this installment was received as a check, the Check Date and Check # would also be the same for both Gift Payments. 

 

   Over payment – Donor has made more than the amount of the expected payment

 

The second pledge installment from the donor is $2,500. The intent of the donor is not to affect the date or payment of future pledge installments. They simply included an extra $500

1. Go to the 2nd pledge payment record (Est. Pledge Payment Date of 10/1/2026) and click Reverse/Adjust. Choose Adjust: 
   
   
2. The Adjustment Date should be the original Posting Date. Set the Adjusted Amount to $2,500:
   
   
   A new gift payment will be created for $2,500. The original gift payment of $2,000 will have a Payment Status of Reversed. Process/deposit the new adjusted Gift Payment of $2,500. 

   

 

Over payment – Donor has made a partial prepayment on the next pledge amount. 

 

 

The second pledge installment from the donor is $3,000. The intent of the donor is to pay the second pledge installment and $1,000 of the next pledge payment (due on 10/1/2027)

 

1. From the Reverse/Adjust button in the toolbar, choose Adjust on the 2^nd pledge Gift Payment (Estimated Pledge Payment Date of 10/1/2026). This will allow you to adjust the amount from $2,000 to $3,000. A new gift payment will be created that contains the adjustments. The original gift payment's status will be Reversed. Process/deposit the adjusted Gift Payment. 

 

2. From the Reverse/Adjust toolbar, choose Adjust on the 3^nd pledge Gift Payment  (Estimated Pledge Payment Date of 10/1/2027). This will allow you to adjust the amount from $2,000 to $1,000. A new gift payment will be created that contains the adjustments. The original gift payment's status will be Reversed. Process the adjusted Pledge Gift Payment. 

 

  

Note: If multiple future pledge Gift Payments will be affected, you’ll need to Reverse/Adjust them all to show exactly how/when/how much the donor paid for each payment. For more information, see the Gift Payments, Voids, Adjustments, and Refunds KA.

 

 

Amount change: under payment

 

Under payment – Donor has made a less than expected payment and will make it up

 

The Donor sends $1,500 for the second Gift Payment instead of the $2,000 that was expected. The Donor’s intent is to catch up on the next Gift Payment.

 

1. From the Reverse/Adjust button in the toolbar, Adjust the Gift Payment that was underpaid (second installment with an Est Pledge Pay Date of 10/1/2026) to adjust the amount from $2,000 to $1,500.

 

2. From the Reverse/Adjust button in the toolbar, Adjust the third Gift Payment (third installment of $2,000 on 10/1/2027 in our example) to adjust the amount from $2,000 to $2,500.

 

 

Under payment – Donor has made a less than expected payment and will NOT make it up

 

The Donor sends $1,500 for the second payment instead of the $2,000 expected. The Donor’s intent is to not make the amount up on a future payment but does intend to make other future payments on the pledge.

1. From the Reverse/Adjust button in the toolbar, Adjust the Gift Payment that was underpaid (second installment with an Est Pledge Pay Date of 10/1/2026) to adjust the amount from $2,000 to $1,500.
2. Any time the full commitment changes (not just the schedule of payment), the Gift Adjustment field on the Gift record should also be updated. Go to the GIFT record and add the appropriate Gift Adjustment amount to reflect the new amount being paid on the gift (-$500.) Upon save, you will see the Total Gift Amount will automatically update to reflect this Adjustment, but you also have history of the original Commitment. You may also want to add a note to the gift record’s timeline to indicate this why this adjustment was made.

 

Under payment – Donor has made a less than expected payment and will make an additional payment to make up the difference.

The Donor sends $1,500 for the second payment instead of the $2,000 expected. The Donor’s intent is to extend the pledge payment schedule and make an additional $500 payment at the end.

1. From the Reverse/Adjust button in the toolbar, Adjust the Gift Payment that was underpaid (second payment for $2,000 with Est. Pledge Pay Date of 10/1/2026.) The Adjusted Amount will be $1,500. Process the new Gift Payment. 
2. Create a new pledge Gift Payment record (Payment Type = Pledge) for the new final installment of $500.
   
   You can do this directly from the Gift record by choosing +New Gift Payment:
   
   The Amount will be the amount of the ‘make up’ payment ($500). The Posting Date will be the Original Gift Date:
   
   
   
   Click Save and Close to create the Gift Payment. 
3. The Est. Pledge Payment Date will be the date the donor told you they would send a ‘make-up’ payment. Please note you may need to open the Gift Payment record to set the Est. Pledge Pay Date if it is not displayed directly on the Gift Quick Create Form:
   

 

4. Send the new Gift Payment to Accounting to post the accrual. Once this actual installment is received, process the pledge Gift Payment as normal.

 

ending pledge before completed

 

A Donor informs the organization that they will not be making future payments on the Pledge

 

The Donor informs you that they will not make the remaining payments on the pledge.

 

1. Open each of the pledge Gift Payment records and Reverse the Gift Payment(s) from the Reverse/Adjust button in the toolbar. Choose VOID: 
   

 

 

 

Click Save and Close

 

 

 

 

Though no physical money was received, this Gift Payment must still be voided since was already “received” by Business Central as a Pledge and is an Open Receivable. The void will remove this amount from Open Receivables.

 

 After the process runs, the Payment Status will be Reversed. In the Reversal Information section, you will see details such as the Reversal Date, Reversal Amount, and Reversal Type:

 

 

2. Go to the GIFT record and add a negative Gift Adjustment amount. Upon save, you will see the Total Gift Amount will automatically update to reflect this Adjustment, but you also have history of the original Commitment. You may also want to add a note to the gift record’s timeline to indicate why this adjustment was made.