If your church processes  a sizable number of paper checks every week, we have some good news for you! A company called Paperless Transactions released an integration with Planning Center Giving that helps you scan checks, remotely deposit them, and automatically import those donations into Giving.


In banking this process is called “Remote Deposit Capture” and this is the first RDC solution that integrates directly with Giving.

How it Works

  1. Scan Checks: Paperless software (Windows only) works with many different makes and models of check scanners. The scanner captures an image of the check and reads the donor name, amount, check number, routing number, and bank account number. In our testing the software was able to read some fairly messy handwriting!
  2. Associate and Add Donors: As you count, the software connects to Giving and identifies checks with existing donors. For first time donors, you can create new donors on the fly.
  3. Remotely Deposit Checks: Once you’re finished counting, you can transmit the entire batch of checks to your bank. The following day you can see which checks were successfully deposited.
  4. Sync with Giving: After the deposit is completed, a new batch will appear in Giving, tagged with the “Paperless Check Scanning” payment source. Voilà! With those donations successfully recorded in Giving, they’ll appear in the dashboard, donor history, and in any donor statements you issue.

See a quick video demo of the software in action.

Pricing and Setup

We build and maintain the Planning Center API precisely so companies can come along and build integrations like this. As always, Planning Center makes $0 from 3rd party integrations. As of this writing, Paperless Transactions has provided the following pricing:

  • Setup Fee: $0
  • Monthly Fee: $30
  • Per Check Fee: $0.50 per check

Check out their integration guide (PDF) or schedule a demo, and be sure to ask about discounted rates if your volume is high. During the account setup process, they can help advise you on which check scanner to get and make sure your bank is set up for remote deposit. Here’s a list of compatible check scanners.

About Paperless Transactions

From Paperless Transactions:

Paperless has been a pioneer and leader in check scanning and transaction processing since 1998 and we’ve integrated with Planning Center because we strongly believe in helping churches, we value Planning Center’s commitment to helping churches, and we saw an area where we can help meet a need. We’re delighted to announce this one-of-a-kind offering and we hope to be able to continue growing this technology to help benefit the local church and its community.

We’re excited to see the first Remote Deposit Capture solution for Planning Center Giving hit the marketplace. If you have this need at your church, you can started by scheduling a demo or emailing sales@paperlesstrans.com.