Emails and receipts

GiveFlow sends transactional emails automatically at key moments in the donation lifecycle. It also generates PDF receipts and attaches them to the appropriate emails.

Email settings

Configure your outgoing email identity in the Emails tab of GiveFlow settings.

• From name: The sender name donors see in their inbox.
• From email: The email address used as the sender.
• Reply-to: The address that receives replies from donors.
• BCC admin: Sends a blind copy of donor emails to your WordPress admin email address. Sign-in link emails are never blind-copied.

The sender identity applies to every email GiveFlow sends.

Email templates

GiveFlow sends nine transactional emails. Eight of them are listed in the Donor emails card in the Emails tab, where each has its own enabled toggle, subject line, and body.

The ninth is the sign-in link email, sent when a donor asks for a link to their portal. It is not listed in the Donor emails card.

You can enable or disable each of the eight listed templates independently. Disabling a template prevents that email from being sent.

Merge tags

Personalize your email templates with merge tags. GiveFlow replaces each tag with the corresponding value when the email is sent.

Available merge tags:

• {donor_name} — the donor’s full name
• {donor_first_name} — the donor’s first name
• {amount} — the formatted donation amount
• {campaign_title} — the name of the campaign
• {receipt_number} — the sequential receipt number
• {organisation_name} — your organization’s name
• {reference} — the donation reference code
• {download_url} — a link to download the receipt PDF
• {portal_url} — a link to the donor’s self-service portal
• {bank_details} — your bank details (used in offline instructions)
• {instructions} — your offline payment instructions

Insert these tags anywhere in your subject line or email body. Each template supports only some of them, and the editor lists the ones available for the template you are editing. A tag the template does not supply is not removed, so it reaches the donor as literal text.

Receipt settings

Configure the content and appearance of your PDF receipts in the Receipts tab.

• Header title: The title displayed at the top of the receipt.
• Intro paragraph: Introductory text that appears below the header.
• Signoff: Closing text at the bottom of the receipt body.
• Footer note: Small text displayed in the receipt footer.
• Logo: Your organization’s logo, displayed on the receipt.
• Show organization tax ID: Toggle to display the tax ID from your Organization settings on receipts.
• Show donor address: Toggle to display the donor’s address on receipts.

How PDF receipts work

GiveFlow generates PDF receipts automatically. Here is how the process works.

Automatic generation

When a donation is completed, GiveFlow queues an asynchronous job to generate the receipt. This keeps the donation confirmation fast for donors. The PDF is rendered in memory and is not kept on your server. The only copy written to disk is a temporary file for the email attachment, deleted as soon as the message goes out.

Sequential numbering

Each receipt receives a sequential number based on your Numbering settings. A typical receipt number looks like REC-2026-00001. You can configure the prefix, padding, year inclusion, yearly reset, and separator.

Receipt context

Each receipt pulls data from multiple sources: the donation record, donor details, your organization profile, the associated campaign, and any custom data. This ensures receipts contain all the information donors need for their records.

Resending receipts

Open the donation in GiveFlow > Donations and use Resend receipt in the actions card. Download receipt PDF sits next to it. The receipt is regenerated on demand rather than retrieved from storage.