Prepare your spreadsheet for Bulk upload
Updated
This is for Upload a spreadsheet for bulk receipts. You can start from FreeCharityReceipts' template or upload an export you already have.
File rules
- File types: .xlsx or .csv. Plain-text files with commas, tabs or semicolons are read too.
- An old .xls file is refused with Save this as .xlsx or .csv and upload it again. Open it and use Save As.
- Up to 5 MB and 2,000 donation rows. Over that, you see This file is larger than the 5 MB upload limit. or that the file has too many rows. Split the file.
- A workbook with data on many sheets asks which sheet to read. Hidden sheets are ignored. If a workbook has too many sheets with data, upload one sheet at a time.
- Rows that are hidden or filtered out in your spreadsheet are left out by default. You see a notice and can tick them back in.
The template
On the upload step, click Download .xlsx or Download .csv. The columns are:
| Column | Needed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| donor_name | Yes | Up to 50 characters, so the name fits on the receipt |
| donor_address | Yes | Up to 100 characters in all, at most three lines |
| gift_amount | Yes | In dollars, such as 250.00 |
| gift_date | Yes | YYYY-MM-DD |
| gift_description | No | Up to 1,000 characters |
| reference | No | Your own ID, up to 100 characters. It is used to catch duplicates and is never printed on the receipt. |
| acknowledgment | No | A, B or C. Blank uses your Default IRS Acknowledgment Statement. |
| goods_services_fmv | Only for B | The value of what the donor received, in dollars |
| goods_services_description | Only for B | What the donor received, up to 100 characters. It is printed in the Option B statement. If it is blank, the run's Default goods or services provided (description) is used. |
| donor_email | No | Only used if you choose to email donors. See Email receipts to donors. |
The .xlsx template has a locked header row, date checks and a few example rows. Delete the examples. If you leave one in, it is flagged and left out.
The IRS statement
The acknowledgment column picks which IRS statement is printed on that row's receipt:
- A: no goods or services were provided.
- B: goods or services were provided in return. Fill in goods_services_fmv and goods_services_description on that row, or set a default value and a default description on the Bulk page. A row on B costs 2 credits. See Option B receipts.
- C: no goods or services were provided other than intangible religious benefits.
If your file has no acknowledgment column, leave Written acknowledgment on — not in file — on the Map columns step, and every row uses your default.
Using your own file
Exports from Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and most donation systems work. Common headings such as "Name", "Amount" and "Date" are matched for you. A header row helps but isn't required. Columns you don't need are ignored. On the Map columns step you can fix any column that was matched wrong, or combine street, city, state and ZIP code columns into one address.
Amounts
Write a plain amount in dollars: 250, 250.00 or $1,250.00. Don't use a currency other than U.S. dollars. A mark such as CAD, euro or pound makes the row an error. Amounts with more than two decimals, such as 12.345, are an error, and are never rounded. If your column is in cents, tick Amounts are in cents.
Dates
Write dates as YYYY-MM-DD. If your dates use slashes, like 03/04/2026, you are asked to choose Day / Month / Year or Month / Day / Year. Real Excel dates are fine. Dates before 1990 are refused.
What you may see when you review
Errors (the row is skipped and not charged):
- A missing donor name, address, amount or date.
- A message saying the value could not be read as an amount or as a date. The message starts with the value.
- This gift date is in the future.
- A receipt cannot be dated before the gift. The gift date is after the Receipt Date.
- A reference that an earlier row already uses.
- ... is not one of the written acknowledgments. The acknowledgment cell isn't A, B or C. The message starts with the cell's value.
- Enter the value of the goods or services provided. A row on B has no value.
- Shorten this name to 50 characters or fewer., Shorten this address to 100 characters or fewer. or Shorten this description to N characters or fewer. (the goods or services description is 100). A longer value would be cut off on the receipt, so it is refused instead.
A row on B with no description in the file shows a warning in the review table. If you haven't entered a Default goods or services provided (description) at the top of the page (it is always shown), Generate N receipts is refused with Rows N use Option B and have no description. Add the description, then start again. The rows stay ticked.
- This cell holds a formula with no value. Paste the values instead of the formulas.
Warnings (the row goes through, but look at it):
- This gift is unusually large.
- A gift more than 2 years before the receipt date.
- Rows N have the same donor, amount and date. It may be a real duplicate.
- This looks like a totals line, not a donation. It is left out.
- This row is still one of the examples from our template.
Related articles
Still stuck? Email us