Recording / Entering Contributions
You’re up and running, you’ve completed the setup of your organization, and you’re ready to start entering donor’s Contributions. If you are not yet familiar with the structure of the Contributions tool, take a look at the Contributions Overview support article here.
If you have financial contribution data from previous years, be sure to read our article on Importing Contributions before continuing.
Contribution Entry
Now, let’s walk through the process of entering contribution data into Empower.
Navigate to Contributions on the top menu,click, and the click on the Enter icon. This will open the Contribution Entry page.
On this page, you will have one entry per contribution per donor. Do not total the contributions before entering them on this screen.
Each Contribution will total up and be displayed as a “Running Total” at the top of your screen until you make a Deposit.
Let’s walk through the fields while we make a mock Contribution Entry.
Contribution Date
This is typically recorded as the date that the individual financial contribution was given on.
For this example, Jonathan Britt’s check is dated 10/11/2026, the Sunday it was given.
This should not be confused with the date that you will make a Deposit that will be recorded separately.
Payment Method
This is the means by which the contribution was given. These methods can be edited in Utilities>Options>Contributions>Payment Methods.
For our example here, we will select Check from our drop-down menu.
Since we have selected Check it will also ask us for the Check Number (otherwise not applicable).
Contributor
This field attaches the contribution to a specific Giving Unit or Donor. For more information on Giving Units and Donors, click here.
Our check was given by Jonathan Britt, so we search for and select that name from the drop-down menu. For first-time donors, see the support article on Adding a Contributor.
Contribution Details
Next, we will record the details of the contribution.
To do this, you will need to have already established your particular Giving Funds. For more information on adding these Funds click here.
If you have already input the needed Funds into Empower, you will search for and select the appropriate fund for the contribution being recorded.
The check is for $175: $150 for the general offering and $25 marked for missions. So on the first line we select “100 - Tithes & Offerings”.
We enter $150 on that line. On the next line, we select “200 - Missions”, enter $25, and add the memo “Fall missions offering”.
That’s how you split one gift across more than one fund: add a line for each fund.
Double check your total and click Save to move on to the next Contribution.
Check your total against the count
The Running Total at the top of Contribution Entry adds up every gift that hasn't been deposited yet. To check one batch, click the filter button next to it:
Entered by: All counts everyone's entries. Me counts only the gifts you entered.
Entered on: All Undeposited counts every gift waiting for a deposit. Today counts only gifts entered today, whatever date is on the gift.
For example, if two people enter Sunday's offering at the same time, each can choose Me and Today to compare their own total with their count sheet.
The Running Total only shows on a computer or tablet. It's hidden on a phone-size screen.
Congratulations. You’ve recorded your contribution in Empower. We’re so excited that we get to be a part of your ministry’s growth.
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