What is the difference between a receipt letter and thank you letter? (if any)

Natashia Coco

Hello


I am new to ETAP - we have just gone live so I am learning.


We did donation banking yesterday and that all worked - I went to generate their receipt letter/thank you letter - and I have noticed there are 2 types - receipt letter OR thank you letter.  In my "world" they mean the same thing - we would only send out a thank you letter that has a receipt on it. Is there a difference or do I simply stick with one or the other and save our different letters?


Thanks in advance 

Tara Dustrude

Hello Natashia!


The categories of Communications can be modified but yes there are separate categories for Receipts and Thank You Letters by default. The separation probably stems from how different countries handle the receipting of donations. Canada has strict rules about receipting, each receipt has an assigned number. Whereas in the US, receipts are not required and often a more informal Thank You letter is sent. A receipt may also be more specific about how much is tax-deductible and how the funds were designated.


That being said, I think a lot of the time it is a receipt and a thank you letter all in one. The main difference you'll see between the templates are that the receipts have the Generated Receipt Number merge field, something I know Canadian organizations use but I am not sure about the rules in Australia. I would find something that suits your needs and stick with it. You might find you like parts of both and create something in-between. Just be sure you include that Generated Receipt Number if you are required to assign a number to each receipt.


I hope that helps! Hopefully some other organizations will weigh in as well if they are using it any differently.


Tara