Summary: As an admin, you will notice different statuses attached to financial transactions within your Tithely account. This guide explains what each transaction status means and provides a breakdown of common error messages to help you efficiently manage and track your organization's giving.
Before You Begin
You must have Admin or Finance permissions to view transactions.
Failure Reasons: You can easily see exactly why a transaction failed by clicking into a specific transaction, or by adding the "Failure Reason" column directly to your main Transactions page.
ACH Refunds: ACH/Bank Transfer refunds cannot be processed manually in the dashboard. An admin must reach out to support (via the chat bubble on your dashboard) to issue an ACH refund.
Transaction Status Definitions
Succeeded: The transaction was successful and will be deposited during your next available deposit window. (Note: Your bank may take an additional 24 hours to show the funds once deposited.
Pending: The payment is currently verifying. Credit/debit cards take 1-3 business days, while ACH/Bank Transfers can take 4-10 business days, depending on the institution.
Refunded: The funds have been successfully returned to the donor. This action cannot be reversed and takes 2-5 business days to appear on the donor's end.
Failed: The transaction did not go through (e.g., expired card, insufficient funds). Donors are notified immediately in the app for one-time gifts, or via email for recurring gifts.
Requires Action: The payment attempt needs additional authentication from the donor before it can be completed. This usually involves 3D Secure (3DS) where the donor must confirm their identity via their banking app or text code. If they do not verify, the payment will fail.
Voided: The payment attempt was unsuccessful because the donor's 3D Secure authentication failed or was abandoned. No funds were captured.
Dispute Pending: The donor (or their bank) has formally disputed the charge, and the case is under review by Stripe. The disputed funds are held during the investigation, and you have the option to submit evidence to contest it.
Decoding Error Messages
If a transaction fails, you may see specific error messages. Use this table to understand the issue and advise your donor on the next steps:
| Error Message in Transaction View | What It Means for the Donor |
|---|---|
| Unique error detected, try again | Tithely has encountered an internal error. Please have the donor try again. |
| Account error detected, contact your church | Your organization's account is not fully set up to receive donations. Please contact Tithely Support to fix this. |
| Payment method error, contact your bank directly | The card is expired or declined. The donor must contact their bank/card company to clear the error. |
| Payment method failure, contact your bank directly | Payment details were entered incorrectly or blocked by the bank. The donor must contact their bank. |
| Error detected, please try again | Tithely has encountered an internal error. Please have the donor try again. |
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Why is an ACH transaction taking so long to stop pending? Bank transfers (ACH) move much slower than credit cards through the banking system. It is completely normal for them to remain in a "Pending" status for 4 to 10 business days.
How do donors know if their recurring gift failed? If a recurring donation fails, Tithely automatically sends the donor an email notification with instructions on how to update their payment method and make an additional donation.
Can I reverse a refund? No. Once a transaction's status changes to Refunded, the action is final and cannot be reversed. The donor will need to submit a new gift.