Where generation sits in the workflow
Generate is step 2 of the three-step workflow — Import, Generate, Distribute. Import brings your donor data in; Generate turns that imported batch into finished receipt PDFs; Distribute sends them out. This page covers the middle step, which is where the real work — and the billing — happens.
Picking a template and launching
To generate, you select the PDF template the receipts should use, confirm that the imported columns map correctly onto the template's fields, and launch generation. Each generated receipt is built with your organization's branding, address, signature, and the country-specific fields required for compliance, so the output is a complete, issue-ready document rather than a draft.
Credits are consumed here — and they're non-refundable
Generation is the moment credits are spent. Before anything is charged, a confirmation card shows you exactly what you're committing to: how many receipts will be created, your current credit balance, and what the balance will be afterward. It also warns you explicitly if a previous successful generation already exists for the same import (so you don't accidentally pay to generate the same batch twice) or if your credits are insufficient.
Once you confirm, the credits are gone. Credit consumption at generation is non-refundable — this is deliberate, because a generated receipt is an official document that may already carry a sequential receipt number. Review the confirmation card carefully before proceeding. For how credits work and how to top them up, see Receipt Credits.
Receipt numbers are assigned at generation
Each receipt is stamped with its official receipt number as it is generated, drawn in order from the run's numbering sequence. That's part of why generation is the point of no return — the number becomes a permanent part of the issued document. See Custom Receipt Numbering for how the sequence and format are configured.
Background processing and the Jobs page
Generation runs in the background rather than freezing your screen, so a large batch keeps processing even if you navigate away or close the browser. You get a live progress bar while it runs, and the run keeps a history of its past generation jobs. If a job fails, you can retry it with one click — no need to re-run the whole batch. You can monitor generation (and other background work) from the Jobs page.
Generating in a test run
If the run is a test run, generation behaves as a rehearsal: no credits are consumed, and every page of every PDF is watermarked so a sample can never be mistaken for a valid tax receipt. This lets you validate your template and field mapping against real records before committing real credits. When you're satisfied, finish testing and go live, then generate for real.
What happens next
Generated receipts flow into the Distribute step, where you email or mail them and track delivery. See The Distribute Hub for that stage.
Related
- Receipt Credits — how credits are priced, allocated, and spent
- Test Runs — generate watermarked samples without spending credits
- Custom Receipt Numbering — how each receipt's number is assigned
- The Distribute Hub — sending and tracking receipts after generation