What a test run is
A test run is an ordinary run (project) with test mode turned on. It uses the same import, PDF, and email templates as a live run, so you can validate the full pipeline — import, generate, deliver — before anything touches a real donor.
Test mode is opt-in, and only at creation. When you start a new run from the Dashboard or the Runs page, you choose New test run instead of New run. Once a run has been created, its test-mode status is fixed: you cannot switch a live run into test mode, and a test run only leaves test mode by going live (see below). If you want to test something new, create another test run.
What's different in test mode
While a run is in test mode, several safeguards keep test activity separate from your real data and your donors' inboxes:
- 10-row import cap. Uploads are capped at 10 rows, enforced on the server at upload time — even if your source file has more.
- Watermarked PDFs. Every generated PDF, on every page, is tiled with a diagonal "SAMPLE – NOT A VALID TAX RECEIPT" watermark. Test PDFs can never be mistaken for valid tax documents.
- Emails redirect to you. Every outbound email — fresh sends and resends — is redirected to your own address instead of the donor's, and capped at 10 messages. The Distribute page's Email tab shows an inline confirmation before sending so this is never a surprise.
- No credits consumed. PDF generation in test mode skips billing entirely; your usage counters don't move.
- Separate activity log. Test activity is written to a dedicated test activity log rather than the permanent audit log, so your legal audit trail stays clean. You can review it from the "Test activity" tab on the Audit Log page, and purge it manually from there.
Going live
When you're satisfied the templates and data work correctly, click Finish testing & go live. This clears the run's test data — test receipts, batches, PDFs, and the capped import — and then flips the run out of test mode permanently. The run itself isn't recreated; it's the same container, now live, ready to import real data and generate real receipts. This is a one-way transition: a live run can never revert to test mode.
Discarding and auto-cleanup
If a test didn't go the way you wanted, click Discard test data to clear the current test receipts, batches, and PDFs while keeping the run in test mode — so you can start another test cycle with the same templates.
If you leave test data sitting untouched, it's cleared automatically: a daily job clears test data older than 7 days. In both cases, only the data is removed. The run's three linked templates — import, PDF, and email — are never deleted by any of these paths, whether you discard, auto-clear, or go live.
Related
- Custom Receipt Numbering — configure how live receipt numbers look once you go live