DonorPerfect Reviews & Complaints
Company Overview
DonorPerfect is a fundraising growth platform offered by a Pennsylvania-based software company called Softerware, Inc. DonorPerfect's Insta-Charge payment gateway utilizes TransFirst as its default payment processor, which means that organizations may have some difficulty directly integrating their existing third-party processors with Insta-Charge. TransFirst was acquired by TSYS in April 2016 and was subsequently absorbed into the TSYS Merchant Solutions brand, so TSYS may now act as DonorPerfect's backend processor.
DonorPerfect Payment Processing
DonorPerfect processes all major debit and credit cards for donations and charities. Their product is a piece of software that specifically functions to process charitable contributions. The software offers payments online and over the phone, does data reporting and analytics, manages donor events and auctions, and integrates with QuickBooks.
Location & Ownership
Softerware, Inc. is headquartered at 601 W Office Center Dr #200, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania 19034. Doug Schoenberg is the co-founder and CEO of DonorPerfect.
DonorPerfect Customer Reviews
Here's What Their Clients Say
Total Online Complaints | <10 |
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Live Customer Support | Yes |
Most Common Complaint | N/A |
Recent Lawsuits | No |
Positive Reception
We’ve found only a couple of negative DonorPerfect reviews online, and there’s no indication that the software is considered a ripoff by nonprofit organizations. In fact, DonorPerfect reviews are predominantly positive on SpiceWorks, Software Advice, Capterra, and Constant Contact user forums. Users praise its scalable pricing, detailed reports, central donor database, seamless updates, and customer service. However, a couple of complaints below this review cite difficulties migrating to DonorPerfect, inadequate customer support, and product design issues.
Legal Standing
No class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints are currently filed against DonorPerfect. Individuals with grievances can consider reporting concerns to relevant supervisory organizations.
Customer Support Options
DonorPerfect offers basic maintenance support for all pricing plans. Organizations can opt for full support (phone, email, chat, automatic backups) or premium support (24-hour emergency support, 2-hour response time guaranteed) for a variable monthly fee.
DonorPerfect Contact Information
- (215) 628-4343 – Toll-Free General Customer Service
- (800) 220-8111 – New Customers
- (800) 848-3279 – Existing Customer Sales
- (800) 220-8611 – DonorPerfect Payment Services Support
- (800) 220-3593 – Onboarding Team
- (800) 220-3537 – Client Relations Specialist
- (215) 628-0883 – Accounting/Billing
- (215) 628-0400 – Main Office
Other Support Options
- Live chat
While charging for support is generally frowned upon, DonorPerfect seems to justify this by delivering high-quality service. Its support level competes with that of many top-rated payment processors.
DonorPerfect Online Ratings
Here's How They Rate Online
BBB Reports | 1 |
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No Complaints
DonorPerfect does not have a dedicated Better Business Bureau report, but its developer, Softerware, Inc., does. Softerware currently has an “A+” with the BBB and has been accredited since 2011. The company has received 1 complaint in the last 36 months. The 1 complaint was resolved to the satisfaction of the client.
What Merchants Say
DonorPerfect has received no reviews in the last 3 years on it BBB profile. A previous review filed by a client cited numerous technical issues:
I work for a nonprofit that works to exonerate individuals who have been incarcerated for something that they did not do. DonorPerfect was the database that was in use when I was hired, and I have spent the last year learning it and making improvement to our systems and how we use it. I recently asked DonorPerfect about adding Payment Processing and Online Forms, so that we could take online donations and crowdfund, and have the ease of downloading those donors and their gift record right into the database at the click of a button. It would have been an incredible experience, had it actually been useful. The online forms especially are full of glitches. One of the most egregious is the promise that one can add a donor who gives via check to the crowdfunding thermometer. You can – but the guest can only be credited as “Anonymous.” There is no acceptable workaround to this. Their suggestion – to add the name to the gift memo – is sloppy and makes it look like the organization is not fulfilling its promise to keep a donor Anonymous, at the same time it is not fulfilling its obligation to appropriately recognize donors. This is unacceptable and I was told that there was no time line to fix this issue, or any way that they could help me. This is the last straw in a string of errors or clunky glitches that I tried my best to work around for some time. Anyone in donor management knows that donor acknowledgements are a very important part of this work, and to have such an oversight as well as offer no solution or timeline to a solution is problematic at best. I am not sure I feel comfortable working with DonorPerfect moving forward. My team will be seeking a new donor database management system as well as payment processor, which is unfortunate because if they actually fulfilled the service they purported to provide, it would have been a huge help to our small, scrappy team.
An “A” Performance
In light of this information, we agree with the BBB’s rating. However, readers should be aware that there are good reasons to be skeptical of the BBB’s rating system.
DonorPerfect Fees, Rates & Costs
A Closer Look at The Contract
Cancellation Penalties | Yes |
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Monthly & Annual Fees | Yes |
Processing Rates | Variable |
Equipment Leasing | None |
Variable Contract Terms
The typical pricing for a TSYS Merchant Solutions account via DonorPerfect includes 2.50% plus $0.20 per transaction for swiped transactions and 3.50% plus $0.20 for keyed-in transactions. This agreement also comprises an early termination fee of $295 and an annual PCI compliance fee of $75.20 (billed quarterly). Equipment leases are unlikely given that Insta-Charge is an internet-based virtual terminal.
Industry-Average Rates
This pricing is standard within the credit card processing sector, with the 2.50% plus $0.20 transaction fee exceeding rates from more economical merchant account providers. There’s mention of potential pricing reductions for higher-volume organizations, though specific criteria for these discounts are not defined.
Third-Party Merchant Account Integration
Organizations might consider alternative payment processors to TransFirst or TSYS, yet Softerware suggests that this option may incur higher costs:
“While integration with other processor merchant accounts is possible, it is generally cost-prohibitive.”
This implies that TransFirst/TSYS may offer the most advantageous pricing for the software.
DonorPerfect Pricing Plans
DonorPerfect’s monthly plans include varying features and costs: “Lite” at $69 per month (up to 1,000 donor records), “Express” at $159 per month (up to 2,500 records), “Essentials” at $289 per month (up to 7,500 records), “Premier” at $479 per month (up to 25,000 records), and “Enterprise” at $799 per month (up to 75,000 records). These tiers are separate from the merchant account pricing.
No Contract Complaints
While DonorPerfect’s pricing is average for the industry, the absence of complaints regarding its credit card processing suggests customer satisfaction. Accordingly, a “B” rating is appropriate. For a detailed look at the pricing, see DonorPerfect’s Insta-Charge Pricing.
DonorPerfect Employee Reviews & Sales Tacitcs
Should You Work For Them?
Uses Independent Resellers | No |
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Telemarketing | No |
Misleading Marketing | No |
Discloses All Important Terms | No |
Partnered With TSYS
DonorPerfect offers payment processing through a partnership with TransFirst, meaning that NPOs who use DonorPerfect’s Insta-Charge gateway will be encouraged to set up a TransFirst or TSYS merchant account in order to accept cards through DonorPerfect. This model limits the amount of contact that organizations will have with TransFirst/TSYS sales representatives, which is a factor in its favor. It also reduces the possibility that organizations will encounter misleading rate quotes or nondisclosure of important terms, as DonorPerfect does not utilize independent merchant services sales agents to market its services.
No Deceptive Quotes
At this time, we cannot find any DonorPerfect complaints that mention misrepresentation or deception by the company’s sales team. In addition, the company’s official materials do not promote any “teaser” rates or unrealistic claims. If you suspect that DonorPerfect has added extra fees to your monthly bill, you can double-check your pricing with a third-party statement audit.
Our DonorPerfect Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts
DonorPerfect rates as a reliable donor management credit card processing service for most nonprofit organizations according to user feedback. The company’s standard credit card processing solution through TransFirst isn’t especially competitive in its pricing, but it seems the company makes up for this with solid software and support. Despite the company’s high grade, NPOs should be sure to compare its pricing to that offered by top-rated merchant accounts for non-profits.
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Carl
Horrible product. It clearly has been put together with band aids and crazy glue.
DO NOT get involved with this product, It is an absolute nightmare. Integration with other programs is worse than bad.
Support can only answer basic questions as they are not allowed to actually help. The support group are good people. But their hands are tied by the faceless development team who have no idea waht they want this product to be.
STAY AWAY. It’s too late for me. But do not get involved with this horrible product.
Jack
Is this the right software for us?
We were using Access and switched to Donor Perfect. There was no conversion support to walk me thru how Access compares to Donor Perfect, especially with reports. We have no down time as donations needed to be posted in the system. Our training was scheduled one month after conversion, leaving me to call support for guidance. And, we paid extra for training! We have a simple format, and I just needed the basics. I’m not sure of the value gained as I continue to lose productivity by constantly searching for a solution. I continue to struggle with running reports having to rely on help online, not intuitive. Maybe we should have had DP write all the reports before we converted? They had our data for a few weeks and could see our reporting needs. Is it “Buyer be ware?”