The Open Collective Documentation is our primary documentation, enabling our users to use the Open Collective platform successfully. \ We encourage our[ Fiscal Hosts](https://opencollective.com/hosts) to link to our main documentation for basic tutorials on using Open Collective. We also aim to link to our Fiscal Hosts' documentation in specific areas to provide further information when needed.
If you want more specific Fiscal Host Documentation, please visit the links below. [Open Source Collective](https://opencollective.com/opensource) -[ Documentation](http://docs.oscollective.org/) -[ Website](https://www.oscollective.org/) [Open Collective Europe](https://opencollective.com/europe) - [Documentation](https://docs.opencollective.com/oceurope) -[ Website](https://www.oceurope.org/) [All for Climate](https://allforclimate.earth/) -[ Documentation](https://docs.allforclimate.earth/) -[ Website](https://opencollective.com/allforclimate) [The Social Change Nest](https://opencollective.com/the-social-change-nest) -[ Documentation](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zHArRkjHIstk8b_rMDhHGFnKLfWYCeVhLYLWHEEunlY/edit) -[ Website](https://thesocialchangeagency.org/) \ \ Fiscal Hosts, if you would like your Documentation linked here, please[ get in touch](https://opencollective.com/contact).
# Getting Started Our Getting Started section guides you through your first steps on Open Collective. Set up an account, and learn about your dashboard. There’s so much you can achieve on the Open Collective platform. And it all starts here. Follow these steps to get set up and learn more about the Open Collective Dashboard and interface. ### Find out more Get started on Open Collective by creating and completing a profile and making it secure.
Set up an Account | Your account will bring together all your activity, and help you connect with others | |
Your Account SecurityWe take security extremely seriously. Find out what steps we take, and how you can help | ||
Your DashboardNavigate your dashboard to complete all of your individual and collective tasks. |
## Changing your email address To change your email address, navigate to your Dashboard > Profile > Settings > Advanced and enter your preferred new email address. We will send a confirmation email to that address for verification. # Editing your Profile Page When you create an account, you will be given a customizable profile page to share more about what you're doing. When you set up an account, you'll be given a profile page that tells people a little bit about you and your activity on the platform. This is automatically created. Navigate to your Dashboard > Settings > Info to add and change basic information. This page will include your: * Display name * Your short description * An avatar * Your cover image {% hint style="info" %} You can also edit your info for your Collective, Fiscal Host, or Organization similarly. {% endhint %} ### Public Profile Visibility (Individual Users) As an individual user, you can control whether your public profile page is visible to others on the platform. Navigate to **Dashboard > Settings > Info**, and scroll to the **Profile Details** section. You'll find a **Public profile** toggle that allows you to: * **Enable** (default): Your profile page is publicly accessible and displays your activity and contributions * **Disable**: Your public profile page is hidden from visitors {% hint style="info" %} When you disable your public profile, the profile page itself becomes hidden, but your activity remains visible throughout the platform: * Your contributions to collectives will still be shown * Your role as a core member of organizations will still be displayed * Your name will appear in transaction histories and expense records Disabling the public profile only hides the dedicated profile page at `opencollective.com/your-handle`. {% endhint %} {% hint style="warning" %} This setting is different from [Private Organizations](/organizations/private-organizations), which are special dashboard-only accounts with no public-facing features at all. {% endhint %} ### Adding images to your profile **Avatar/Logo** Hover over your Avatar image while on your profile page. Click Edit Logo/Avatar to upload or change a picture (or drag an image file onto the area) {% hint style="success" %} All logos are displayed on a white background, so logos that are already white will not be visible. If you want to use a white logo, upload an image with a colored background instead of a transparent one. {% endhint %} **Cover Image** You can edit your cover image by clicking “Edit Cover” in the top right corner of your profile page, then selecting and adjusting the image of your choice. By clicking on the picture, you can move it around. You can also zoom in and out. The optimum size for a cover image is 2736 x 650. **Main Color** You can also “edit main color” to change the color of the main buttons on screen. Pick a preset color or use a custom one. Your main color determines the color of links and buttons, tier cards, and the hero header if no image is set. # Customizing your Page Layout Your profile page is where people go to find out more about you, read updates, and donate to your cause. Customise how your page looks using these options. Your profile page will show people what you do, how they can back your cause, and allow them to see your latest news and updates. We’ve made the page customizable so you can showcase your most important information. Navigate to your Dashboard > Public Profile to change what is shown and in what order. ### Hiding and showing sections There are several different sections that you can include on your page. These can all be made visible or disabled, except for the budget section, which is always visible. The options here can vary depending on whether you are an organization, a Fiscal Host, or a Collective. Disabling a section does not delete the information in it. It only hides it, and it can be shown again by switching it to “always visible”. However, to edit the content within a section, you need to make it visible first. ### Available sections In your profile page settings, you’ll see a range of sections that you can select and reorder as you wish. Pick the ones that help you to achieve your goals, and give people a sense of exactly how they can support you. You can also change the order in which they appear by clicking and holding the “dot grid” icon to the left of the section name. If a section such as “About” or “Updates” does not contain any content, it will not be displayed. # Adding and Removing Team Members Invite members of your team/organization to use Open Collective together. An organization works best when you work together. Build your team on Open Collective, and select the level of access you want each member to have. ### Roles on Open Collective **Admin:** Admins can manage all aspects of the Open Collective page, from editing settings to approving expenses. They will also be notified about recent activity, such as new incoming expenses. **Core Contributors:** A core contributor is shown as part of your team on your Open Collective page. However, they do not have admin access to your organization or Collective on the platform. They cannot access emails, and do not receive notifications. They also cannot access guest lists or purchaser lists for event tickets. **Accountants:** Accountants are able to see non-public data required for record-keeping, such as uploaded files and reports. However, they cannot make changes, and are not shown as part of your team. **Community managers:** Community managers can post updates and moderate comments. They are shown as part of the team on your page, but do not have admin access to finances. {% hint style="info" %} If you are a Collective that wants to set up an Event or Project, you can add team members to these without giving them the same status in the Collective itself. See [Projects](/collectives/managing-money/projects) or [Events](/collectives/events) for more information. {% endhint %} ### Adding, removing, and editing team members You can change your team members by navigating to your Dashboard > Team. #### **Add a team member** Click "Invite Team Member." You can search for an Open Collective account holder by typing their name in the User Field, or click 'Invite New User' to invite them to sign up for the platform. This will ask you for an email address and their full name. You should also set their role and add a brief description of their title, responsibilities, or background. You can also set the date that they joined the Open Collective page. Once you click “save”, the selected team member will receive an invitation to accept or sign up for Open Collective. They will not be listed publicly until they accept and will be shown as “pending” on your team view. {% hint style="info" %} **If your team member does not receive an invitation…**
First, ask them to search for the words “invitation to join” in their inbox, and then check their spam folder. If the email cannot be found, remove them from the team page and then re-add them. Make sure you select “save” when you’ve filled in their details.\ \ If you are still not successful, please [reach out to our team](https://opencollective.com/contact). {% endhint %} #### Editing and removing team members If you wish to change any team member’s details or level of access, you should click the “pencil icon” button to the top right of their profile picture. This will also give you the option to remove them if required.
# Your Dashboard Our Dashboard enables you to easily find important information, and perform tasks. When you log in to your account, you are directed to your Open Collective Dashboard. The Dashboard is where you complete tasks on Open Collective, whether you are acting as an individual, a collective admin, an organization admin, or a fiscal host admin. ### Navigating your Dashboard When you first arrive, your Dashboard shows your **personal account**. From here you can: * Review recent activity on your account * View and track payment requests you have submitted * View contributions you have made on the platform * Update account settings such as email, security, and payment methods You can follow specific collectives and fiscal hosts from their public profile pages using the **Follow** button under their name.
**Unverified:** The expense submitter has submitted their expense, but has not yet verified their email. They need to do this before it can move to the next step.
**Pending:** The expense has now been submitted to the Collective. The Collective admin now has the ability to review and approve it. The submitter can also delete or edit the expense to make amendments.
**Approved:** The Collective admin has approved the expense, the Collective has sufficient funds to pay, and the Fiscal Host admin now has the ability to review and pay it. **Rejected:** The expense has been rejected by either the Collective or Fiscal Host admin.
**Spam:** Once an expense has been rejected, it can also be marked as spam. The expense submitter will no longer be able to submit expenses to this Collective.
**Incomplete:** The Fiscal Host admin has asked the expense submitter for more information. **On hold:** The Fiscal Host is looking into the expense, either by consulting with experts or carrying out research. \ **Scheduled for Pay:** The payment has been scheduled to be paid. Usually, this status applies to payments made via PayPal.
**Processing:** The expense is in the process of being paid by a third-party provider. \ **Error:** Something went wrong with the processing of the expense. The Fiscal Host will now try again, reject the expense, or ask the expense submitter for more information.\ \ **Ready to Pay:** The expense is ready to be paid, this status is only visible to admins able to make payments.\ \ **Cancelled:** The payment has been processed, but there has been a problem with the payment. The payer (usually your host) will need to investigate.
**Paid:** The expense has been confirmed as paid. # Creating an Organization Looking to represent a company or entity on Open Collective? Just set up an organization account. If you want to contribute as an individual or submit expenses on Open Collective, you can simply use your personal profile. If you want to act on behalf of a company, you should set up an organization account. ### Why become an organization? We created organization accounts to allow companies and entities to contribute on Open Collective, in the same way that individuals do. By setting up as an Organization, you can: * Contribute to collectives as your company, rather than as an individual * Manage your account with multiple admins/team members * Keep track of giving on behalf of your company, even if it’s by multiple people * Generate receipts for tax purposes * Issue gift cards to your employees so they can give to causes they care about ### Creating an organization First you need to set up an individual profile, which you can do by following the steps on our [Setting up an Account](/getting-started/setting-up-your-account) page. Then click on profile switcher, which is located to the left on your dashboard. You should see My Organizations within the drop down menu. Click on the + button. You can then fill in your details on the "Create Organization" page. Once your organization is set up, you can toggle between your personal, Collective and/or Organization profiles with the profile switcher.
# Notifications Find out how to decide which updates you would like to see to ensure you are notified of changes and news on Open Collective. We want to make sure that you’re kept up to date with things that are important to you on Open Collective. But we understand that having a lot of messages in your inbox can be overwhelming. If you want to choose which Notifications you receive from us. Navigate to your Personal Dashboard > Settings > Notification Settings. ## Required notifications We will always send you emails about significant changes and updates to the platform, including: * Updates to our terms of service * Communications from your hosts * Recurring and requested expenses * Your magic link login * Receipts for your contributions * Email address updates * Any issues with payments and/or payment methods This applies to your personal account and any Collectives, Fiscal Hosts, or organizations you administrate. ## Customizing notifications You can set the notifications you receive based on your preferences. If you are an admin of a Collective, Organization, or Fiscal Host, you will see these listed on this page. ### Collectives you host If you are the admin of a Fiscal Host, find this section to bring up a list of all the collectives you are currently hosting. By using the toggle, you can choose which collectives will send you non-essential notifications. Click “show advanced settings” to alter which notifications to filter, including activities, funds, events, and monthly reports. ### Collectives/Organizations you manage If you are an admin of a Collective or organization, you will see a list of the groups you manage on this page. Click “show group settings” to display which notifications you will receive. The following is a comprehensive list of the notifications that you can enable: * **Main collective activity**: Receive emails when a new collective applies for fiscal hosting or is approved. Also get updates when new members are added to the collectives or when a new social media account is connected. * **Expenses**: Receive emails of new submissions, and all expense activity. * **Contributions**: Receive emails when new contributions come through and other contribution-related notifications. * **Activities and Updates**: Receive emails when a new update is published or comments are added to a conversation. * **Virtual Cards**: Receive emails when virtual cards are requested, assigned and when a charge is declined or it is missing its receipt. * **Funds and Events**: Receive emails when a fund or event is created, for tickets confirmations and events reminders. * **Monthly Reports**: Receive monthly reports sent by collectives ### Collectives you support You can also choose which Collectives you wish to follow by finding the “Updates about the platform and Collectives you support" section and selecting “show group settings”. This brings up a list of Collectives that are currently supported by your account. Use the toggle to choose which ones you wish to receive email notifications from. ### Our newsletter We send out a regular email newsletter featuring updates to the platform as well as news and announcements from Open Collective and the wider community. You can opt into the email by clicking the toggle or [via this link.](http://eepurl.com/gk99zn) # Preview Features Our Preview Features option allows you to test new and improved features before they are fully released. Preview Features lets you test a selection of upcoming features and improvements before they are fully released. ### Activating (and deactivating) Preview Features To find and choose features: 1. Log in to Open Collective 2. Click on the profile icon in the top-right corner 3. Find the Preview Features option on the menu 4. Select the features you would like to preview, and switch them on using the toggle button By clicking the button, the feature preview will be enabled on your account. If you want to change back for any reason, toggle the button off again, and your interface will revert to the original state. {% hint style="info" %} The features available in the preview features menu will vary depending on the type of role you hold on the platform. For example, admins may see different options to individual users. {% endhint %} ### Improving Preview Features Every feature in the Preview Features menu is at a stage where we're happy to share it with users. They may, however, change without notice as we receive and adapt to user feedback. We would always like to hear from you about any improvements you'd like to see, but we're particularly interested in feedback regarding new features and updates. If you want us to change or fix any part of the feature you're currently previewing, please get in touch via the link in the menu box or [contact us](https://opencollective.com/contact). ## Available preview features ### Sidebar Reorganization Incoming/Outgoing This layout is **enabled by default** for all accounts. It renames **Expenses** to **Outgoing Money** and **Contributions** to **Incoming Money**, and moves cross-account items to the appropriate groups. If you prefer the previous sidebar labels, open Preview Features and toggle **Sidebar Reorganization Incoming/Outgoing** off. See [Dashboard Navigation](/fiscal-hosts/dashboard-navigation) for the full sidebar reference and a mapping from older labels. ### Keyboard Shortcuts (public beta) Navigate expense workflows faster with keyboard shortcuts. **On the expenses dashboard:** | Key | Action | | ----- | ------------------------------------------ | | J | Select the next expense | | K | Select the previous expense | | P | Pay selected expense (if ready to pay) | | S | Check security alerts for selected expense | | Enter | Open expense details | **On expense details:** | Key | Action | | ------------------ | -------------------------------------- | | Left / Right arrow | Navigate through attachments | | H | Put selected expense on hold | | I | Mark selected expense as incomplete | | P | Pay selected expense (if ready to pay) | | E | Enter edit mode | | Esc | Close expense details | ### Table Quick Actions (public beta) Shows action buttons on table rows when you hover over them, so you can perform common actions without opening the row menu. ### Async Exports (closed beta) Enables background processing for large data exports on organization accounts. Exports run asynchronously and you are notified when the download is ready. See [Exporting Your Data](/advanced/exporting-your-data). ### Crowdfunding Redesign (public beta) Preview of redesigned crowdfunding and profile pages, including separate fundraising and storytelling views and improved goal tracking. See the [blog post](https://blog.opencollective.com/open-collective-crowdfunding-redesign/) for details. ### Dashboard view of a hosted account profile (closed beta) Replaces the side drawer on **Hosting > Hosted Collectives** and **Funds & Grants > Hosted Funds** with a full-page hosted account profile. When enabled, click a hosted collective or fund in the list to open its profile. The profile includes: | Tab | What you can do | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Overview** | Account details, platform activity, balance and all-time totals, financial charts, contribution and payout analytics, recent transactions, and hosting settings (fee structure, expense types, payout method visibility) | | **Accounts** | Projects, events, and child accounts under the hosted account | | **Money Movements** | Full transaction history filtered by contributions or payouts | | **Expected Funds** | Pending offline or bank contributions for this account | | **Agreements** | Host agreements linked to the account | | **Updates** | Public updates published by the account | | **About** | Description, location, tags, social links, and team | | **Activities** | Activity log for this hosted account | Use **Copy URL** in the profile header to share a direct link with other host admins. **More Actions** provides the same freeze, unhost, add funds, and contact options as the hosted collectives list. #### Overview tab The **Overview** tab is the main financial and operational snapshot for a hosted account: * **Details** — name, tags, social links, location, fee structure, expense types, and payout method visibility. Click the edit icon to change fee structure, expense types, or payout method visibility without leaving the profile. * **Platform Activity** — hosting status (active or frozen), applied and accepted dates, and first and latest financial interactions (click an interaction to open the related contribution or expense). * **About** — description and collective admins. * **Financial summary** — current balance, all-time received, and all-time disbursed. Click received or disbursed totals to jump to **Money Movements** filtered to contributions or payouts. * **Balance chart** — monthly balance, received, and spent over the account's lifetime. * **Contributions and Payouts** — two analytics cards with tabs for **By size** (amount distribution), **Over time** (monthly totals), and **By type** (contributions only: one-time vs recurring breakdown). * **Recent Contributions** and **Recent Payouts** — the five latest transactions, with links to view all in **Money Movements**. See [Hosted Collectives](/fiscal-hosts/managing-your-collectives/hosted-collectives) and [Funds](/fiscal-hosts/funds-and-grants/funds). # Permalinks and Public IDs Permalinks and public IDs let you share direct links to expenses, contributions, and other records across dashboard views. Open Collective uses short **permalinks** and **public IDs** so you can share links to specific expenses, contributions, and other records. Permalinks open the correct dashboard view based on who is signed in. ## Public IDs Each record has a public ID with a type prefix: | Prefix | Record type | | ------ | -------------------- | | `ex_` | Expense | | `or_` | Order (contribution) | You can copy a public ID from the expense header (**Copy ID** chip) or from dashboard action menus. ## Permalink URLs Permalink format: ``` https://opencollective.com/permalink/{publicId} ``` Short links also work at `/id/{publicId}` and redirect to the appropriate destination. ## Copy link actions In dashboard lists and detail views, use **Copy link** from the row actions menu or **More Actions**. The copied URL is a permalink that routes viewers to the right place: * **Fiscal host admins** - host expense or contribution views * **Collective admins** - collective payment request or contribution views * **Submitters** - submitted expenses or outgoing contributions * **Guests** - public expense page or sign-in prompt when access is required ## Private accounts Permalinks to records on private accounts redirect unauthorized viewers. If you do not have permission to view a private account, you may see an access-denied page rather than the record details. See [Private Organizations](/organizations/private-organizations) for more on private account visibility. ## Legacy URLs Older URLs using collective slugs and numeric IDs (for example `/{collective}/expenses/{id}`) may still work. Prefer permalinks when sharing links with teammates or between dashboard sections. # Activity Log There are multiple ways to track and sort your activity across the Open Collective platform. On Open Collective, there are a few ways to get an overview of your activity on the platform: * Recent Activity * Activity Log ## Recent Activity If you’d like a quick overview of all of the Expenses and Contributions related to your personal account, and Activities and Updates from the Collectives and Fiscal Hosts that you follow or are an administrator for, navigate to your Personal Dashboard > Overview. On this page, by clicking on the dropdown menu in the top right corner, you can filter the activity by type: * Expenses * Contributions * Activities and Updates
Learn more about how we protect your account | ||
We recommend setting up 2FA to add an extra layer of security. |
Screenshot of the "new update" submission form.
{% endhint %} Do you want to contact your contributors in a different way? Learn how to export a list of your contributors emails in the [exporting your data section](/advanced/exporting-your-data). ### Your contact button Users can contact your Collective, Fiscal Host, or Organization directly by scrolling down to the bottom of your Collective page and clicking the “Contact Collective” button or via the “Actions” button in the top right of your Collective page. Collective admins will be notified when a message is sent. If you wish to share a contact weblink elsewhere, you can use
# Verification The Verification Badge indicates that an individual or organization is legitimate and has passed verification checks. It’s a simple but important way to help others trust your identity. A Verification Badge confirms that: * An individual or organisation is affiliated with a real organization. * The account administrator has an email address at the organization’s official domain (e.g.,
There’s no verification cost, just a simple way to build trust across the platform. # Understanding the Ledger Open Collective is built around a ledger that records all of the financial activity on the platform. Read on to learn more about how our ledger works. ## Introduction At the heart of Open Collective is a ledger that records all the financial activities that take place on the platform. The ledger is our source of truth. It is the foundation that makes possible crowdfunding contributions, added funds, grants and expenses. All these financial interactions generate transactions that are recorded in the ledger. Most users interact with the ledger indirectly by making contributions and submitting expenses, and for most users, that is enough. However, as the platform has grown, larger organizations who rely on the platform, primarily fiscal hosts and medium-to-large collectives, need to use information from the platform for accounting purposes. In response to these needs, we are making the ledger itself more visible, accessible, and legible to users. {% hint style="warning" %} #### The ledger does not always provide a complete financial picture for entities (such as fiscal hosts or Organizations) that manage funds off-platform. If you are a fiscal host or an Organization that uses banking and financial services (some of which may be connected to the platform) then you likely have financial activities that do not originate on the platform and will NOT be reflected unless you intentionally add them to the platform. For example: if you make a payment directly from your bank account, that payment will not show up on the platform unless you manually add it to the platform. {% endhint %} ### Immutability The transparency at Open Collective relies on the ledger to be a trustworthy source of information. Therefore, transactions on the ledger cannot be modified. Transactions can only be added to the ledger. There are rare cases where platform support does intervene in the ledger to: 1. Mark a transaction as deleted - the transaction is not really deleted, it still exists in the ledger, however it is marked as deleted and is no longer included in calculations and will not appear in transaction lists or exports. 2. Reassign a transaction to a different account. The transactions themselves are not modified, but the account to which it is related can be changed. ## When are transactions generated? Transactions are generated in Open Collective's ledger when: 1. Via the platform, financial transactions are confirmed via payment processors when: 1. A contribution is successfully charged and confirmed by a payment processor (such as Paypal, or credit cards via Stripe). 2. A contribution is refunded. 3. An expense is successfully paid through a payment processor (such as Wise or Paypal). 4. An expense is marked as unpaid (when payment does not reach its destination). 2. Off the platform, financial transactions that occurred off platform are documented on the platform when: 1. A fiscal host [adds funds](/advanced/ledger/added-funds-in-the-ledger) that have arrived in their bank accounts and assigns them to their designated collective. 2. Off platform (manually paid) expenses are documented on the platform by fiscal hosts. 3. Inside the platform: money is moved between collective accounts within the same fiscal host. {% hint style="warning" %} #### Expected Funds: potential future financial activities that do not generate transactions. Expected Funds are created 1. By contributors who select a manual payment method (checks and bank transfers). 2. By fiscal host admins who document expected funds from institutional funders. Both are registered as “Expected Funds” that do not generate ledger transactions. Transactions will be created only when they are identified by fiscal hosts when the actual payment is received. Read more about [Expected Funds](/fiscal-hosts/receiving-money/expected-funds) {% endhint %} [Read more about individual transactions.](/advanced/ledger/individual-transactions) [Read more about transaction pairs, groups, and perspectives.](/advanced/ledger/transaction-pairs-groups-and-perspectives) ## Accessing the Ledger The ledger can be accessed: 1. Directly in the platform via the dashboard [Transactions tool](/advanced/ledger/individual-transactions) 2. [As exported CSV Files](/advanced/ledger/exporting-transactions) 3. [Through the API](/development/api) # Individual Transactions All transactions have specific properties assigned to them. Read on to learn about the various fields that describe all transactions on the platform. ## Transaction Fields | Name | Description | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Expense Type | Describes the kind of expense: invoice, reimbursement, virtual card, settlements and grants. | | Kind | Indicates what kind of transaction it is (see Transaction Kinds) | | Is Debt | Indicates “true” for platform transactions that represent a debt (PLATFORM\_TIP\_DEBT & HOST\_FEE\_SHARE\_DEBT). | | Amount | The amount of the transaction. Credit transactions have positive values and Debit transactions have negative values. | | Currency | The currency in which the transaction was recorded. This is typically the currency in which either the collective or fiscal host manage their funds. | | Original Currency Amount | If the transaction currency is different from the host currency, this amount will show the value in which the transaction was initiated. This is a string that includes the original value and currency (eg: 1000 SK). | | Account ID | The account to which this transaction is attributed. | | Opposite Account ID | The other account related to the transaction. | | Host Collective ID | If the collective is hosted by a fiscal host, this references the host (at the time the transaction was created). | | Is Refunded | If a transaction was refunded then this field indicates “REFUNDED” otherwise it is empty. | | Is Refund | If the transaction is a refund then this field indicates “REFUND” otherwise it is empty. | | Refund Transaction ID | If the transaction has been refunded, this will have the transaction ID of the related refund transaction. | | Payment Processor | The payment processor associated to the transaction (eg: Stripe, Paypal, Wise, Open Collective, Other). | | Payment Method | The payment method associated to the transaction (eg: Credit Card, Balance) | | Merchant ID | A reference number provided by the payment processor. | | Tax Type | If the transaction is or has related tax information, this indicates the type of tax (VAT/GST). | | Tax Rate | If the transaction is or has related tax information, this indicates the applied tax rate. | | Tax ID Number | If the transaction is or has related tax information, this indicates the related tax identifier. | ### Deprecated Fields These additional fields have been deprecated but may still apply to older transaction records: | Transaction GraphQL ID | A unique 32 character transaction identifier. (formerly Long Transaction ID) | | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Gross Amount | Until and including the year 2023 payment processor fees and taxes were stored as transaction fields. The gross amount is equal to the transaction amount plus the payment processor fees plus the taxes. | | Payment Processor Fee | Until the year 2024 payment processor fees were stored as fields of a transaction. Since 2024 they are stored as separate transactions. | | Platform Fee | Platform fees were once stored as transaction fields. They are now separate transactions. | | Host Fee | Host fees were once stored as transaction fields. They are now separate transactions. | ## Transaction Kinds Each transaction is of a single “kind.” The following are the "kinds" of transactions: | CONTRIBUTION | Records a contribution made through the platform. | | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | PAYMENT\_PROCESSOR\_FEE | Records a fee charged by a payment processor. | | ADDED\_FUNDS | Funds that have been added to a collective account by a fiscal host. | | HOST\_FEE | Records a host fee allocated to the host in relation either a CONTRIBUTION or ADDED\_FUNDS | | HOST\_FEE\_SHARE | Records a revenue share passed to the platform in relation to either a CONTRIBUTION or ADDED\_FUNDS | | HOST\_FEE\_SHARE\_DEBT | Records a debt to the platform due to a HOST\_FEE\_SHARE that has not been transferred to the platform. | | EXPENSE | Records an expense made through the platform. | | PLATFORM\_TIP | Records a platform tip added by a contributor to their contribution. | | PLATFORM\_TIP\_DEBT | Records a debt to the platform due to a PLATFORM\_TIP that has not been transferred to the platform. | | PAYMENT\_PROCESSOR\_COVER | Records payment processor fees that are covered by a fiscal host when a transaction is refunded (the payment processor do not refund the fees related to the original transaction). | | PAYMENT\_PROCESSOR\_DISPUTE\_FEE | Records a fee paid by fiscal host when a contribution is disputed through a payment processor (dispute fees are charged regardless of dispute outcome). | | BALANCE\_TRANSFER | Usually done when emptying balance (Collective to Host, Project or Event to Collective). Or in some cases, moving balance between Fiscal Hosts. | | PREPAID\_PAYMENT\_METHOD | \[LEGACY] records a transaction used for implementing gift cards. | | UNNAMED | \[LEGACY] records transactions that date earlier then 2018 that experience migration challenges to later ledger versions. | # Transaction Pairs, Groups & Perspectives For every transaction on Open Collective, multiple transactions are created to reflect the differences in every party's balance. Read on to learn more about how transactions are paired and grouped. ## Transaction Pairs Transactions are always created in complementary pairs: a credit transaction and a debit transaction. For example, when Contributor A makes a contribution to Collective B, two transactions are created:
Over the last couple of years, we’ve received feedback from Fiscal Hosts and accountants that has prompted us to make a change to the ledger to make it more consistent and future-proof. We’ve modified the ledger so that payment processor fees and taxes are recorded as separate transactions. *This is how payment processor fees and taxes were represented in the ledger until January 2024, as fields/properties of a transaction:*
| type | kind | amount | paymentProcessorFee | netAmount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CREDIT | CONTRIBUTION | 100 | 1.8 | 98.2 |
* Get started without the paperwork * Raise money and accept contributions without setting up a bank account * Pay bills and expenses quickly and simply * Provide transparent budgeting for your community * Meet and connect with other collectives.
No need to incorporate, hire a lawyer and accountant, or define organizational roles! {% endhint %} ### Find out more Whether you’re launching or building your collective, these pages can help you navigate the Open Collective platform. #### [Setting Up](/getting-started/setting-up-your-account) Create a user account before you do anything else. #### [Create a Collective](/collectives/creating-a-collective) Name your collective and add it to our platform. #### [Add your Team Members](/getting-started/adding-and-removing-team-members) If you’ve got people helping you, here’s how to give them access. #### [Select a Fiscal Host](/collectives/choosing-a-fiscal-host) Your Fiscal Host will grant you legal status and take care of your money. Find the right one for you. #### [Managing Collective Funds](/collectives/managing-money) Your Collective’s budget is open and transparent, so everyone can see what’s happening. #### [Raise Money](/collectives/raising-money) Bring in money for your cause, from donations to sales and more. #### [Pay Expenses](/collectives/spending-money) Pay and keep track of new expense claims #### [Spreading the Word](/advanced/keeping-your-community-updated) Let people know what your collective is doing, and build your audience. #### [Create Events](/collectives/events) Sell tickets and bring your community together. #### [Connect your social media](/collective-settings/integrations) Show people where to find your social accounts. # Creating a Collective Create a dedicated page for your community. Take the first steps today towards sustainability. Learn how to create your collective today. You’ll need an Open Collective account to create a Collective. To find out how to do that, go to [Setting up your account](/getting-started/setting-up-your-account). Once you’ve done that, click on your profile picture in the top right hand corner and click on the Create a Collective button or press the + next to my collectives. You will see two options: 1. **For Open Source projects** This is for anyone that wants to set up an open source collective. You’ll be directed to apply to the Open Source Collective (OSC) Fiscal Host. You’ll need to complete a short verification process. 2. **For the community** If you’re starting any other kind of collective, select this option. You’ll be asked to fill in some details, including the name of your collective, your preferred collective URL, and a brief description of what you do. There’s no verification process for this option, so you’re ready to take the next step. ## Getting Your Collective Set Up Open Collective provides several options to help you set up your team, manage security, and add policies and details that help you make your purpose clear. In order to receive money or pay out expenses, you need a [Fiscal Host](/fiscal-hosts/fiscal-hosts) or you need to [convert your Collective to an Organization](/organizations/creating-an-organization#converting-between-collectives-and-organizations). Whether you have a Fiscal Host yet or not, here are some steps you can take to get your Collective started. Customizing your collective can help attract potential collaborators and raise funding for your cause. [**Fill in your information**](/getting-started/getting-started) Complete your basic details, including your name, location, and currency. [**Customize your profile page**](/getting-started/editing-your-profile-page) Update your images and choose what people see when they visit your page. [**Add your team**](/getting-started/adding-and-removing-team-members) Add your team members/collaborators who can help you manage your collective page and what they can access. [**Set goals and tiers**](/collectives/raising-money/setting-goals-and-tiers#setting-goals) Get your targets and offer incentives to your community. [**Create your policies**](/collectives/creating-a-collective/creating-your-policies) Provide guidance to expense submitters. [**Boost your security**](/collectives/creating-a-collective/security-for-collectives) Select 2FA to raise your security level. [**Add buttons to your website**](/collectives/raising-money/adding-donation-buttons-badges-and-banners) Explore our catalog of buttons and banners. Show your audience where they can contribute. [**Start tracking your Expenses**](/expenses-and-getting-paid/expenses-and-getting-paid) Submit expenses through your collective, so others can see where money will be spent (even if you don't have any yet). This builds trust with potential supporters. [**Choosing a Fiscal Host**](/collectives/choosing-a-fiscal-host) If you would prefer not to hold money on behalf of your community a Fiscal Host can act as a 'host' for your project. \
# Creating Your Policies Creating policies on Open Collective gives contributors and expense submitters clarity on what they need to do to meet your standards. By setting a policy, you’re giving your community a clear sense of what you will accept. This may include information about what information you require on an expense, how regularly you pay expenses, or the types of groups who you do not allow to contribute to your cause. ### Setting your policies To complete your policies, go to your Collective’s Dashboard > Settings > Policies. You will be able to customize your policy using the following options: **Contribution policy:** Outline the types of contributions you are willing to accept and which are likely to be rejected. For example, you may not be willing to accept donations from groups that do not match your ethical standards. **Expenses policy:** Give submitters an idea of what they need to do to get their expenses approved. You can include details such as: * How to title and describe expenses * Which types of expense are acceptable * What evidence or receipts to include * Where to make invoices out to * How quickly invoices are paid (and whether you do so at a particular time of the month) This will be shown to the right of the expense submission process. {% hint style="info" %} If you are a Collective hosted by a Fiscal Host, you may wish to link to their policy page or info here as well (if available). You should also check to make sure your policies are consistent with theirs. {% endhint %} **Expense approvals:** You can select “admins cannot approve their own expenses” (which requires another admin to approve the submission). This can also be set for expenses over a certain amount. You can also limit expense submissions to team members and financial contributors. **Rejected categories:** This enables you to automatically block certain categories of contributor from submitting expenses. Learn more about this on our [Rejecting and Refunding Financial Contributions](/collectives/raising-money/rejecting-and-refunding-financial-contributions) page. **Fiscal Host Policies:** Fiscal Hosts can set policies that apply to hosted projects in addition to their own collectives. For more information, see [Fiscal Hosts](/fiscal-hosts/fiscal-hosts). # Security for Collectives Collectives have some additional policy tools at their disposal to reduce risks. Read more about two-factor authentication enforcement. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds another level of security to accounts. If an account’s password is hacked, it requires the user to provide another proof of identity, such as a security question or a code generated from an authenticator app. Collectives and their Fiscal Hosts can choose to force all admins to have 2FA enabled. This will block any admin from accessing admin pages or completing tasks until they’ve done so. ### Enforcing 2FA for all admins * Go to your collective's Dashboard > Settings > Security. * Click on the tick box for “All admins must have 2FA. * Save your changes.
Collective's Security page with two-factor authentication enabled.
Offer rewards to people who give a certain amount, such as merchandise or supporter status
Example of reward tiers that offers membership perks based on contribution level on the JHipster Open Collective profile.
Show people how much you need to achieve a certain task, such as purchasing supplies for a single beneficiary
Example of tier tied to a specific contribution goal on the Oxford Mutual Aid Open Collective profile.
Offer direct technical support or services in exchange for contributions
Example of an Open Source project that offers direct technical support in exchange for contributions on the Babel Open Collective profile.
Screenshot of different Contributor widgets as featured on the docusaurus Github.
```
{% endcode %}
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```html
```
{% endcode %}
### Displaying supporters and sponsors
Showing a list of sponsors can be a good way to recognize those who have supported you. To do this, add this script:
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```html
```
{% endcode %}
Remember to replace `YOURCOLLECTIVE` with your Collective’s handle
You can also style how your display looks by using this script template (in React style). If you alter this example script, remember that your version must still be parsable with JSON.stringify.
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```html
```
{% endcode %}
This script will use the default `h1` and `h2` tags that you have set on your website, but you can edit them with a command such as the one below:
```css
#opencollective-banner h1 {
color: black;
}
```
An example of a styled banner can be found on the [Spina site](https://spinacms.com/).
Screenshot of Open Collection contributions embedded on the Spina website.
# Budgets We’ve designed our budgets so that they are open and transparent. This means that everyone is able to follow what money is coming in, and how it is spent. Collectives have transparent budgets, where all transactions are reported. Everyone can see where the money comes from and what it's spent on. You can choose to display a Simple Budget, with overall figures as well as expenses and contributions. Or you can showcase your figures more visually with the Budget Visualization feature, which pulls information from your expenses and contributions and showcases them with varying graphs. To switch between the two views: 1. Navigate to your Collective’s Dashboard > Settings 2. Find “Profile Sections” 3. Use the drop-down menu next to “Budget” to toggle between “Always visible” (Simple Budget view) and “New version visible” (Budget Visualization). ### Simple Budget Your Simple Budget will display: * Most recent transactions * Balance * Total raised * Estimated annual budget {% hint style="info" %} Your estimated annual budget is calculated based on factors including: * your active monthly subscriptions (multiplied by 12) * your active yearly subscriptions * any one-time contributions in the last year * any inactive monthly subscriptions from the last year {% endhint %} Your budget will not show private information, such as the email addresses of your expense submitters and any receipts they attached. You can also use the menu buttons to view a record of “expenses” (money going out) and “transactions” (money coming in). If you choose to press the “view all expenses” or “view all transactions” links, you will be able to see a more complete list, and filter by various properties. ### Budget Visualization You can use the Budget Visualization to help your community understand your finances. It offers the same information as the Simple Budget, but breaks it down into useful graphs and clear categories. This can be useful when telling the story about your financial status and well-being. For example, how does your collective spend its money? Is your funding consistent, or clustered around certain time periods? To make the most of your Budget Visualization view, we recommend tagging your expenses. You can find out more about how to do this in the [Paying Expenses](/collectives/spending-money) section. # Projects You can set up a Project on Open Collective if you want to work on a mission or fundraiser around a specific initiative or idea. Projects are a lightweight way for collectives, organizations, and funds to raise money and manage budgets for a specific initiative or idea. A Project has its own balance and record of contributions and expenses. It can set contribution tiers, offer rewards, establish goals, give updates to backers, and have its own admins. However, a project is separate from the Collective that runs it. That means it can only spend the budget it has (rather than the entire Collective budget). However, a Collective can allocate part of its overall budget to the Project if it chooses. For an example of a Project in action, see [Bushwick Ayuda Mutua’s Asylum Seekers Fund](https://opencollective.com/bushwick-ayuda-mutua/projects/asylum-seekers-fund). ### Creating a Project To create a Project, go to your Collective, Organization, or Fund page. Ensure that you have your Projects section visible, you will then have the ability to “Create Project”. This will invite you to choose a name, a profile URL and add a short description of what the Project aims to achieve. Once the Project is live, you can click on “settings” to edit and customize it. This includes: * **Editing your info:** You can edit basic information, add tiers and goals and customize your page. * **Adding contribution tiers and goals:** This operates similarly to your collective page. [Learn more about this here](/collectives/raising-money/setting-goals-and-tiers). * **Adding updates:** You can update your community on your Project’s progress. To enable, go to your Project’s “profile page” and select “always visible” next to your updates box. Learn more about [updates](/advanced/keeping-your-community-updated). * **Managing Team Members:** All Collective team members are part of the Project team, but you can add or remove team members from your project without affecting the Collective. {% hint style="success" %} If you add a team member to a Project, they do not become an admin of your Collective. Therefore, you can give people responsibility for a Project without giving them access to the Collective itself. {% endhint %} ### Closing a Project If you wish to close down a Project you can Archive it or Delete it, in either case, you will need to zero the project’s balance. Learn more about moving your project's money on the [Moving money](/collectives/managing-money/moving-money) page. Navigate to your Projects Dashboard > Settings > Advanced. #### Archive your project Archiving your project means it will visually appear inactive and no new activity will be allowed. #### Delete your project You can only delete your project if there is no transaction history. This enables us to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the ledger. # Moving money Find out about moving money between Projects, Events and their parent Collectives. Projects and Events have budgets, transactions and expenses separate from their parent Collectives. To move money between them you can 'contribute' to the Project, Event, or Collective. When closing a project or event, you can empty the balance back to the parent Collective. ### Transferring money from a Collective to a Project or Event You can transfer money from your Collective to your Project or Event by following these steps: 1. Navigate to your Project or Event page. 2. Select "Contribute" on your custom contribution tier 3. Choose the desired amount 4. Use the “Contribute as…” dropdown menu to select your Collective 5. Select the Collective’s balance as the payment method ### Transferring money from a Project or Event to a Collective To move a set amount of money from your Project or Event to your Collective: 1. Go to your Collective’s page 2. Select “Contribute” on your custom contribution tier 3. Choose the desired amount 4. Use the “Contribute as…” dropdown menu to select your Project or Event 5. Check that your Project or Event balance has been automatically selected 6. Click “Contribute” ### Emptying a Project or Event's balance If you wish to move the entire balance of the Project or Event. Navigate to your Event or Projects Dashboard > Settings > Advanced and find “Empty Project/Event Balance”. This will transfer all funds to your Collective. # Tagging expenses Tag expenses to categorize and organize your project's expenditure. Tagging your expenses can be a useful way to show how your money is being spent: To add a tag, go to your expense, and find the “Add Tag” button next to your expense’s invoice number (underneath the title). You can add and edit tags when the expense is created, or at any time afterwards. This means you can create your own consistent categories, such as: * Employees (wages and benefits) * Contractors (invoices from suppliers/freelancers) * Accounting (invoices, auditor fees) * Software (subscriptions to software and SaaS products) * Meals and Entertainment (Team lunches and client meetings, etc) * Workspace (Home office costs or coworking expenses) * Travel (Transportation and associated costs) * Donations (contributions to other entities) Decide on the best ones for you, and refine them as you go. # Spending Money You can use Open Collective to approve and reject expenses submitted to your Collective, and track their progress. The Open Collective platform enables you to view all submitted expenses, and either approve or reject them. {% hint style="info" %} If your collective is hosted by a [Fiscal Host](/collectives/choosing-a-fiscal-host). Collective and Fiscal Host admins will both need to review and approve an expense for it to be paid. {% endhint %} ### Expense policy We recommend that you provide information and guidance to expense submitters about the types of expenses you are willing to pay, and what information you need to make the process easier. You can do this by creating an expense policy, which you can share with your community. Go to [Creating Your Policies](/collectives/creating-a-collective/creating-your-policies) to learn how to do this. While creating your Expense Policy, you can disable expense submissions from the general public entirely by selecting the option "Only allow expenses to be created by Team Members and Financial Contributors (they may invite expenses from other payees)." ### Receiving incoming expenses When someone submits an expense: * an email will be sent to all Collective admins, showing the sender, the amount, and other info * the expense will appear on your Collective’s transparent budget When you receive an expense, you have a few options: #### Approving the expense As a Collective admin, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the submitted expense is legitimate. If you believe this is the case, you can approve it. This will send a notification to the submitter. If the collective has sufficient funds to pay the expense, it will also notify the Fiscal Host admin(s), who will need to review the expense to ensure it is legally and fiscally valid. If the collective does not have sufficient funds, the expense will wait until sufficient funds are available. Once both parties are satisfied, the expense will be paid by the Fiscal Host. #### Rejecting the expense If you are not satisfied with the expense for whatever reason, you can reject it. The submitter will then be notified. We recommend adding a comment to explain why you have done so. {% hint style="info" %} You cannot delete an expense until you have rejected it. {% endhint %} #### Marking the expense as spam If you do not recognize the expense or the sender, you can reject the expense and then mark it as spam. This will remove all transactions from this user, and block the sender from submitting any more expenses on Open Collective. ### Tagging your expenses Learn more about [tagging your expenses](/collectives/managing-money/tagging-expenses). # Inviting a Third Party to Submit an Expense If you want to encourage a third-party to submit an expense on the platform, you can create an expense and invite them to complete it Expense submitters can draft and send expenses to Collectives directly. But you can also create a draft of the expense yourself, and invite someone to complete and submit it. This can be useful when: * The expense submitter is not familiar with the Open Collective platform * You wish to fill in some details in advance for easier processing, such as the title, description, amount, and the Collective the expense is submitted to. You can then invite the person or group in question to complete the expense and submit it on the platform. {% hint style="warning" %} Invitations expire after a month if they are not accepted. You will then need to repeat the process to deliver a new invitation. {% endhint %} ### Inviting an existing Open Collective user If you want to invite an Open Collective profile to submit an expense: {% hint style="info" %} An Open Collective profile can be an individual, Collective, project, event, organisation or Fiscal Host. {% endhint %} 1. Navigate to the page that you wish to expense. 2. Go to the “Submit Expense” button in the top right hand corner. 3. Select “Invoice”. 4. Type their username or email into the “Payee Information” section and select them from the drop-down menu. 5. You can then add details as you choose, such as the title, amount, and even a note which will be received by the user you invited. 6. Submit the invite to them to complete the expense. They will then receive an email notification which they can use to finish the expense and submit it. The invited payee can add or update the payout method while completing the draft, including when the expense is hosted by a different fiscal host than the one that created the invitation. If you are a host admin completing a cross-host draft on behalf of a payee, you can also add a payout method on their recipient host. ### Inviting someone without an Open Collective account If the person or group you are inviting does not currently have an Open Collective account: 1. Navigate to the page that you wish to expense. 2. Go to the “Submit Expense” button in the top right hand corner. 3. Select “Invoice”. 4. Go to the “Payee Information” section. 5. Locate the section in the drop-down menu that says “Invite Someone To Submit An Expense”. 6. Choose whether they will need to set up a Personal or an Organization Account. Selecting (Organization will invite them to create an Organization account where they are the admin.) 7. Fill in any other relevant information, such as their contact name, email address etc. 8. You can then add details as you choose, such as the title, amount, and even a note which will be received by the user you invited. 9. Submit the invite to them to complete the expense. The payee will receive an email inviting them to submit the expense. They will need to confirm or fill in the remaining details—including their payout method—and submit the expense. An Open Collective account will be created for them within this process, or they will be prompted to login. The expense will be marked as “Unverified” until they have verified their email address.
# Events Use Open Collective to set up Events for your Collective community. Create tickets and attribute the money straight to your budget. If you want to bring your community together, you can set up an Event and post it on your Collective page. You can also sell tickets for the Event. The proceeds of any sales will go directly to your Collective’s budget. ### **Creating an Event** The first step is to go to your Collective's page and scroll down to the “Events” section. Click on the “Create Event” button. You will then have the option to fill in your Event details, including a **name, short description, start and end times, your preferred time zone, your event URL, your location, and any private instructions**. Private instructions will be sent by email to registered participants and/or attendees.
Screenshot of an automated event registration email featuring Private Instructions.
Screenshot of an in-progress standalone ticket page.
Screenshot of the Collective's Advanced Settings showing "Archive" and "Delete" options.
# Contributing as a Guest You can make a one-time contribution to a Collective without an Open Collective account. If you don’t want to create an Open Collective account, you can still make donations to collectives, but only one-time contributions. {% hint style="warning" %} Recurring donations require an Open Collective account. {% endhint %} You will still need to provide an email address, but do not have to enter your name. **Guest contributions are not a reliable way of staying anonymous on Open Collective.** Please use our [incognito contribution](/giving-to-collectives/contributing#contribute-as) feature if you require privacy. #### Making a guest contribution To give money as a guest, visit the Contribute page for your chosen collective. If you have an Open Collective account, make sure you are not logged in. Select a one-time contribution, and the amount you wish to give. On the next page, select Contribute as Guest. You must provide a contact email for the receipt, but adding a name is optional. Fill in your preferred payment method, and complete your contribution. You will shortly receive an email confirming your donation. #### Claiming a Guest Account In order to transition your guest account to an Open Collective account you just need to login using the email address that you used to create the guest contribution. # Payment Methods Open Collective supports a number of payment methods, which depend on factors such as location, currency, and the collective you are giving to. Contributors can choose from a variety of payment options on Open Collective. Your choices will depend on: * Which collective you are giving to * How much you are giving * Whether you are making a one-off or recurring payment * Which currency you are giving * Your location {% hint style="warning" %} In some rare cases, it may be possible to use cryptocurrencies to give to a collective, but not all. Check with your Fiscal Host to see if they support crypto for your transaction. {% endhint %} #### Choosing your payment option Once you have selected your amount and the account you want to use to give, you will be asked to select your preferred payment option. Depending on what payment methods the receiving Fiscal Host has enabled, these may include: * Any payment methods you previously saved on Open Collective * A credit card * A payment provider, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay or PayPal * An ACH “wire” or SEPA “direct debit” transfer * Your Collective balance * Manual bank transfer {% hint style="info" %} If you would like to pay via a physical check, contact the Fiscal Host of the collective you're contributing to directly. {% endhint %} Payment methods that require bank authorization (such as ACH, SEPA or BACS) may take up to two weeks to complete. We will email you once the payment has finished processing. If you don’t complete a manual bank transfer, the pending order will expire after two months and no further action will be required. {% hint style="warning" %} If you attempt to schedule a recurring contribution via PayPal and it fails, you may be charged for all your failed scheduled donations once you reestablish the connection. {% endhint %} #### Setting up a preferred payment method If you want to save time when making contributions, you can set up a preferred payment method. Open Collective does not store any credit card numbers. Your details are stored via our secure payment partner, Stripe, so your credit cards are safe even if our systems are compromised. #### To set up your payment method: 1. Navigate to your personal account Dashboard > Settings. 2. Click “Payment Methods.” You will be prompted to add a Credit Card. 3. Fill in your Credit Card details in the space provided. {% hint style="warning" %} Updating your payment method does not change the card which your contributions are currently being made with. If you want to change the payment method of one of your subscriptions you will need to cancel the subscription and set up a new one with the desired card and amount. Go to the [Making a Recurring Payment](/giving-to-collectives/making-a-recurring-contribution) page to learn more. {% endhint %} #### Removing or changing your payment method If you wish to remove or change your preferred payment method, go to your Payment Methods page. Each card you have added will have its own entry, with the option to “Remove” on the right hand side. If your card is linked to any recurring contributions on Open Collective, you will need to cancel these contributions before you can remove the card. # Platform Tips When you make a contribution to a Collective, you are also invited to add a platform tip. Read on to find out who this tip goes to, and what it is spent on. When you are making a [contribution to a collective](/giving-to-collectives/contributing), you will also be asked if you want to add a platform tip. This is totally optional, and the amount can be changed to any amount you wish. #### What is a platform tip? A platform tip is a donation to the Open Collective platform which is added on to your contribution. By adding a platform tip, you’re helping us keep the platform running smoothly and enabling us to add new features. #### Where is my platform tip going? When you add a platform tip to your total, you’re giving to the Open Collective platform, in addition to your chosen Collective. The Open Collective platform remains sustainable due to our investors and the platform fees from hosts. [You can find out more about our pricing here](/why-open-collective/pricing). However, your optional platform tips also play a huge role in helping us to maintain and improve the platform. #### Adding a platform tip Click on any Collective, and access the “contribute” option in the menu. You will then see a range of ways you can support. Select the applicable option and you will be taken to the “contribute to…” page. Once you have set the level and frequency of your donation, you will be able to edit your platform tip by adjusting the tip settings.
Default platform tip settings when making a new contribution.
Screenshot of recurring contribution modal.
Screenshot of credit card verification email.
Screenshot of a Collective's header with a red outline highlighting the location of the "Submit Expense" button on the page.
Screenshot of your personal dashboard, expenses page. Highlighting the new expense button
Available settings when creating a new recurring expense.
# Fiscal Host Security (Old) Fiscal Hosts can opt-in to enforce 2FA for all of their admins. Any attempt at triggering admin operations or visiting the admin pages will be blocked until the admins enable 2FA on their profiles. A rolling payout limit can also be set so that 2FA is triggered when this limit is met. Projects and events inherit the 2FA settings from their parents. Access your security settings by navigating to your Fiscal Host Dashboard > Settings > Security. From here, you can set your two-factor authentication requirements for your Fiscal Host admins. ### Enforce 2FA for all admins Information on how to enable this feature is in the [Security for Accounts](/advanced/security-for-accounts) section. ### Rolling Payouts Admins will be asked to authenticate with 2FA authentication when they make their first payment and again once they’ve hit the rolling limit.
# Fiscal Host Security Open Collective features Two-Factor Authentication to help ensure the security of your account. This section features information and instructions for setting up and using 2FA for payouts. ## Security Checks We want to make sure that Fiscal Hosts are confident an expense is accurate and complete before approving it. This is why we carry out some automated Security Checks for factors you may want to keep in mind during the approval process. Learn more on the [Understanding Security Checks](/fiscal-hosts/expense-payment/understanding-security-checks) page. ## Two-Factor Authentication for Payouts Fiscal Hosts now have the ability to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on payouts. This means that when you go to the Host dashboard and click “Go to pay” to open the payment modal, you will sometimes be prompted to enter a 2FA code as an extra layer of security. ### Enabling 2FA for login First, you need to enable two-factor authentication on your user account. You can find the instructions on how to do this on the [Security for Accounts](/advanced/security-for-accounts) page. ### Enabling 2FA for payouts Now you’re ready to make payouts from the host dashboard. Click “Go to pay” for the first expense. The payment modal will then open, giving you the option to pay out the expense. For the first expense that you’re paying in a session, you will be prompted to enter your 2FA code. When prompted, open your authenticator app and enter the 6-digit code that is under the entry for your account on Open Collective. Then click the pay button in the modal again. If the code is correct, the payment will go through. Now that you have been authenticated by inputting your 2FA code, you can make payments until the sum of their amounts adds up to a limit specified in your Fiscal Host Dashboard > Settings > Security (which defaults to $10,000.00). When the sum of the payment amounts goes over the limit, you will be asked to enter a new 2FA code to keep making payments. If you and another admin or accountant for your organization are making payments at the same time, you each get your own limit instead of working with a shared one. {% hint style="warning" %} When you enable 2FA for payouts on your organization, every admin or accountant who makes payments will need to enable 2FA for login on their individual accounts, so please make sure to let them know this before enabling it. {% endhint %} ### Rolling Payouts Admins will be asked to authenticate with 2FA authentication when they make their first payment and again once they’ve hit the rolling limit. # Fiscal Host Policies Read on to learn how to set your Fiscal Host policies directly inside of your Open Collective dashboard. Access your policy settings by navigating to your Fiscal Host Dashboard > Settings > Policies. ## Contributions You can set a Contribution policy to let potential contributors know what kind of funds you will and will not accept. You can also make certain information required when submitting a contribution to help you remain legally compliant. For the following categories, you can set minimum contribution thresholds so that if a contribution comes in above that amount, contributors are required to provide this information to continute: * Legal Name * Physical Address ## Expenses Policy It can be daunting to file an expense if you're not sure what's allowed. Provide a clear policy to guide expense submitters. You can provide different policies for the various types of expenses that are possible to submit on Open Collective: * Invoice Expenses Policy * Receipt Expenses Policy * Grant Expenses Policy * Expenses Title Policy ## Required Admins You can use this policy to enforce the minimum number of admins that a collective needs in order to be accepted by your host. In order to do so, simply select the number of admins you want to enforce. To turn it off, select Do not enforce a minimum number of admins. {% hint style="warning" %} After setting a minimum number of admins you won't be able to approve Pending Applications from collectives that do not have enough admins. You'll be able to open an exception for collectives that already invited enough admins, even though these invitations are still pending. {% endhint %} It is also possible to automatically prevent these collectives that have pending admins from receiving contributions with the freeze feature: In this scenario, if you decide to open an exception to a collective that still doesn't satisfy the minimum number of admins, you'll make sure they only start to raise funds after they have enough signed-up admins. ## Expense Approvals The Expense Approval settings allow you to set specific requirements for expenses that are submitted to Collectives that your organization hosts. These settings include: * Enabling and disabling admins from approving their own expenses * Options for only enforcing this under specific circumstances, like if a certain payment minimum is hit. * Enabling and disabling non-team members and contributors from submitting expenses to your hosted Collectives ## Expense Types Specify the types of expenses allowed for the collectives you're hosting. Allow reimbursements, invoices, and grants. If you wish to set custom options for specific Collectives, navigate to the Hosted Collectives section. You can either use the global host settings or specify custom options.