You can easily import data from Facebook's donation platform into Beacon using our pre-built import library template.
Importing from Facebook
Download your data from Facebook as a CSV file.
Warning: Facebook payment IDs are long numbers that can easily get accidentally changed with formatting when opened in Excel or Google Sheets. Upload directly after your initial download, or see the FAQ section for more info.If you haven't already set up an import template for Facebook, have a read of this article, and then go to Import templates > Manage templates.
Create a new template, and choose the Facebook - Donations template. Click Create.
You'll see that all of the template settings have already been pre-set. Feel free to review them and make the appropriate changes - and then save the template.
Go to Import data > Run import. Upload your CSV from Facebook, and start the import. Once the import is finished, you'll see this:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why have my payment IDs changed / How do I safely edit the CSV?
Because Facebook payment IDs are very long numbers, Excel (and often Google Sheets) automatically display them in a rounded up/down 'scientific' number format, instead of their full format.
- VS -
If you then save this file, the displayed values (e.g. 2.36198E+15) get saved instead of the correct value (e.g. 2361983273916210). When the scientific number is imported into Beacon it gets converted back to a full number, but since it's been rounded up or down by Excel it will be incorrect (e.g. 2361980000000000). This can lead to unrelated payments being merged into one.
To avoid this issue, there are two different solutions:
Import the file directly after download from Facebook, without opening it in Excel or Google Sheets. Beacon will then be able to import the full, correct ID.
Or, if you need to edit the spreadsheet before uploading, format the Payment ID column to display the values correctly before saving.
How to format the Payment ID column in Excel:
Select the column
Right click on the selection and click 'Format cells...'
Choose Category: 'Custom' and then Type: '0'
Click 'OK'
Note: For Google Sheets; highlight the column, then go to Format > Number > 0
You should now see the full number in the Payment ID column, and can safely save as a CSV file for import. If you open the file again later, you will likely need to repeat these steps.
How do I download my Facebook report?
You can download your donations report from within your Facebook page.
Click 'Settings' at the top of your page
Click 'Donations' in the side menu
Click the 'Donation Donation Reports' button
Choose 'Multi-day Transaction Report', enter the date range you'd like, and fill in your email address
Click 'Export Reports'