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Before you start

Step 1About two minutes

Install and activate

1. Upload the plugin

   In WordPress, go to Plugins, then Add Plugin, then Upload Plugin. Choose the Tinwell zip file from your purchase email and click Install Now, then Activate Plugin. Tinwell appears as its own item in the admin menu.

2. Enter your licence key

   Open Tinwell, then Settings, and paste the licence key from your email into the Licence field. Save. The key ties the plugin to this website and switches on updates and support. If you bought more than one licence, each website gets its own key.

3. Check the go-live checklist

   Tinwell's onboarding checklist lists what still needs doing before you can take real money: HTTPS, a payment provider connected and tested, Gift Aid wording, a privacy notice linked. Every item turns green as you complete the steps below, and when they are all green the plugin seals a certificate for the site.

Step 2About ten minutes

Add your Stripe keys

1. No Stripe account yet?

   Create one at stripe.com first. Have your registered charity number, address and bank details ready; Stripe verifies the organisation before paying out, which can take a few days, but you can rehearse in the meantime with Stripe’s test keys in Tinwell’s test mode.

2. Add your keys

   In Tinwell, then Settings, then Payment Gateways, follow the steps to create a restricted API key in your Stripe dashboard and paste it in with your publishable key. A restricted key can only do the few things Tinwell needs and can be revoked on its own. Donations go straight to your own Stripe account, Tinwell never needs access to it, and card details never touch your site.

3. Add the webhook

   In your Stripe dashboard, add a webhook for the address Tinwell shows under Payment Gateways, then paste its signing secret into Tinwell. Without it, donations are created but never confirmed.

4. Switch on Apple Pay and Google Pay

   Both come through Stripe and appear automatically on devices that support them once your keys are in. Apple Pay also needs your domain registered in your Stripe dashboard, under its payment method domains settings.

5. Add GoCardless for Direct Debit

   Optional. Under Payment Gateways, paste an access token created in your GoCardless dashboard; the settings screen walks you through it, including the webhook GoCardless uses to report each collection. Direct Debit then appears as a payment method for monthly gifts. See the guide to Direct Debit donations with GoCardless.

Step 3About thirty minutes

Build and place your form

1. Choose fields and flow

   In Tinwell, then Forms, open the default form or create one. Choose single page or multi-step, the suggested amounts for one-off and monthly gifts, the impact line, whether to show tribute options, and which donor fields to ask for. Keep the form short: name, email, amount, Gift Aid, payment is enough for most charities.

2. Switch on Gift Aid

   Under Gift Aid, enter your HMRC reference and confirm the declaration wording. The form will then ask UK taxpayers to declare and collect the home address HMRC needs. See the guide to Gift Aid on a WordPress donation form.

3. Brand it

   The form takes its fonts from your theme. Set your button colour and any accent so it matches the rest of the site.

4. Place it on a page

   Edit your donate page in the block editor, add the Tinwell Donation Form block and choose the form. Or paste the form's shortcode into any page, post or widget. Campaign components (progress bar, totaliser, impact cards, countdown, supporter wall, donate buttons) are blocks and shortcodes too. For the wider steps, see our guide to adding a donation form to WordPress, and donation page best practice for the page around it.

Step 4About fifteen minutes

Take your first gift

1. Make a real £1 donation

   Use your own card on the live form. Check the thank-you screen and the email the donor receives, then look at the donation on the Tinwell dashboard.

2. Refund it

   Refund the £1 in your Stripe dashboard. Tinwell marks the donation refunded.

3. Test a monthly gift

   If you have switched on Direct Debit, set up a £1 monthly gift yourself, check the mandate confirmation, then cancel it in the donor portal.

4. Check the certificate

   Back in the onboarding checklist, every item should now be green and the site's certificate sealed. You are live.

Connecting your CRM

In Tinwell, then Settings, then Integrations, choose Beacon, Donorfy or Raisely, paste the API key from your CRM and map your campaigns and fund pots to the CRM's funds. Make a £1 test donation and check the record lands in the CRM before refunding it. Each integration has its own page: Beacon, Donorfy, Raisely.

Campaigns and fund pots

In Tinwell, then Campaigns, create an appeal with a target and a closing date, and add fund pots under it if donors should be able to choose where their gift goes. Place a progress bar or totaliser on the appeal page with the block or shortcode; both read live figures from your donations. The dashboard shows pace against target.

Exporting Gift Aid

In Tinwell, then Gift Aid, choose the period and export. The CSV is laid out for HMRC Charities Online: paste it into HMRC's schedule spreadsheet, save in HMRC's required format, attach it to a claim and submit. Donations without a valid declaration are left out and flagged; donations already claimed are marked so they cannot be claimed twice.

Reports

In Tinwell, then Reports, choose a period for the trustee report: conversion by source, recurring versus one-off, average gift and Gift Aid status, as one page or a PDF.

Updates and support

Tinwell updates through the normal WordPress plugin updates screen while your licence is active. Security patches are released as soon as they are ready. Support is by email from the team who built the plugin; see the support page for what to include and what to expect.

Troubleshooting

Something not covered? Email support with your site address and a screenshot. See the full feature list or pricing.