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Advanced's cloud-based Gift Aid portal hits £1 billion milestone

06/04/2017 minute read Mark Dewell

Numerous charities benefit from processing their Gift Aid online

Advanced’s innovative Gift Aid portal has now helped leading British charities process over £1 billion in value of gross donations since its introduction in 2013, resulting in tax repayments of circa one quarter of a billion pounds. The cloud-based solution helps charities successfully manage the online Gift Aid processing requirement for HMRC Charities Online, saving both time and eradicating errors. Some of the largest charities using the portal include Save the Children UK, RSPB, RSPCA, WWF, Plan UK, The English Heritage Trust, Marie Curie, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Cats Protection and Amnesty International UK.

Advanced developed the Gift Aid portal as part of its not for profit management offering, which integrates with its fundraising software for charities. Feedback from some of the leading charities using the portal have indicated benefits in four key areas:

  • guarantees that report submissions have been validated and successfully processed
  • alerts if there are errors in the entry, prior to submission, which speeds up the process by not having to re-submit data unnecessarily
  • online automation removing the previous manual administrative process of printing, signing, and posting each form
  • faster processing which means charities get receipt of the valuable Gift Aid funds more quickly

“Advanced provides us with a very reliable and effective solution to process Gift Aid claims electronically in line with the HMRC requirement,” says Tony Gamble, Head of IT for Cats Protection. “We are now able to process claims 50% faster compared to paper claims which used to take the team a whole afternoon!  We claim Gift Aid income on behalf of our 250 volunteer-run branches who care for unwanted cats, so we very much welcome the increased efficiencies.”   

Mark Dewell, Managing Director - Commercial and Third Sector - Advanced, says:

“Gift Aid is an incredibly valuable source of funds for charities and it’s great that our portal has helped make it easier and faster when processing their online claims with HMRC. This is an example of how a digital-first strategy delivers a positive impact for everyone – for HMRC in being able to automate claims, for charities in receiving their Gift Aid rebate from HMRC much quicker, and for consumers in maximising their donations. We’re delighted to have reached this milestone.”

Gift Aid is worth £1.3 billion a year to charities and their donors. It was introduced in 2000 by the UK Government as a way for charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) to increase the value of monetary gifts from UK taxpayers by claiming back the basic rate tax paid by the donor on the donation. It increases the value of donations by a quarter at no extra cost to the donor.

All Gift Aid claims must now be made online directly to HMRC and organisations processing claims in excess of 1,000 records must be uploaded directly to the Government Gateway.