There are actually several ways to enter a donation but you must have access to the Finance module to enter a donation anywhere in the system.
The primary way to enter donations is via the 'Transactions' tab in the Finance area. Just go to Finance / Transactions / Monetary. From here, the system allows (forces) you to search for the donor to see if that donor is already in your system. After you click find, the system will return all records based on your search, allowing to select the correct donor. You can search for, select, and queue up as many donors as you wish, although we recommend no more than 15-20 at a time. This primary method essentially allows you to find all of your donors, queue them all up, and then enter donations quickly by tabbing through the donation-entry screen for each donor.
A second way to enter a donation is to use the quick-entry form, found in the dashboard of the Finance area. This is perfectly acceptable. However, there are some limitations with this method that don't exist with the primary method. First, you can only enter one donation at a time. Next, and more importantly, is that you can't split transactions among household or elections, automatically credit an outstanding pledge, or be alerted to a recent solicitation.
Finally, you can enter a donation directly from the person's record in the Constituent's area. At the bottom of the main screen, there is a row of action icons. By clicking the donation icon, you can enter a donation from right within this person's record. All of the same limitations apply as with the quick-entry form.