This post answers a common question: how much time and effort does it take to implement BetterNow?
We’ll walk you through the full onboarding process—including timelines, required tasks, optional integrations, and what to expect after you go live.
Note: This post focuses on the technical implementation. The broader task of embedding P2P fundraising into your organisation is covered in this separate guide.
What’s the typical implementation timeline?
This depends heavily on the number of custom features, integrations, and your team’s responsiveness. But here’s a rough guide to expectations:
Phase |
Tasks |
Time estimate |
🟢 Kick-off & verification |
- Kick-off call
- KYC/AML submission
- Choose subdomain
- Provide branding assets
|
Day one 2–3 hours |
Week 1 🎨 Design & content entry |
- First design draft
- Your feedback
- Add project content and images
|
2–3 days (design) 3+ hours (content) |
Week 2 ⚙️ Configuration & domain setup |
- Donation form fields
- Fundraiser flow and consent settings
- Domain masking (CNAME)
|
Less than 1 week |
Week 3 🔧 Premium setup (if applicable) |
- Email DNS setup
- Email copy review & rewrite
- Custom footer coding
|
1 week 4+ hours |
Week 4+ 🔗 Integrations & data migration (optional) |
- CRM integration
- Other integrations (Zapier, etc.)
- Data import & cleanup
|
1–6+ weeks, depending on scope |
Go-live 🚀 |
- Final review
- Launch site
|
When ready |
Post-launch 📈 Ongoing support |
- Launch call
- 3-month check-in
- Strategy sessions on demand
|
Continuous |
KYC/AML verification
Handled by our partner Clearhaus, this is a required compliance step. We collect:
- ID and address verification of your authorised signatory
- Organisation documentation
⚠️ This is the number one cause of onboarding delays—start this step early. If you’re using OnlineFundraising, this step may not apply.
Design setup
We build your site’s look based on your existing homepage, mimicking structure and CSS. If you provide a brand guide, even better.
- Your task: review and provide feedback
- Our task: design and implement
Premium customers: We also replicate your website footer from scratch. This typically takes a week from start to finish, but can be done while other tasks are being worked on.
Content entry
While we work on design, you can add your content—projects, descriptions, images, and pages—through our self-service interface.
This step is often iterative, allowing you to test quickly and refine.
Platform configuration
We’ll help you configure:
- Fundraiser creation flow
- Donation form fields
- Consent statements
- Payment methods
- Cookie banners and tracking
We usually schedule a call to walk you through all your options.
Domain masking
Your IT team adds a CNAME record to point your chosen subdomain (e.g. fundraise.yourdomain.org) to BetterNow.
Fastest task of the entire process.
Biggest challenge? Deciding on the subdomain name.
Premium-only setup tasks
These tasks are only relevant if you are on the premium subscription. You can read more on the difference between standard and premium subscription.
Email DNS setup
We provide DNS records so emails from the platform come from your domain.
This is technical but quick, though mistakes are common, so expect some back-and-forth with IT.
Full email rewriting
Premium customers can fully customise all automated email flows (50+ templates).
- You review content in a Word doc
- We implement changes in the system
This will take 3 or more hours, depending on how many emails you want to change and to what extent. In our experience, most customers make minimal edits, so half a day's work is a good estimate.
Optional and advanced tasks
CRM integration
You likely want this, but do you need it now?
We offer:
- A full API
- Webhooks from the admin dashboard
- Pre-built integrations for Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics through partners
If you have a modern CRM with integration support, this is straightforward.
If not, you may need to budget for a custom build or developer support—this can take weeks or months.
Other integrations
Our Zapier integration enables quick connections to:
- Marketing automation
- Form tools
- Chatbots
- Other systems
These are typically faster than CRM setups—fewer stakeholders involved, less internal risk.
Data migration
Replacing another platform? You might want to import:
- Past fundraisers
- Ongoing fundraising pages
We support this, but the complexity varies based on:
- What data can you extract from your old system?
- Whether you can help structure the data for us?
If you help prepare it, we often do this free or at low cost.
If we do everything, we may charge extra—it’s labour-intensive.
How to prepare
To make onboarding smooth, we recommend:
- ✅ Assigning a project lead for the setup
- ✅ Gathering signatory and ID documents for KYC early
- ✅ Preparing your logo, brand guide, and tone of voice
- ✅ Deciding on your preferred subdomain
- ✅ Discussing CRM integration internally (and identifying owners)
- ✅ Reviewing internal capacity for optional tasks like data migration
What happens after you go live?
Once you’re live, our support continues. We’re not fundraising consultants, but we are invested in your success and deeply experienced in what works.
You’ll receive:
- 🎯 A launch call focused on campaign setup, messaging, and outreach
- 📈 A 3-month follow-up to evaluate performance and recommend improvements
- 🧠 Ad hoc strategy calls—you can book us any time
- 👀 Occasional proactive check-ins when we see opportunities to improve
We’re not disappearing after onboarding. We’ll be there as you grow your P2P fundraising programme.
Key takeaways
- You can go live in 1–2 weeks with a basic setup, but full implementations take longer.
Most core tasks only require a few hours of actual work on your side. - KYC verification and CRM integration are the biggest sources of delay—start them early.
- Premium adds more setup and more white-glove support.
- We support you before, during, and well after launch.