A donation checklist before your livestream
Check your account, public page and alerts in a consistent order so that an important step does not get missed.
DonoLink editorial team.
This guide is for streamers in the United Kingdom. DonoLink is coming soon to donolink.co.uk; most steps work with any donation tool, and the waitlist tells you when you can start.
Check the creator account
Review the payment status in your dashboard and complete any missing verification. Creating an account connection does not prove that payments or payouts are available. Check which capabilities have actually been enabled and resolve any missing-information notice first.
Walk through the viewer journey
Open your public link in a private window and on a phone. Read the page as if you had never seen your channel: is the creator clear, can you choose an amount, and which currency and fees are displayed? Also check the return page after payment. Share the public link, never a dashboard or overlay URL.
Check the broadcast scene
Activate the scene you will broadcast and send a test alert. Check text, sound and position with a short recording. Make sure the alert queue is not paused. A browser preview may work while the source is missing or muted in your actual scene.
Keep usable records
Record payments actually received, platform fees, processing charges and refunds. A stream donation is not automatically a tax-free gift. This technical checklist does not determine your local tax treatment; check your situation with the relevant tax authority or an adviser. Also review which donor names and messages you want to show publicly.
A short check before each broadcast
First open your public page on a phone and choose an example amount without paying. Then check payment status, your active donation variant and the queue in the dashboard. Activate the broadcast scene in OBS and record one test alert. Play it back: the name and amount should be readable, with audible sound that does not drown out your voice. Leave the queue running after this check. This tests the viewer journey and broadcast separately.
Keep a simple check log
Record the date, scene, source dimensions and picture/audio results. For example: ‘5 October, game scene, test picture visible, recorded audio audible, queue running.’ This is a sample note, not proof of a real test. For an actual paid test, also record amount and payment status privately. Check again after changing a scene, sound source or alert variant. Yesterday’s successful check does not prove that a source muted today still works.
When a payment or alert is missing
If the donation is not marked paid in the dashboard, investigate the payment first; a test alert does not fix a payment problem. If payment is recorded, check the variant, queue and browser source. Do not immediately repeat a real payment just to test sound: use a test alert for that. Give support the time and relevant payment or error details. Keep private payment information and secret overlay URLs out of your livestream.