I'm sure by now you've heard plenty about the industry's movement towards PCI compliance and stamping all programs that touch credit cards with the PA-DSS certification, and not enough about Blackbaud's progress with Patron Edge. Here is a quick breakdown about some of the features and enhancements we have made in Patron Edge 3.340, and changes that we are continuing to work on as we work to get the PA-DSS stamp put on Patron Edge:
- As of version 3.340, credit card information is now encrypted with an administrator-defined encryption key as transactions are queued to be cleared.
- As soon as a transaction clears, every reference to a credit card number is permanently truncated. The last four digits of the card number are the only data retained.
- Any reports that display transaction data will only show the final four digits of a credit card or less, depending on user security.
- Credit card transaction log files (Tix_PSC logs) no longer store credit card details beyond the last four digits of the card number.
- Password rules, such as password length, rotation, and account lockouts, will go into effect for all user accounts.
- Audit trails will be implemented for all system components in order to be able to recreate system events.
- The installation package will be digitally signed to ensure file integrity and prevent any kind of tampering.
The audit of Patron Edge is being performed by a company called Trustwave, who we are using to audit all of our products in addition to our Hosting environment. Be assured that Patron Edge will be PA-DSS certified, but in the meantime there are more changes in the pipeline that are required to meet this changing standard. Have a question? Leave a note in the comments.
Today was the big day. The new president's speech was inspiring. I was especially pleased with the references to exploiting the potential in newer, smarter energy and economic policies. With that in mind, and in what might be the worst segue ever on The Spotlight, I present to you a gift that allows you to see your sales potential in a newer, smarter way. The Potential Revenue Report was designed for reserved seating organizations who need to figure out how much their unsold seats are worth for a given group of events.
To install:
- Download this set of files: Potential Revenue Report.zip
- Add the stored procedure to your PE database
- Add the report into Patron Edge per Knowledgebase solution BB142029
How is it smart? This report takes the price level for each unsold seat in an event, and uses that in combination with the base price type on the event's price list to find out the potential value of each seat. Then it just sums it up by area and event. It has filters that allow you to choose one or multiple shows and from/to event dates, so that you can see the potential of your entire show run on one report. You can also double-click an area in the report results to get a list of that area's unsold seats.
So what is the point? Well, the best way to use it is to find patterns in areas of each event and change your pricing accordingly. The orchestra only has a few seats left? Raise the ticket price on the precious few seats left. The balcony isn't doing well? Push it harder with the phone reps or in advertising, or consider a discounting scheme. There are no canned reports that give this data currently, so enjoy and leave a comment with how it's working for you.
As with any stuff I give out on The Spotlight, this isn't a core piece of the product; it's custom so that means it is unsupported. My analysts cannot help with the report or take questions on it. If you have any problems with it, leave a comment here or send me an email.
How are you currently doing yield management at your organization? Do you have any advice for your fellow readers? Leave a note in the comments.
A new year has arrived and The Spotlight is now back in full swing. I wanted to start off right, with a round-up of the most popular posts of 2008. Go ahead and make a 2009 resolution to implement one of these ideas or features.
PEO Donation Round-Up, v2
This was a feature I built that allows you to have a 1-click donation button on your basket screen. It will round up to the next dollar, five dollars, whatever dollar amount you need without having to leave the basket screen.
Six tweaks to improve performance
So you've loaded the latest SQL patches and Windows service packs, updated Patron Edge and PEO to the latest version and trimmed down transaction times, but your database just can't keep up with you. Before going out and buying a brand new, top-of-the-line server for your database, try some of these tweaks to get a bump in performance.
Create maps of your patrons using free online tools
This is a guest post I wrote for The User's Edge. I explain how to use the RE Export module and a free service called Map a List to create a Google Maps mashup. These tools are not RE-specific though; you can run Marketing Mailing queries and generate a spreadsheet of address info, enabling you to get a visual of where your season ticket holders or major sponsors live.
Choose Your Own Order Details
Patron Edge contains a pretty nice feature that allows you to enter additional order information based on the price type chosen. While you will need to write your own reports for the captured data, you have a lot of flexibility with what it can do.
Five ways to cut transaction time
On a busy day, every second counts when making a sale. Long lines make patrons impatient and a bad enough waiting experience can even be enough to prevent someone from coming back to visit you. Lines at theme parks are so bad nowadays, my wife and I don't even bother anymore. With that in mind, here are five tips that can help you cut mouse clicks and seconds from every transaction.
Using Google Analytics to get more out of PEO
Google has a powerful, free tool available, called Google Analytics, that will allow you to collect all kinds of aggregate data about your site's visitors.
Send an SMS blast to patrons using free online tools
Have you considered the possibility of using the system to send out an SMS blast to the mobile phones of your subscribers?
How Do You Welcome New Clients?
When patrons become associated with your organization, either by purchasing tickets or signing up to receive information, do they receive any kind of introductory materials? How do you go about getting lists of new people who have expressed this interest? One great, fully-automated way is to use the Welcome Letter feature within Patron Edge.
If you missed any of these posts the first time, check them out and leave your comments. If there are certain topics you want to hear about in 2009, just send me an email and I will do my best to crank out something useful.