Is it possible to see more constituent information when you are entering data into a batch, depending on your configuration? What has brought this question about is an on-going debate here about time spent entering donations.  When I enter donations, I keep all the paperwork together and cross-reference our data with the constituent's cheque, envelopes, letterhead, etc.  Needless to say, that can make data entry for batches fairly time consuming, and I have been asked not to do that.  No sooner did I stop said process than we received an angry fax from a constituent resulting from our incorrect data on a receipt (the contact person was long gone from the organization). I explained that if I had gone in and actually checked the constituent record, I would have caught the error before the receipt was sent.  I was asked if there is a way to configure exactly how much constituent information is available through the batch set up. Currently, in our set up, you can't see a great deal of organizational info when you are entering data into a batch. You can see the organization name and address information, but not relationships or more in depth information.  Is it possible to configure our system so that when entering batches I can see more of the constituent data than just address information?

Hi Rose,

Yes, it is possible to many fields. We created a template with all the fields we wanted to see for data updates during gift entry (I have procedures). After you have filled out the batch header we click on the next button or tab 2 and at the bottom right you'll see load for existing batch, we click on that button and pull up our template. We click on next and fill in any defaults we want to appear on all gifts, batch number, gift date, fund or posting date. When we got to the data entry screen and search for our first constituent the data fields are on the right of the screen. If the constituent is in RE the data fields will populate and you'll be able to see who the contact is.

If you'd like to see my procedures send me an email directly. I'd also be happy to talk on the phone about the template setup.

Karen

Maine Community Foundation

khartt@mainecf.org

Hi Rose,

As Karen said, once you are in the Batch data entry window, you can view constituent information.  To do so, you would first need to select from the menu View, Constituent Window.  By default, only required fields would be listed.  The fields that are listed are user specific.  To modify which fields will be visible, from the menu select Constituent, Define Constituent Fields and then you will be able to select which fields to have available for view or change for Individuals and which for Organizations.  From the Tools, User Options, you can also select whether or not you are prompted to Save any changes that you make in the Constituent Window.  This can really be a time saver for new phone numbers that you get from checks, adding spouse information or updating addressee/salutations.  I hope you find this helpful.

Have a great weekend,

Naomi

What is the difference between a recuring Batch and a template?

Donna Villagomez

Hospice of San Joaquin

dvillagomez@hospicesj.org

Donna,

A recurring batch is a batch that has constituent data entered and payments that will happen again.  We use one for payroll payments made every two weeks.  All the employees are listed with payment amounts.  I just open, edit as needed, update gift date and commit batch for each payroll.  See RE explanation below.

I use a template batch that contains the fields, not data, when I create a new batch.  I have a template for gifts, a template for pledges and a template for constituents.  When I want to enter a new gift batch, I click new batch, gift, enter gift #, $, description.  On fields tab, I click "load from existing batch" at bottom right and select my "template-gifts."  I don't have to remember what fields I need, they are automatically brought into the batch.  When you copy a field list to a new batch, you basically use a template of fields to create your new batch. You can still select your default values and also edit/add/delete fields if needed.

Some people may refer to the populated recurring batch as template but this is my understanding of the differences.

from the RE help index: 

Recurring Batches

 Gift Batch  Gift Batch Setup  Batch Header Tab  Recurring Batches

You can use and commit a recurring batch many times. You may want to use a recurring batch for gifts donated at regular intervals, such as employee payroll deductions. For example, if a company participates in a payroll deduction plan, you can create a batch that contains the gifts received on a regular basis. When you receive a check from the company for the gifts, you can re-commit the batch to add another gift for each constituent who participates in the payroll deduction plan. To indicate a batch is recurring, mark Batch is recurring on the Batch Header tab.

If the batch is recurring, you can link a gift to a pledge, membership, event, proposal, or recurring gift the same way you do for a non-recurring batch. However, the link is not retained after you commit the batch. You need to link the gift to the membership, proposal, event, pledge or recurring gift each time you commit the recurring batch.

For recurring batches, we recommend you enter transactions for recurring gifts that have the same payment schedule. For example, you have recurring gifts due on the 1st of every month and another set of recurring gifts due on the 15th of every month. You need to include the gifts for the 1st of the month in one batch and gifts due on the 15th of the month in a separate batch.

Each time you commit a recurring batch, The Raiser’s Edge generates a new batch number. To view the batch numbers assigned to the recurring batch, click History on the Batch Header tab. When you click History, the Recurring Batch History screen appears and displays the batch numbers committed with this recurring batch.

This grid displays the batch number and date, amount committed, and number of gifts committed with this recurring batch. This screen is for informational purposes only...