Did you know?

It's always a developer's biggest trade off- how do you include new features that not everyone uses, and still remind people that you have them?

Well, that's why I'm going to start reminding everyone about some features of DonorPerfect they may not know we even have, such as:

Product Inventory Module. Did you know that you can track orders, inventory, and fulfillment right within DonorPerfect Online? We make it easy to even apply discounts, add shipping, and include a donation, all on one form. Even better, we can accept credit card payments and even integrate it with your web-site! Contact jblum@donorperfect.com for more info.

Contact Manager. DonorPerfect Online has a built in contact manager that can track all users's appointments, in a calendar format, and even integrate those contacts with Microsoft Outlook!

Customize Fields that Display in Lists. Did you know that you can change the fields that display when looking at lists of gifts, pledges, contacts, links, or addresses? To change these, simply click on Utilities, Parameters, Entry Screen Grid Fields.

Defaults. Save time and energy entering data by specifying field defaults before you enter the data. This way, if you are entering a batch of gifts (let's say from a special event) you can default any field on the gift screen (such as Solicitation and General Ledger code) to make the data entry much faster. Best of all, defaults are saved by user, so different users can have different defaults. To change your defaults, click on Utilities, Defaults.

Look for more "Did You Know" tips in the future!

Circle of Life

It's interesting the path that technology in fundraising has taken over the last 25 years- and the future that it's on course.

25 years ago, only the large, the very wealthy, or the fiscally insane organizations could afford computers and databases. These were truly monsters- car size cabinets or larger- which had to be meticulously cared for and were very expensive to maintain.

So expensive to maintain, that organizations would actually 'time-share' and rent their mainframes and share their costs with other organizations.

Years go by, and Bill Gates starts a little company called Microsoft, and we have a PC on every desk. Now, all the computing power is at the desktop, right on the users desk! All that cheap (relatively speaking) power in the hands of the people that need it the most!

But wait- how do we share information? Even here at SofterWare, back in 1995, we utilized 'Sneaker-Ware' (moving data on a disk by hand from one computer to another) more than our network- it was easier. In fact, even today, how many of you have transferred files back and forth using a USB jump drive instead of a cable???


Which leads me to my point- everything seems to be circling back to a hosted model- and it all makes sense. What used to cost thousands of dollars a month 25 years ago, now costs $9.99/month, and you have the huge added benefit of being connected.

But will the pendulum switch again???? Stay tuned....

Sneak Peek...

I had a chance to review our next version of DonorPerfect Online- it's absolutely amazing. We've been listening and plan to improve both reporting and filtering, as well as adding several new features:

Redesigned Batch Module
Auto-Soft Credits based on Links
Transactional Notes
Redesigned Tribute/Honorarium Processing
+10 New Standard Reports
Customized Export Templates
Folder Options for Saved Filters

Best of all, we're adding these features without sacrificing the ease of use of the software.

We plan on releasing these features in the fall, so look for future announcements soon!!!