These release notes provide you with a comprehensive summary of the enhancements that ACS Technologies implemented in the 10.0 version of ACS People Suite. The updates in People Suite are the most competitive in the church software industry, and the following sections include a summary of these updates broken down by module. People Your core module for maintaining member records has just expanded. The following are enhancements specific to the ACS People module. Background Checks When it comes to the security of your church and its members, it is crucial to ensure that your present and future volunteers are not a threat to your organization. ACS has made it even easier to manage the background check process by integrating the Secure Search service right into your ACS program. You can submit background check requests directly from ACS and mange the information you receive, all from one location. We have added the Safeguard tab in View/Edit Individual so that you can store background information with all of an individual s records. To keep track of the status of all your background checks, you can run a search on Safeguard criteria. Administrative users can control access permissions for background checks, Safeguard comments, and Safeguard tasks on the Security tab in Add/Edit Users, ensuring that this sensitive information is kept private. 5
Figure 1 Safeguard tab To find out more about the Secure Search background check service, go to the Online Resources menu and click Background Checks. If you already participating in the Secure Search service, this option connects you directly to your data. Document Library Attach a document, form, picture, spreadsheet, or another file type directly to an individual record for safekeeping and easy reference. The new Document Library is the perfect location for background check consent forms, permission slips, or letters of transfer. Administrative users can set access permissions for the Document Library in Add/Edit Users. The Document Library tab displays in View/Edit Individual. 6
People Figure 2 Document Library tab Check for Duplicate Records To reduce unnecessary information and decrease file size, you want to keep your database clean. One way to facilitate that in this new version of People is to check for duplicate records. When you set your preferences to look for duplicate records, ACS will notify you any time you add a new name or address that matches that of an existing record. To set your preferences, open the People Setup window. The three options are: None Do not check for potential duplicate records. Name Check for duplicate names only and alert the user when detected. Name & Address Check for duplicate names and addresses and notify the user when detected. The name is checked first, followed by the first ten characters of the address, excluding spaces and punctuation. 7
Figure 3 Duplicate Checking Settings Window Size To help you view your records more easily, you can resize the View/Edit Individual window. Your new window size will be saved for the next time you open it. Each user can have his or her own size preference. Preferred E-mail Addresses Improve communication with your members by identifying an e-mail address as a preferred e-mail, ensuring that you get the message to the right place. In View/Edit Individual, you can select a preferred e-mail address for an individual on the Phones/E-mails tab. The preferred e-mail address also displays on the Profile tab. All e-mail information you send to the individual is sent to his or her preferred e-mail address. You can change the preferred e-mail address at any time. Customizable Head and Spouse Descriptions You can customize the People module even more by entering your own descriptions for Head of House and Spouse. You can change these in People Setup. Your customized names will display on all ACS windows and reports and will also display in Access ACS if you subscribe to that service. 8
People Figure 4 Family Position Settings People Profiles Searches Fuzzy Values Two People reports are more functional, allowing you to view and customize information that prints. Print Profile This report, available in the Find Person window and on the View/Edit Individual Profile tab, now includes Connections data. You can print this report to get detailed information about a single individual. People Profiles This report has been expanded to give you complete profile information for each member of an entire family all in one location. You can even hide data from displaying, giving you greater flexibility in how the report prints. Print the report for a single individual, a group of individuals from a search or filter, or even print the entire database. You can find this Directory report in People Reports. The following enhancements are included in the Searches area of People Suite 10.0. ACS searches have a new feature referred to as Fuzzy Values. Fuzzy Values allow you some leeway in searching for data during a specific time period so that you can find your data with little extra effort. When you use Fuzzy Values, you can select a range of time without having to select actual dates, such as Today, Last Month, This Quarter, and Next Year among many others. Additionally, if you are creating saved criteria, you do not have to re-enter a date range each time you run the search. 9
Figure 5 Fuzzy Values You can use Fuzzy Values in the following searches: Individual Family Gifts Pledges Connections Comments Organizations Additionally, these search areas include the Fuzzy Value Prompt for Values. Add this value to your saved search criteria so that each time you run the search, you are prompted for a date. This saves you time since you no longer need to edit search criteria simply to change a date field. The Individual and Organizations categories also include additional search types for Date and Number fields. These types are: Greater Than Less Than Greater Than\Equal To Less Than\Equal To Date and Number Searches Now when you search on dates and numbers, such as ages or envelope numbers, you can use the same search types that you use when searching for dollar amounts. Being able to define your search more broadly gives you more flexibility in the getting the results you need. Mass E-mail The Mass E-mail process allows you to send e-mail to all addresses or to preferred addresses instead. 10
People Age Field You can customize searches by including an Age column. This new column is on the Results tab. Right-click the grid and click Customize. The Age field is listed in the Individual section under Numbers. Preferred E-mail Address Fields You can also customize searches by including a preferred e-mail address column. Other Relations Field The Search Criteria tab includes new functionality to the Other Relations field under Individual. When you add this field, you can now select any of several relationship types and find all individuals with the selected type or types. These fields include criteria such as aunt, father-in-law, and stepbrother. It is no longer required to select a specific individual. Figure 6 Other Relations Criteria Background Checks On the Results tab, you can right-click a grid of individuals and run a batch of background checks. You must have rights to background checks to perform this function. 11
Search Results Right-click Menu Finally, your search results are more functional, enabling you to connect directly to your next task by simply right-clicking your mouse. You can open an individual s record to view additional information or make changes, edit your search results more quickly to add or remove names, or open several of the most commonly used features such as reports, labels, exports, mail merges, or mass e-mailing. You can access this right-click menu on the Results tab. Figure 7 Search results right-click menu Tip The ability to open an individual s record to make changes is a great tool for data cleanup. Simply search for all individuals whose records contain various values that you need to change, and then open the Results tab to review names, open individual records, and change the data. Attendance and Groups The Attendance module is more feature rich, allowing you to work faster and more efficiently. Add/Edit Rosters Enjoy a new design for the Add/Edit Roster window, which allows for faster data entry and greater usability. For example, when you add an activity, additional fields display in one window, eliminating the need for multiple tabs. Also, to ensure that you enter all necessary information, ACS displays a prompt to enter missing information in a specified field. 12
Attendance and Groups Another new feature is the Date Dropped field. This allows you to pre-set the date that an individual will finish an activity, automatically removing him or her from the activity group on the selected date. This saves you time from having to manually remove individuals once their terms have been fulfilled. Figure 8 Edit Roster window View/Edit Groups Move directly to your next task from the Individual Information grid using the new right-click menu options. From this grid, you can: Open an individual s record to view additional information or make changes Double-click a record to activate the Edit or Transfer window Export to Microsoft Excel Launch e-mail, send a mass e-mail, or send a letter using Mail Merge You can select a single individual or a group it s your choice! Small Groups Small Groups Setup is designed to be easier to use with terminology that is compatible with current releases of Access ACS. You can view the General and Roster tabs for reference, but the system prevents any editing so that you can be sure your data maintains its integrity. 13
Figure 9 Small Groups setup Multiple Locations for Rosters As an organization that thrives on participation of people, you may discover the need to hold one class or activity group in multiple locations due to overflow. ACS can grow with you. You can set up multiple locations for one group and set a maximum occupancy for each location. Once a room is full, individuals check into the next available location. 14
Attendance and Groups Figure 10 Group locations setup You can turn on the multiple locations function in the Master Settings area of Group Setup. Copy Roster Name to Location In addition to defining multiple locations per group, you can name a single location for all roster groups that meet in just one location. With a simple mouse-click, you can assign all of these groups a single location. The location name is identical to the roster group name. Thus, you quickly create locations for all roster groups, and you can easily identify them later. You can manage this in the Maintenance area of Group Setup. Figure 11 Copy Roster Name to Location option 15
Group Roster Fields In View/Edit Individual, the Groups tab includes additional sorting options. On the Activities sub-tab, right-click the grid and select Customize. The six new sorting options are: Alpha 1 (user-definable in Group Setup in the Edit Group window on the Roster Fields tab) Alpha 2 (user-definable in Group Setup in the Edit Group window on the Roster Fields tab) Date(From) Date(To) Currency Number Print Grid Reports In Group Setup, you can print the class grid, giving you a hard copy of your group structure and all fields that display in the grid. Just right-click the grid and select Print Grid. You can format the report before you print it if you like. Attendance reports include additional options that allow you to customize how you view your data. Print Event Details On the Setup tab of the Individual Attendance Summary report, you can print details for multiple events on a single report. This option is available when you select more than one event to print on the report and when you set up more than one event for the selected master group. Pager Number You can select Pager Number as a column header in the Special Fields list when you customize a report. This is especially beneficial to those who use Checkpoint in that you can print class rolls, marking grids, and other Attendance reports with individual pager numbers. This option is available on any report that allows special fields. Respect Security Access Permissions This new feature of ACS lets you keep your data secure by preventing unauthorized users from accessing Groups and Activities data. If the user does not have rights to View/Edit Activities in ACS People or View/Edit Classes in ACS Attendance, that user cannot preview or print Groups or Activities reports. Print Event Marking Boxes Formerly Mark Events, the renamed Print Event Marking Boxes option on the Marking Sheet setup window gives a clearer description of the function of this report option. Checkpoint ACS Checkpoint has a tremendous amount of new features and enhancements. For a detailed introduction to the new features of ACS Checkpoint, see the Checkpoint 10.0 Upgrade Guide. 16
Checkpoint On-screen Design Express Check In/Out is now more visually appealing and user-friendly, making it easier for your members to sign in and out of classes and activities. The on-screen design is much simpler, with fewer buttons and more concise instructions. Figure 12 Express Check In/Out name entry window You can personalize Checkpoint with an image unique to your organization. You can even display images specific to each session to help users easily identify the session they are signing in to. To make it even easier for your users to identify the session, incorporate text into the image as shown in Figure 13, Sample Children s Church session image, on page 18. 17
Figure 13 Sample Children s Church session image New People Records Express Check In/Out is more functional. You can add a new person directly into your ACS database or add a new individual to an existing family or roster without ever exiting the program. You can enable or disable these options in your Checkpoint settings and even select defaults so that your users get the easiest Check In/Out experience available. Rosters The process for checking in to rosters is simpler, saving you time and giving you more flexibility with your check-in process. Set Defaults for New Rosters To assist your users with enrolling in Sunday School classes through Checkpoint, you can set up a default status and default position for adding people to rosters. By setting defaults, your users bypass some check-in windows, making the process even faster and easier. Setting defaults also helps with data consistency. Multiple Locations for Roster Groups If you have different locations for the same roster group, you can set up multiple locations and even set the maximum occupancy for each. Once a class fills up, the program prevents anyone from checking in to that location. Additionally, the program remembers the user s location the next time he or she checks in. You can turn on the multiple locations option in the Edit Master Settings window. 18
Checkpoint Figure 14 Allow Multiple Locations per Class option Sessions In this new version of Checkpoint, you can customize your sessions in a variety of ways. Multiple Sessions for Check In/Out For greater functionality, you can now select up to ten sessions for check-in or check-out at a single time. When you open Check In/Out or Express Check In/Out, simply select the sessions you like. Limit Groups for Each Session To ensure that your attendees check in and out at the right location, you can limit who can sign in. For instance, if adult Sunday School classes are held in the adult building, youth classes are in the youth building, and children s classes are in the children s building, you can set up your check-in stations to allow only members of these roster groups to check in or out at their respective buildings. Thus, the adults cannot check in at the youth or children s buildings, and so forth. Consequently, ACS no longer restricts the number of sessions per master group, so you have unlimited options. Small Group Sessions You can now use Checkpoint for your small groups. Your Checkpoint program now allows you to set up sessions for these valuable ministries. Print Detail in Sessions Inquiry You can now find out who checked in and out of your sessions from the initial grid. Just right-click and select Print Detail. 19
Force Check-Out in Session Detail If you like, administrators can check individuals, including visitors, out of a class in the detail view of Session Inquiry. This is helpful if someone has been added and checked in to the wrong roster. Just right-click the record and select Force Check-Out. Customize Session Detail Not only can you print detail easily, you can customize the way it prints. The new Customize option lets you set up the columns that display in the grid and where they display. Figure 15 Customize dialog box in Session Inquiry Badges Checkpoint badges are even more functional, so you can be sure that you maintain optimal security in your organization. Combined Sessions Badge When an individual checks in to more than one session, you can print up to ten sessions on the badge along with a single security ID. In Check In/Out, simply select the Print combined session badges check box. In Express Check In/Out, click the Print combined session badges Select button. In Badge Design, you can select up to four fields to display on the badge to identify the individual. 20
Checkpoint Figure 16 Combined Sessions Badge setup window Multiple Badges Per Record In addition to printing multiple sessions per badge, you can print multiple security badges per record. Simply open Session Setup and select the number of badges from the Badges per Record drop-down list. Reprint Parent Badges For added security measures, you can now reprint a parent badge at check-out. Simply click Reprint Parent Badge(s) when you check out a child using Check In/Out. Security Badge Design Security badges offer a wider variety of fields to display. The new fields included are BarCode, Class Position, Location, and Member Status. Pager Number on Badges To help you identify pager numbers more easily on printed badges, the heading Pager # precedes the number. Thus, the security ID and the pager number are easily distinguished. Visitors Your new attendees can get a better experience due to the upgrades in this version of Checkpoint. 21
One-time Visitors The enhanced one-time visitor process allows visitors to be checked in to specific classes. They are then reflected in Sessions Inquiry and Checkpoint reports, giving you accurate attendance totals. Visitor Badges You can design visitor badges for your own organization in Checkpoint Setup. The window works just as other badge designs, so there is nothing new to learn. Bar Codes and Pagers You can do more with unique bar codes and pagers, keeping your organization safe and in good communication. Reassign Bar Codes You can reassign bar codes for better customization of your Checkpoint program. Simply select an individual, assign the bar code, and if it is already in use, you can choose to assign a new bar code to the previous person. You can access this feature in ACS People as well as ACS Checkpoint. Assign Pager Numbers Pager number assignments have been enhanced so that you can limit them to the last search results. You can still assign pager numbers to all families as you could in previous versions. Expanded Pager Numbers Pager numbers have been extended to include up to ten numbers so you can set pager numbers based on individual phone numbers if you like. Required Pager Numbers To ensure you have constant communication with your attendees, you can require pager numbers for all families. This function is available both in Check In/Out and Express Check In/Out. Import and Export Data Debuting in this version of Checkpoint is a new process called Import/Export Data. This process allows you to run Checkpoint on an ACS network that is not connected to your primary network and then add the data into your primary ACS database. You do not lose or overwrite any of your important data. You can access this feature in Checkpoint Setup. Contributions ACS Contributions includes the following enhanced features. 22
Contributions Bill Pay Account Scan checks and capture check images for contributors who use online bill pay services. When banks or financial institutions send checks from one bank account for multiple contributors, you can add the account as a Bill Pay Account. Thus, when you scan a check to add a contribution, you simply select the contributor who gave this particular gift. And, if you use a check image scanner, the image stores in the selected contributor s records. To add a new Bill Pay Account, open Contributions Setup and click the Checking Account Maint. tab. Figure 17 Add Bill Pay Account window Online Donations Access ACS online donations imported into Contributions now include the user-entered memo field if a memo was entered at the time the gift was made. Reports The following are the enhancements to Contributions reports. Access ACS Plain Paper Statement Extract Previously named simply Plain Paper Statement Extract, the Access ACS Plain Paper Statement Extract is easier to access. It has been relocated from the Email heading to the Extract heading. Charitable Contributions Extract You can add a fund summary section to your next statement run. When you use the Charitable Contributions Extract for submitting a Fulfillment Services order, just select Print fund summary to print this section on your statements. A sample fund summary follows. 23
Figure 18 Sample fund summary Connections Connections reports have been updated for your benefit. List of Connections By You can customize the List of Connections By report in a number of ways on the Setup tab. 24
Connections Figure 19 List of Connections By setup Suppress Area Code If most or all of your members live in the same area, you can exclude the area code from printing on the report to save space and ink. Suppress City State ZIP You can also exclude the city, state, and ZIP Code from printing on the report. Print Address This new option is selected by default and includes phone numbers on the printed report. Additional Options This new button under Formatting includes options to suppress the Inward/Outward Caption and the Complete/Incomplete Caption. You can also select to Suppress Header Lines when Grouping, which controls the top and bottom lines around the group heading. Finally, you can suppress Caller or Category Fields when Grouping, which eliminates the field of information about the grouping when Caller or Open Category is selected. New Extract Reports Connections includes four new extract reports that resemble existing statistics reports of the same names. Each extract lets you view all of your data in a single view as opposed to the report view, which limits the data to 10 columns. These four new extracts are: Caller Detail Export Caller Summary Export Contact Response Analysis Export Prospect Source Analysis 25
Statistics Reports In Statistics reports, Caller Detail, Caller Summary, and Prospect Source Analysis all include two new columns under Select Types. These columns are: Total Individual This column displays the total number of all displayed and non-displayed columns for the individual. Total Unrepresented This column displays the total for all types not included in the report. Additionally, Caller Detail and Caller Summary include a new option called Select Caller, which lets you select a caller or callers to include in the analysis of the report. This makes reporting on specific callers easier since you do not need to select a filter or use search results. Report Designer The look of Report Designer has changed, but the functionality is the same. Among these changes are: The report tree and data tree display automatically. The toolbars and icons reflect Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista design. You cannot accidentally close a window when you are viewing the Preview tab. You now must select another tab to activate Close. Global Enhancements The following enhancements affect all areas of ACS People Suite. Add/Edit Users A very nice feature to both People Suite and Financial Suite, you can assign security settings and set limits to multiple users at one time. To mass assign security settings 1. On the ACS Workbench menu, under Advanced Tools, click the Admin Utilities tab, select Add/Edit Users, and click Go. 2. Click Mass Assign. 3. Use the tree to select the security bits to assign to the users in the same fashion as you would a single user. 4. When you finish making your selections, click Next. 5. Select the security limits to assign to your ACS program or programs, and click Next. 6. Select the users and templates for which you want to assign these security rights, and click Finish. Site and Account Information You can view your active dataset name and site name while logged into ACS. To view your site name, go to the Help menu and click About. 26
Global Enhancements Printing Grids When printing grids, headings are now clear rather than gray so that you no longer waste precious color ink. Online Resources When you work with the ACS Support team, you can connect faster using the Connect With Support option. You link directly to a Web page in which you enter a code provided by your support representative. 27
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