What's the Right Tool?
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How many of you have used a butterknife to screw in a screw, or a shoe to hammer in a nail? A knife and a shoe can both work as a tool—but they don’t always do the best job. Any contractor will tell you that you need to use the right tools to get the job done properly (and not injure yourself or create more work).
In Blackbaud Church Management, there are lots of tools that you can use—but each tool is built for a specific task. Let’s take a look at the tools available in your Blackbaud Church Management toolbox!
Query Tool
Query was built to group records together, either to look at now or to use in other areas of the system. For example, I might want to group together everyone who has been attending our Thursday evening study group. I can use Query to group those constituent records together. I can use Query to preview who is in the group, but I can also use that query group in another “tool” area, such as Mail or Reports.
Mail Tool
The Mail tool was built to create communications such as letters or invitations. For example, if I want to send a letter to everyone in the Thursday evening study group, I can use Query to create the group, and then use Mail to create the letter and the labels for that group of records. Mail does have some built-in filters, so I don’t always need to create a query before using Mail.
Reports Tool
The Reports tool was built to create…well…reports! This tool goes beyond reporting on giving, and includes options to create directories or demographic analysis. For example, we could take the Query group of our Thursday evening study group and use the Reports tool to create a directory of attendees. Or we could analyze giving from the group members or use our demographic reports to analyze the group further.
Export Tool
As a tool, Export was built to export information out of Blackbaud Church Management into another software. For example, we can take our Thursday evening study group query, and export the information into a spreadsheet or another database.
Tool Time
Want to learn more about using the tools in your Blackbaud Church Management toolbox? Check out these courses covering the basics of each tool:
Want to join in the tool discussion? To add your Blackbaud Church Management tool questions and tips to our toolbox discussion thread, click here. 😉 I’ll be happy to show you how!
In Blackbaud Church Management, there are lots of tools that you can use—but each tool is built for a specific task. Let’s take a look at the tools available in your Blackbaud Church Management toolbox!
Query Tool
Query was built to group records together, either to look at now or to use in other areas of the system. For example, I might want to group together everyone who has been attending our Thursday evening study group. I can use Query to group those constituent records together. I can use Query to preview who is in the group, but I can also use that query group in another “tool” area, such as Mail or Reports.
- Tip: When the question starts with “Which records have…” or “Who has…”, Query is usually the right tool to find the answer.
Mail Tool
The Mail tool was built to create communications such as letters or invitations. For example, if I want to send a letter to everyone in the Thursday evening study group, I can use Query to create the group, and then use Mail to create the letter and the labels for that group of records. Mail does have some built-in filters, so I don’t always need to create a query before using Mail.
- Tip: If you want to send a communication, Mail is typically the right tool to use.
Reports Tool
The Reports tool was built to create…well…reports! This tool goes beyond reporting on giving, and includes options to create directories or demographic analysis. For example, we could take the Query group of our Thursday evening study group and use the Reports tool to create a directory of attendees. Or we could analyze giving from the group members or use our demographic reports to analyze the group further.
- Tip: If you want to analyze or see a list of information, Reports is typically the right tool to use.
Export Tool
As a tool, Export was built to export information out of Blackbaud Church Management into another software. For example, we can take our Thursday evening study group query, and export the information into a spreadsheet or another database.
- Tip: If you want to use Blackbaud Church Management information in another software program, Export is typically the right tool to use.
Tool Time
Want to learn more about using the tools in your Blackbaud Church Management toolbox? Check out these courses covering the basics of each tool:
- Database View - Basics of Query
- Database View - Basics of Mail
- Database View - Basics of Reports
- Database View - Basics of Export
Want to join in the tool discussion? To add your Blackbaud Church Management tool questions and tips to our toolbox discussion thread, click here. 😉 I’ll be happy to show you how!
News
Blackbaud Church Management™ Announcements
02/23/2021 11:00am EST
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