Operating when Altru is down

Michele Wong
Michele Wong
Eighth Anniversary Participant Facilitator 1 Loyalty Badge
in Blackbaud Altru® General Discussions

We use Altru with Blackbaud Merchant Processing to process credit cards for museum admissions and our gift shop. When Altru goes down, we have no way of processing credit cards, so we can't sell tickets to guests. Do others have an effective back-up plan for selling tickets with credit cards when Altru is down?

Comments

  • Regina Holten
    Regina Holten
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant

    hoping your system has recovered like ours has…

  • Heather MacKenzie
    Heather MacKenzie
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 August 2025 Monthly Challenge Badge bbcon 2025 Attendee Badge

    If BBMS is still up, during the time(s) that Altru is down, I know there's a way to directly charge inside the portal. Also, I think I read something about how BBMS is going to have POS devices “soon”? I would think there's a way to indicate in a notes/comment/other field you designate field that it's for tickets so you can see the data later. Then you'd just be entering that data once Altru is back up. My other idea is to have a square (or like device) that can be used with a tablet or other device. Neither is a great option, but maybe are at least starting point ideas for you?

  • Michele Wong
    Michele Wong
    Eighth Anniversary Participant Facilitator 1 Loyalty Badge

    Thanks! It is great to hear that BBMS may be coming out with a stand-alone device. If anyone knows more about the timing on that, please let us know.

  • Calli Laundre
    Calli Laundre
    Ninth Anniversary Participant Facilitator 1 Loyalty Badge

    Hi Michele, use Square to process our sales when Altru is down.

  • Kelly Olson
    Kelly Olson
    Seventh Anniversary Kudos 2 Name Dropper Facilitator 1

    We also use Square as our backup.

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