Barcodes Scanner

Implementation Guide – Barcode Scanner

October 23, 2022 By Hezel Dalimoos

A complete implementation guide that helps set up your Barcode Scanner.

All procedures in this document are compatible with the SGS app version V1.3.3.

In summary, this document covers the following:

Assigning Roles and Permissions in Altru
Creation of queries in Altru
Configuring the Social Good Software application (app.socialgoodsoftware.com)

For other concerns and related articles, please visit help.socialgoodsoftware.com or email us at implementation@socialgoodsoftware.com.

Please reach us at support@socialgoodsoftware.com for your questions, clarifications, and other concerns. We are always happy to help!

Merging Records for Digital Membership Cards

February 9, 2022 By Rick Hernandez

Duplicate data cannot be avoided but it is also necessary to maintain a clean list for your marketing campaign. A clean record can only be achieved if you remove, update and do merging of records.

Altru looks up to constituents based on the primary information like first name, last name, and email address. If there are multiple records in the system, it will be hard to identify which data to display on the Membership Card. In this article, we will show you how to deal with duplicate records and the process of merging of data.

Duplicate Records

Assuming that you have two records with different first names which resulted in duplicate data. When you have these duplicates and you need to email this member for the first time then you have to pick one of the two records without deduping your data.

***Note:*** *This is for illustration only. Typically the ID contains 16 digits but in this case, we will use A-1 for the first record and B-2 for the second record.*

In this example, we will pick the record A-1 and send an email that contains a link called A-1. If the member clicks on the email, she will get the membership card referencing the record A-1.

Merging of Data

if you decided to keep Kimberly Thompson and merge the two records then get rid of all the duplicates.
In this example, Kim will be added as an alias under record B-2. No need to bring over Thompson because it already existed. In the case of the System ID – they can only have one.
This scenario shows that if you merge over record A-1 into record B-2, record A-1 will be deleted. The record ID that you are merging into will also be kept, which is the system ID of B-2. If this data was already merged and the member clicks again the link referencing record A-1 then she will get an error 404 because A-1 doesn’t exist anymore.
Once the merge of records happened, the Membership Record in Altru which was originally attached to record A-1 was now attached to record B-2.
Kimberly must manually tag to let her know that there are changes made with her record in the Altru system.
Once Kimberly was manually tagged, the query will pick it up and take it over to the email which now contains the link for record B-2. When Kimberly clicks on the link, she will receive a Membership Card referencing record B-2.
Take note that it is necessary to manually tag the member to re-communicate.

Types of emails for eTickets

January 27, 2022 By Rick Hernandez

eTicket-email-options Download

Introduction

Email designer is an app that allows you to customize and send automated emails for your Altru transactions. This tool is useful for different types of emails for eTickets because through it you can send messages with tickets in PDF form. Guests are no longer need to click on the link to download the ticket since it was already replaced by a ticket in PDF form.

In this guide, you will learn what are the types of emails for eTickets, the components of each email, and some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that we received regarding this topic.

How to set-up your emails in three (3) steps:

1. Write your email in Google Docs or Microsoft word

We recommend that you first draft your email to Google docs or Microsoft word and check that you include all the merge fields that you need.

2. Create your query and note type with Altru for your email

Make sure that your query identifies who the receivers of the email are. Create a Note type in Altru to be able to monitor if the emails were sent.

3. Setup the Email Designer with your content and query.

To be able to send out this email, put together the content and the query to the Email Designer.

The process of setting up your emails starts from running the query and feeding it to the Email Designer. If there are individuals who match the query, an email for that particular person will be sent out. Once the email was sent out, the app will grab a copy of it and attach it to Altru as Note Type so there will be an email attached inside the particular sales order.

Three (3) Types of Emails for eTickets

1. eTicket Email is great for sending out a PDF that auto generated an eTicket number and a PDF with their tickets.

There are two emails that Altru sends out. The first email is about what the guests’ purchased and the second is the link to their eTicket.

With the use of the Email Designer, we will replace the second email that Altru sends which is the link to their ticket with our eTicket email where we will instead attach a PDF to the tickets.

2. Reminder Email is great for sending out a reminder of their upcoming visit with tickets attached as a PDF. This email can go out the day of or one day before.

3. Post Visit Email is great for following up with guests who have visited. You can send a membership offer or just collect feedback on their experience.

It is an email to thank the guests for visiting. Typically sent out the day or the following day after the visit.You can send this email without PDF or tickets.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Do these emails account for sales orders over the phone, online and in person?

The discussed type of emails above will account for all three types of sales methods. You can also exclude a specific sales method at the query level.

2. If I manually resend an email, will my tickets be updated?

Yes, If you resend an email the tickets will be generated at the time the email is being sent.

3. If I delete the note type from the sales order, will the email go out with the right tickets?

Yes, the query is looking at sales orders that do not have a note type and sends an email. If you remove the note type from the sales order, another version of an email will get off with another PDF. Typically, you won’t be doing this unless you need to resend it.

4. If I open the eTicket preview on the Email Designer, will I see the latest ticket available?

Yes, you will see the latest ticket available whenever you click on the link

The purpose of this documentation is to help you understand the three (3) types of eTicket emails, and how these emails work so that it will be easier for you to create and set up eTicket emails based on their type for your organization.

How to download stats for barcode scanners

December 28, 2021 By Rick Hernandez

Scanning tickets and memberships using the SGS Barcode Scanner will make your work easier and faster. It is an app that you can download to any mobile phone and tablet . You can also download backups of your stats from the scanner for record purposes or to check the result and analyze. This article will guide you on how to download stats for barcode scanners which also applies to any scanner you have set up.

Guide on How to download stats for barcode scanners:

1: Go to your Social Good Software account

2: Proceed to Barcode Scanner then click the scanner that you want to download its stat.

3: Click on STATS located at the left side of the window.

S4: On the bottom part lies two options on how you want the data to be downloaded. You can download it as a CSV file or in Excel/Spreadsheet format.

Sample of Stat downloaded in CSV format:

Sample of Stat downloaded in Spreadsheet format:

Step 4: You can also choose a date and then the app will provide you all the data from the date you selected down the first day you use the Barcode Scanner. Click either CSV or Spreadsheet to download the data based on the selected format. If you need data from a particular date, we recommend just deleting the data you don’t need.

Note: The downloading option will download everything that was stored in it from the latest date you use the scanner or the date you selected to the first day you started using the Barcode scanner.

FAQ Digital membership cards

December 17, 2021 By Rick Hernandez

FAQ Download

To ensure that the implementation process will go smoother with your organization, we compiled a series of frequently asked questions (FAQ) we have received from our clients about Digital Membership Cards to guide you.

Learn more about setting up your Digital Membership Card with these Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ):

FAQ for digital membership cards:

Why do we need to set the transaction date as “on or after yesterday?”

If the transaction date is set as “on or after yesterday”, it will accommodate queries that are purchased late at night, such as those at 11:30 PM. Altru time might differ from your organization, so we need to account for everyone possible.

What do I do with the query if the constituent email is blank?

The query accounts for constituents with a primary email and those whose email is blank. If you have any issues with grabbing the correct constituents, make sure you put the two email records in the “include” box in parentheses. Using “or” instead of “and” will ensure that any one of those records will pop up rather than nothing (since records generally have one or the other, not both).

Why is the Membership Level displayed twice?

Use one of the “Membership Levels” for displaying the level visually in the email, and the second is to enforce the membership level upon clicking on the link. If a constituent has multiple memberships connected to the name, this query will force the displayed membership to be this particular level you are writing the query for.

(Ex. Tom has two active memberships under his name; if the query is for Tier 1 and NOT Tier 2, Tom will click on the link and see his Tier 1 benefits.)

I cannot find a note type that says “Digital Membership Card – Individual Membership.” How can I add this note type?

In Altru, go to Administration > Code Tables > Ticketing (found on “Category” drop menu) > Sales Order Note Type > Add

After clicking on Add, name the new note “Digital Membership Card – Individual Membership” for use in your query. You cannot set the note type field as this without creating the note type as shown.

What were the names and descriptions of the query shown in the video?

Video Query Name: Automated Email – Digital Membership Card – Individual Membership

Video Query Description: Please do not remove this query; it is used to send real-time emails for SGS to welcome new members using digital membership cards.

Where can a membership originate from?

Online sales orders – Webforms through Altru via the web
Daily sales orders
Advance sales orders
Auto recurring charge on credit card
Manual sending of emails for constituent information update
Back office manual entry
Back office batch entry

What do you need to do when a membership originates?

Verify the entered name, email, and level if it is correct.

What emails does the sales order method send?

Online sales orders
- Acknowledgment email – Via Altru
- Digital membership card email – Via Social Good Software

Daily sales orders
- Digital membership card email – Via Social Good Software

Auto recurring charge on credit card
- Your credit card is about to get charged – Via Social Good Software
- Your credit card has been charged – Via Social Good Software

Advance sales orders
- Digital membership card email – Via Social Good Software

Back office manual entry
- Digital membership card email – Via Social Good Software

Back office batch entry
- Digital membership card email – Via Social Good Software

Do I need to email the primary and secondary members separately?

No, we recommend you combine the emails into one

I’ve updated the information on a constituent record and I want to let them know, how do I do it?

You can manually tag them and this will trigger a new email to go out.

What happens when we merge records?

If the System Record ID changes, the link previously received will no longer work but will trigger a new email.

Is there a way to display the total number of members?

With the membership card designer, you can display a number like 10, 15, or 25.

Is there a way to display the number of child members?

You can display the number of children – Fields you can display

If a child has the same email address as his/her parent, will that parent receive multiple emails?

We typically just email the primary member not each member

If there’s an update made to a membership (member name, expiration date, etc.), do the digital membership cards automatically update?

Yes, it will send it out to ios and android automatically

Can we incorporate decals for reciprocal members via the membership card designer?

No, we need to do it at the design level for the image.

How to set up the continuous scanning option

December 8, 2021 By Rick Hernandez

It is a great relief and assistance to have a portable scanner that can do continuous scanning during events where guests are coming non-stop. A stand-alone app that can help validate tickets and membership cards without using wifi or any extra tool or hardware.

Our SGS Barcode Scanner is a downloadable app designed to function in any mobile phone and tablet brand. It can scan tickets and membership cards even in remote places with limited power supply or areas without podiums effortlessly and trouble-free. SGS Barcode Scanner can get you an attendance count without effort and check for a guest through the visitor’s name, email, or phone number. It can track history and provide analytics of visitors too.

Just install the SGS Barcode Scanner on your phone or tablet and use the camera to start scanning. You can also enable the continuous scanning option on your SGS account and connect your gadget to a portable scanner to scan tickets and membership cards.

This app can communicate with Altru so rest assured that all the information from the SGS Barcode Scanner will sync over to Altru.

Below is a detailed guide to set up the app on a mobile phone and tablet and directions on how to use it continuously using a portable scanner. Follow the steps to ensure that no problem will arise in using the Barcode Scanner.

Setting up Barcode Scanner on android phone for Continuous Scanning

Step 1: Go to Settings and proceed to the following:

a. Battery – turn off the Battery Saver to make the phone stay on.

b. Display – proceed to Advance and go to Sleep then set it to Never or 30 minutes

c. Security – click on Screen Lock Settings and set the Automatically Lock to Never or 50 minutes

Step 2: Make sure that you have the latest version of the SGS Barcode Scanner by checking the app in the Google Play Store if there’s an update button.

Step 3: You can open the app once it is updated and start using it to validate tickets and membership cards. You can also enable continuous scanning on your SGS Barcode Scanner Account dashboard and use a hardware scanner to scan continuously.

Setting up Barcode Scanner to a Tablet

Step 1: Same with the android Phone, you need to go to Settings of your tablet and set the following:

a. Go to Display and set the Screen Timeout to 30 minutes.

b. Proceed to Screen Saver and set to nothing.

c. Next, turn off the Battery optimization.

d. Finally, go to Biometrics and Security then click Other Security Settings and check if everything was set.

Step 2: Proceed to Google Play Store and check if the app is on its latest version. Click on update if needed.

Step 3: Open the app once it’s done updating. It will then ask permission to take pictures and record videos, just click on ‘While using the app’.

Step 4: Enter your app ID then Login.

Step 5: After you enter the app ID, the Barcode Scanner is now ready to use. You can choose to scan tickets and membership cards using the camera of your tablet or connect the device to a portable scanner for continuous scanning.

Note: Tablets are sometimes set up internationally which will not be able to recognize a portable scanner, so it is important to go to Keyboard Settings first and set it to US Standard Keyboard to avoid trouble scanning.

Barcode scanner role with Altru

November 22, 2021 By Rick Hernandez

To effectively use Barcode Scanner, it must first get the correct role with Altru. You must set up the permission accurately to make the Barcode scanner track and validate any tickets. Remember that the data will not transmit to Altru if the barcode scanner role was established incorrectly. We strongly emphasize that setting up the correct permission on your account is necessary. It ensures a smooth transmission of information from the scanned tickets to Altru.

Process on how to properly set-up the Barcode scanner role with Altru

Step 1: Set up an account with Social Good Software. It is an account that usually no one is logging into. Through this account Social Good Software communicates with Altru and Altru talks back to the software. The account was very important and needs to be attached with Altru with the correct role and permission.

Step 2: As for the right permission, go to Blackbaud main website and find the article about system roles for Altru users as reference or click on this link:

What system roles should I assign to Altru users?

Type-in on the search bar ‘scan tickets’ and based on the result, choose a suitable role that has the ability to scan tickets. We recommend to give it the role of Ticket seller

Search Bar

Result:

Step 3: Go to your Altru account and proceed to Administration. Assign the Ticket Seller role to the account attached to Social Good Software.

Click on Application Users and find the account you have set up and click edit.

*Account name is for illustration only.

Step 4: Find the Ticket Seller under Edit and check its checkbox. Click on Save.

With the correct role and permission set up. You can now send information to Altru from the scanned tickets and attendance using Barcode Scanner. This makes sure that the generated output is accurate.

How to use continuous scanning option

June 8, 2020 By Rick Hernandez

How to enable and disable the continuous scanning option

June 8, 2020 By Rick Hernandez

How to create a Tickets Sold Today Query with Altru

May 25, 2020 By admin

Requirements

Before getting started with this guide please make sure you meet the following requirements.

You have an Altru account with permission to create ODATA queries

Once you have the query created you will be able to set up the query with the Social Good application.

Step 1: Opening the information library

Go to your instance of Altru and log in with your username and password.

Once you have logged in click on the “Analysis” tab on the navigation bar.

Click on the “Information Library” section sub-menu selection to open the query builder.

Step 2: Creating a new ad-hoc query

Click on the “Add an ad-hoc query” button to start the process of creating a new query

Select the “Sales Order” query type.

Let’s first start with the “Include records where:”

Sales Order Item\Sales Order Item Ticket\Tickets\Status is equal to Active (optional)

and Sales Order Item\Sales Order Item Ticket\Tickets\Ticket number is not blank (*required)

and Constituent\Email Addresses\Primary email address is equal to Yes (optional)and Sales Order Item\Sales Order Item Ticket\Program Events\Start date is today (*optional)

Feel free to change or adjust the query to your organization’s needs. For example, if your tickets are valid for an entire year you can use the “This calendar year” option.

Secondly let us output the fields “Results fields to display:” we will need.

Lookup ID (optional)

Sales Order Item\Sales Order Item Ticket\Program Events\Name (optional)

Constituent\Email Addresses\Email address (optional)

Sales Order Item\Sales Order Item Ticket\Tickets\Ticket number (*required)Sales Order Item\Sales Order Item Ticket\Tickets\System record ID (*required)

The result fields you choose to display will be shown in the application and can be used for looking up a constituent based on the output of the query. You just have to make sure you include them in the results fields to display and they will automatically show up in the mobile app.

Step 3: Preview and save query

Once you have finished creating your query it’s time to preview the data and save the query.

Click on the “Preview Results” tab on the top navigation of the query builder

At this point you want to verify you are getting valid data and once you are happy with the output of the query you are ready to move on to the next step of saving the query.

Click on “Set save options”

Now it’s time to save the query. Give your query a name.

Tickets Sold Today | Barcode Scanner

Go to the “Options for using this query” section and uncheck the “Suppress duplicate rows” option.

Lastly, make sure the Social Good app can run this query by giving it the right permissions.

Check the “Allow all users to run this query” option.

Now you are ready to save the query click on the “Save and close” option.

That’s all there is to create a query for the Barcodes Scanner app.

FAQ on barcode scanner

Altru only supports 15,000 rows exported via ODATA links. If your query is larger than 15,000 rows you will need to create smaller queries with Altru by using date ranges. Example.