Effective time and data management are integral to the success of your organization. When your efforts are streamlined and consistent, you can devote more time to your organization's mission and goals.
In the following sections, we outline two powerful tools for data management: Batch and Import.
With Batch, you can add or update multiple records in your database at once. This is an efficient alternative to working with records individually and saves time. When you work with records in bulk, you eliminate the need to open and work with each individual record. For example, when you have similar information such as a group of volunteer timesheets from Saturday's Walk-A-Thon, it is much easier to add that information to your database in a group format using a timesheet batch.
A batch has the look and feel of a spreadsheet and can contain as few or as many fields as you need. When you commit (apply and save) the batch to your database, a record is created for each row of data you entered in the batch spreadsheet. When rows include edits to existing records, upon committal, those records are updated in your database.
Import is a tool that relies heavily on Batch and helps you manage external data that you want to add to your database. For example, using a spreadsheet, you gathered a large amount of information about potential donors including names, addresses, and other related data. It is logical to bring this data into your database, in bulk, using a batch. Together, Batch and Import can help you organize and work with large amounts of data, which saves time and promotes a consistent workflow.
Show Me: Watch this video for a high-level overview of Batch
Show Me: Watch this video for a high-level overview of Import