When your institution runs events through Almabase, the registration data — who signed up, which tickets they purchased, and how much they paid — lives in Almabase. To get that data into Raiser's Edge NXT for reporting, receipting, and gift processing, you sync it.
Event sync to Raiser's Edge happens in two phases, each managed from its own dashboard in Almabase:
From the Guest Dashboard — You sync the event itself, ticket types, and guest registrations to RE NXT. This is where participant records are created.
From the Gift Dashboard — You sync payments as gifts into a RE NXT gift batch. This is where the fees and donations from your event reach your database.
After both phases, you review and commit the gift batch in Raiser's Edge NXT. Once committed, the gifts are in your database and the sync is complete.
This article walks through the entire process from start to finish.
Before you start: You'll need to have your sync configuration set up — your RE NXT connection, payment configuration, and fund mapping.
How It Works
Step 1: Make sure your guests are mapped
Before you can sync registrations, the host (primary registrant) on each registration needs to be mapped to a constituent record — either an Almabase profile or a Raiser's Edge NXT constituent. This mapping is how Almabase knows which record to attach the registration to.
Accompanying guests don't always need to be mapped. If your sync configuration has "Sync guests without constituent records" enabled, accompanying guests who aren't linked to a constituent will still sync — Almabase creates a guest record for them in RE NXT. This way, your full guest list reaches RE even if not every attendee has a constituent record.
Guest mapping happens on the Guest Dashboard for your event. Each host in the table should be linked to a constituent record — either through their Almabase profile or directly to a Raiser's Edge NXT constituent. If a host isn't mapped yet, you'll need to resolve that before syncing.
For a detailed walkthrough of how guest mapping works, see Mapping Guests to Constituent Records.
Tip: If some guests aren't mapped yet, don't worry — you can still sync the guests that are ready and come back to the unmapped ones later. Syncing doesn't have to be all-or-nothing.
Step 2: Sync guest registrations from the Guest Dashboard
Once your guests are ready, select the guests you want to sync. You can select all guests at once or filter to sync specific ones — for example, you might filter by a specific event or sub-event, or sync only the guests who registered in the past week.
Click "Sync Guests."
Almabase processes the sync in a specific order:
The event itself is created (or updated) in RE NXT — including the event name, dates, and times.
Sub-events are synced, if your event has them and they're configured to sync.
Ticket types are created as event fees in RE NXT — each ticket becomes a fee with its name, price, and receipt amount.
Sponsorship packages are created as event fees, if your event has sponsorship tiers. (only if you have the Sponsorship add-on)
Invited guests (who haven't registered yet) are synced as participants if you've enabled invitee sync.
Registered guests are synced as participants in RE NXT — primary registrants first, then their accompanying guests.
Payment data is prepared — based on your payment configuration, Almabase creates gift records that are ready to be pushed in the next phase.
You'll see a progress indicator while the sync runs. For most events, this takes a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the number of guests.
Step 3: Review and resolve any errors
After the sync completes, check the Guest Dashboard for any errors. Almabase shows an error resolution board listing anything that couldn't sync and why.
Common reasons a guest might fail to sync:
Unmapped host — The primary registrant isn't matched to a constituent record. You'll need to map them to an Almabase profile or RE NXT constituent before they can sync.
Missing event dates — The event is missing a start or end date, which RE NXT requires.
Guest needs review — The registration was edited after payment (for example, guests were added or removed), and the payment data needs manual review before it can sync.
These are just the most common ones.
After fixing the issue, select the affected guests and sync again.
Note: Errors on one guest don't block other guests. If 50 guests are selected and 2 have errors, the other 48 sync successfully. You only need to re-sync the guests that had issues.
Step 4: Check guest sync statuses
Once the sync completes without errors, your guests should show updated statuses on the Guest Dashboard:
Guest Sync Status moves to "Synced" — the guest now has a participant record in RE NXT.
Payment Sync Status shows one of:
"Pending" or "Gifts Created" — Payment data has been prepared and is ready for the Gift Dashboard. This means gift records have been created in Almabase and are waiting to be pushed to a RE NXT batch.
"Not Applicable" — No payment to sync. This appears for free events, $0 registrations, or when your payment configuration is set to "RSVP Only."
🎯 At this point, the guest and registration data is in Raiser's Edge NXT. If your event only needs RSVP tracking (no payment data), you're done.
Syncing payments (fees and donations) to Raiser's Edge NXT
The steps below apply when you want to sync the payment data from your event — ticket fees and donations — to RE NXT. Payments from Almabase are synced as Gifts in Raiser's Edge NXT.
Step 5: Review gifts on the Gift Dashboard
Switch to the Gift Dashboard. This is where you manage the payment side of your event sync.
The Gift Dashboard has three sections:
New Gifts — Gift records that have been prepared but not yet added to a RE NXT batch. These are the gifts created during the Guest Dashboard sync.
Gifts Awaiting Approval — Gifts that have been added to a RE NXT batch but haven't been approved yet.
Approved Gifts — Gifts that have been approved (committed) in RE NXT.
You'll see your newly created gifts in the "New Gifts" section. Each gift shows the donor, amount, fund, and other details based on your payment configuration.
Reviewing and editing gift details
Before syncing gifts to RE NXT, you can review and edit the details on each gift. This is your chance to make adjustments before the data reaches your database.
Fields you can edit:
Campaign, Package, and Appeal — Assign the gift to a specific campaign, package, or appeal code in RE NXT. These are set in your event's sync settings by default, but you can override them per gift.
Gift Type and Sub-type — Usually "One-Time" by default. Change this if the gift should be categorized differently in RE NXT.
Payment Method — Almabase detects this automatically (credit card, check, etc.), but you can adjust if needed.
Post Status — Whether the gift should be posted immediately or held.
Acknowledgment and Receipt Status — Set the starting status for receipting and acknowledgment workflows in RE NXT.
Custom Fields — Any custom gift attributes from your RE NXT environment appear here. Search for the field and set a value.
Soft Credits — Toggle on to manually allocate soft credits to other constituents (for example, crediting a spouse). You can split credit equally or set custom amounts. If you leave soft credits off, RE NXT applies its default soft credit rules.
You can edit gifts individually or use the "Update Gifts" button to edit all gifts in a batch at once (soft credits can only be set individually, not in bulk).
Step 6: Add gifts to a batch and sync
When your gifts are ready, it's time to push them to Raiser's Edge NXT. Gifts are always synced into a gift batch, which lets you review and approve gifts before they're committed to your database.
Select the gifts you want to sync (or select all), then click "Start Sync." You'll be asked to provide a batch number:
Use an existing batch — Enter the batch number of an open or unapproved batch in RE NXT.
Create a new batch — Almabase can create a new batch for you. Give it a recognizable name so you can find it easily in RE NXT.
Click "Sync" to push the gifts. Almabase adds each gift to the specified batch in RE NXT, including all the fund splits, payment details, and any custom fields you configured.
Once the sync completes, those gifts move from "New Gifts" to "Gifts Awaiting Approval" on the Gift Dashboard. The Payment Sync Status on the Guest Dashboard also updates to "Added to Batch."
Step 7: Approve the gift batch in Raiser's Edge NXT
The final step happens in Raiser's Edge NXT, not in Almabase.
Open Raiser's Edge NXT and navigate to your gift batches.
Find the batch you just synced to.
Review the gifts — check amounts, fund allocations, and donor records.
Approve the batch to commit the gifts to the constituent records.
Once the batch is approved in RE NXT, the gifts move to "approved" status. Raiser's Edge sends a notification back to Almabase (via a webhook), and the Gift Dashboard automatically updates:
Gifts move from "Gifts Awaiting Approval" to "Approved Gifts."
The Payment Sync Status on the Guest Dashboard updates to "Approved."
When your team posts the gifts in RE NXT (a separate step in your gift processing workflow), that status is reflected in Almabase as well.
That's it — your sync is complete. The event, guest registrations, and payments are now in Raiser's Edge NXT. From here, your advancement team can run reports, issue receipts, and manage donor records as usual.
FAQs
Can I sync some guests now and others later?
Yes. You can select specific guests on the Guest Dashboard and sync just those. Guests you've already synced won't be affected — Almabase updates their existing records rather than creating duplicates. This is useful when new registrations come in after your initial sync.
What happens if I sync the same guest twice?
Almabase checks whether the guest already has a participant record in RE NXT. If they do, it updates the existing record instead of creating a new one. You won't get duplicates.
Do I need to create the event in Raiser's Edge before syncing?
No. Almabase creates the event in RE NXT automatically during the first sync. If the event already exists in RE NXT (for example, if you created it manually), Almabase will update it rather than create a duplicate, as long as the event is linked.
How long does a sync take?
For most events, syncing guests from the Guest Dashboard takes a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the number of guests. Syncing gifts from the Gift Dashboard is usually faster since it's adding prepared gift records to a batch. Very large events (hundreds of guests) may take longer.
What if my RE NXT connection expires during a sync?
If the connection drops, the sync stops and Almabase shows a connection error. Any guests that were already synced before the error remain synced. Reconnect your RE NXT account, then sync the remaining guests.
Can I sync guests who have pending (incomplete) payments?
By default, Almabase skips guests whose payments are still pending or failed — it only syncs guests with completed payments. If you want to sync RSVP status for guests with pending payments (without syncing their payment data), enable the "Sync RSVP status for guests with pending payments" toggle in your sync configuration.
What's the difference between the Guest Dashboard and the Gift Dashboard?
The Guest Dashboard manages the people side — guest registrations, RSVP statuses, and participant records. The Gift Dashboard manages the money side — payments, gift amounts, fund allocations, and RE NXT batches. Guest sync happens first; gift sync happens second. Think of them as two phases of the same workflow.
Do I need to approve gifts in RE NXT every time?
Yes. Almabase adds gifts to a batch in RE NXT, but it can't commit the batch on your behalf. This is by design — it gives your team a chance to review the gifts before they become permanent records in your database. Once you commit the batch in RE NXT, Almabase is notified automatically.
What if a guest registers for a free event (no payment)?
Free registrations sync just like paid ones — the guest's participant record is created in RE NXT. The only difference is that no gift records are created, so there's nothing to push from the Gift Dashboard. The Payment Sync Status shows "Not Applicable."
Can I sync sub-events separately?
Yes. In your sync configuration, you can choose to sync sub-events as separate events in RE NXT (each gets its own event record) or as a single event. If you sync them as a single event (the default), sub-event tickets and participants are all added to the main event in RE NXT.