Unlike integrating with payment systems that often follow universal standards, integrating your database with Almabase is unique to your organization. Your organization may have specific data handling policies that differ from other institutions, depending on available resources and the current state of your data integrity. This is why Almabase does not offer a one-size-fits-all approach to data transfer between systems.
Before we dive into the integration process, I encourage you to consider how you'd like to strike a balance between Convenience and Control. In simple terms, it's the difference between building a six-lane highway and creating a well-guarded checkpoint zone.
It's important to note that you don't have to choose one extreme over the other. You have the flexibility to decide where you want to build a high-speed highway, like for email data, and where you want to establish checkpoints for more granular control, such as with phone numbers and addresses.
Step 1: Getting Acquainted
Before Almabase and Raiser's Edge NXT can communicate effectively, they need to use the same language and terminologies. When Almabase needs to check whether an email that came is new, it needs to ask Raiser's Edge if that email address has existed in any shape or form for the same user. If Raiser's Edge cannot understand the question, or if Almabase is not posing the question correctly, the data cannot be transferred successfully.
Here's what you need to do to set up everything correctly:
Finding the Right Record: Make sure the System Record ID from Raiser's Edge is filled in the user record on Almabase. This helps Almabase identify the user on the Raiser's Edge system.
Making the Right Comparisons: Since you may record emails in different places in Raiser's Edge, specify where Almabase should look for existing emails when making comparisons.
Saving to the Right Location: Determine where Almabase should save new emails if they do not exist in RE NXT.
Additional Rules: Decide if any additional actions should be taken when adding new data, such as marking emails as 'Primary' or updating specific fields.
These rules are flexible guidelines, not rigid requirements. You can override these settings before copying any data, maintaining control over the integration.
Step 2: Setting up Rules for Convenience (Auto-Push)
Consider setting up Auto-Push rules for specific conditions where you are comfortable pushing data without manual intervention. Almabase can automatically add or append data to Raiser's Edge if it meets predefined criteria. You will receive a daily report on all the data points automatically added to your Raiser's Edge database.
Here are some examples:
Example 1: When an email exists on Almabase but not in RE NXT, add this new email to 'Emails' in RENXT and mark it as 'Primary.'
Example 2: When an email on Almabase is not found in any of the 'Email,' 'Additional Email,' or 'Legacy Email' fields on the corresponding RE NXT records, add this new email to a field called 'Almabase email.'
Our Recommendation: Emails are excellent candidates for auto-pushing because they are less prone to formatting issues and typically occur when users consent to receive emails on the platform. Remember, emails are only pushed if they do not already exist in your system, ensuring data is not replaced.
Step 3: Setting up Rules for Control
For finer control over data quality and standards compliance, navigate to a person's profile and click 'Sync with RE NXT' to access more options on data control. A pop-up will display differences between the Almabase record and the one in Raiser's Edge NXT, allowing you to make decisions on data movement.
You can even identify recently updated records on Almabase to take action on user-updated data.
In summary:
Each database and organization is different, so we build custom integrations to meet your needs.
You define what data you would like to move through a high-speed highway and what data you would like to move through a couple of checkpoints.
Each time you decide to push data into Raiser's Edge manually, you can override the settings to give you even finer control over the movement of data.
You get a daily report on all the data that has moved into Raiser's Edge.
For any further questions or assistance, please contact us at help@almabase.com or through the Intercom Chat 💬. We are here to assist you! 😄