Notes: December 18, 2024

Notes: December 18, 2024

What's New

As 2024 winds down, we’re thrilled to share a few more updates to make your experience even better. From customizable reports to streamlined workflows, these improvements are designed to save you time, simplify tasks, and give you greater control. We think you’ll love these enhancements—and we’re eager to hear what you think!

Better Web and Report Display in Sumac

A smoother, more visually appealing Sumac experience is here! This enhances the rendering of key components in Sumac, including canned reports, in-app messaging, and the display of web pages linked within the software.


Benefits:

  1. Better visuals and usability for canned reports.
  2. Enhanced in-app messaging experience.
  3. Improved browsing for integrated web pages.
Idea

Note: Some linked web pages, such as our knowledge base articles, may not render as expected in our new internal browser. To address this, we’ve added an option to choose whether web links open internally or externally.

Go to Utilities > Customise Database > Preferences. 


Then under User > System Appearance you will see the option to update your setting.



AlertWe’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your feedback by emailing us at product@societ.com—we’re always looking for ways to improve.

Reorganized Donation Reports Section

Navigating reports in the Donations area just got easier! We’ve categorized the donation reports to make them more intuitive and user-friendly.

Additionally, we’ve added a "Starred" category that lists only your favourite reports, so you can quickly find them without scrolling through a long list.

Benefits:

  1. Simplified navigation with clear categories.
  2. Quick access to your most-used reports.

Customizable Reports

Reports just got more flexible! Select built-in reports now allow customization, letting you add or remove fields. Depending on the report, you can include details from donation records, contact records, or both.

Benefits:

  1. Tailor reports to your specific needs.
  2. Include additional details for better insights.

Reports that can be customized will have a new “Column Settings” button.


This lets you add fields from Donation and/or Contact records, if available.


In this window, you can:

  1. Click and drag the fields you want to display.
  2. Rename the column title or header.
  3. Save your preferences to a text file or load an existing one.
  4. Reset the column selections to the default.
Sumac will remember the changes on a per-user basis, so the next time you run the report, it will reflect the settings you configured.
Info

At this time, this feature is only available for the following Donations reports:

  1. Lapsed (LYBUNT, SYBUNT)
  2. First Time Donors (Addressed...)
  3. First Time Donors (Amount...)
  4. In Honour or Memory
  5. In-honour Totals
  6. By Receiptable Amount
  7. In Date Range
  8. Monthly by Contact
  9. Donors in Date Range
  10. In Date Range and Amount Range
  11. Campaign All
AlertHave a report you’d like to customize? Let us know at product@societ.com!

File Management for Admins

Building on our new File Service, we’re introducing a centralized File Management Area—a one-stop location for accessing files uploaded through both Sumac Desktop and the Case Portal. This area consolidates files from the new File Service and legacy uploads, making it easier to locate and manage your records.

Benefits:

  1. Unified access to all files, new and old.
  2. Improved organization of uploaded records.
  3. A step toward streamlined file management in Sumac.


Idea
To access the new File Management Area, go to Utilities > File Management.



AlertWe’d love to hear your suggestions on what features to add next! Email us at product@societ.com to share your ideas and help shape the future of our platform.

Save and Continue for Case/Custom Records

To help when you need to enter lengthy notes for case/custom records, we’ve introduced a new "Save and Continue" button. This feature allows you to save your work even if you're still in the middle of typing. This reduces the risk of losing progress due to power outages, PC crashes, or other interruptions, this update ensures a smoother experience when working with detailed notes.

Benefits:

  1. Save partially entered notes at any time.
  2. Minimize data loss from unexpected disruptions.
  3. Work confidently on extended or complex case records.


AlertThis is just the first phase of planned improvements, and your feedback is crucial in shaping what comes next! Email us at product@societ.com to share your thoughts and suggestions for future enhancements.

Elevating Prior Enhancement

We’ve also released some small but impactful updates that refine your experience, improve functionality, and address common feedback to ensure smoother workflows and greater ease of use.

File Attachment Update: Upload Multiple Files

For customers using the Attachments Tab in Sumac Desktop, we’ve made it easier to upload files. You can now select and upload multiple files in a single action, saving time and clicks.

Benefits:

  1. Simplified multi-file uploads.
  2. Faster workflow for managing attachments.

Idea
When uploading files, you can use Ctrl + click to select multiple files. Other keyboard and mouse controls will work as well such as Shift + Click or Ctrl +A.

Try it out and let us know how it improves your workflow.

Contact Basic Tab Cleanup

The Basic Tab in contact records has been updated with a cleaner, card-based layout, aligning it with the other recent UI enhancements.

Benefits:

  1. A modernized, streamlined interface.
  2. Consistent look and feel across the platform.


Update Email Notifications by Cumulative Donation Amount

Email notifications for cumulative donation amounts have been improved. You can now specify a range instead of a single value, eliminating issues with overlapping or duplicate notifications.

Benefits:

  1. Greater control over donation notification settings.
  2. Reduced clutter from duplicate alerts.



Outcome Reports Fix

The Outcome Reports feature now respects field order when you save and load column settings from a file. This ensures that your saved settings apply correctly each time.

Tribute Field Mapping Update

The Tribute Field Mapping between Sumac Desktop and Donation Webforms has been updated. Tribute details from Donation Webforms now automatically populate the Honoree or Memorialized fields in Sumac Desktop Donation records.

Donation Screen Payment Entry Expanded

Following the recent update to allow credit card information entry directly in donation records, we’ve extended this feature to include Bank Transfer payment types.

Benefits:

  1. Unified workflow for entering payment details.
  2. Greater flexibility with payment methods.


Idea

Make sure to set up your payment type as Bank Transfers to make use of this new feature!


Check out this knowledge base article to learn more about setting up Field Values, such as Payment Types. If you need assistance, feel free to contact us at support@sumac.com.

Clone Button for Donation Records

Streamline your workflow with the new Clone button! This feature allows you to duplicate existing donation records quickly and efficiently. This feature is available in both the Donations and Contacts areas.

Benefits:

  1. Save time creating similar donation records.
  2. Reduce manual data entry.

IdeaReady to try it? Open any donation record and click "Clone" to see how it works.

Save and Clone Fixed in the Contacts Area

We’ve resolved issues affecting the Save and Clone and Add Another buttons when working in the Contacts area. These options now work seamlessly when adding donation records from the Contacts Area.

Benefits:

  1. Improved reliability in donation record workflows.
  2. Enhanced user experience in the Contacts area.

Upgrade to Java 11.0.25

We’ve upgraded Sumac to the latest Java 11 version (11.0.25), ensuring you’re on the recommended version for Java 11 installations. This upgrade enhances security and stability, providing a robust environment for Sumac.

Benefits of this upgrade include:

  1. Improved security with the latest patches.
  2. Enhanced performance and stability.
  3. Compliance with recommended Java standards.

AlertWe’re excited for you to explore these updates! As always, your feedback is crucial in helping us refine and improve Sumac. Let us know your thoughts by emailing product@societ.com!


Version Releases: SUMD 4.7.17
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