When mapping gifts it is possible to restrict the fields shown. By default Importacular only shows the most common fields. However if you are importing gifts that require a schedule e.g. pledges with instalments or recurring gifts then when selecting the “Show Common and Scheduling Fields” filter option the Schedule Wizard button appears as shown below.
We realise how difficult it is to import a schedule into RE using the built in import tool. It is not very intuitive when deciding which values should go into which columns. The schedule wizard assumes that all values are being defaulted (click here to watch a video to show how you can use the schedule wizard to help populate the template).
If, however the data source determines the schedule you will need to adjust the columns accordingly. The schedule wizard changes depending on the frequency. In this overview we will look at the two most commonly used schedules; monthly and annually.
The wizard follows the same format as when you press the schedule button on the gift. The above schedule is for monthly. Below is for an annual schedule.
And for the monthly schedule:
When pressing OK the mapping screen is populated with the default values. This is for the annual schedule
The wizard assumes that all the values will be defaulted. However if the data source provides values then you may need to transform them. For example if the data source supplies the number of months for the instalment frequency e.g. 1 for monthly or 12 for annually then you will need a transformation on the Instalment Frequency field as shown below:
You can watch a video showing a combination of Monthly and Quarterly gifts in the same file here.
Matching Payments to Recurring Gifts
If you are planning on importing payments on to these recurring gifts then you may want to map a reference code to be stored on the gift. The payment process attempts to find a corresponding RG template record. It does this by a number of methods.
1. The first record that it finds (this is ideal when you are sure that there is only one RG template on a constituent)
2. By matching on the reference field
3. By matching on the reference number field
4. By matching on a gift attribute (this should be a text or number attribute).
The identifier should be unique to that recurrence. For example if I decide to pay $10 each month then the RE template record should have a unique id for that should also come through with the regular payments too.
What do you do if you do not have a unique recurring id but may have more than one RG template record on the constituent?
You may want to use the constituent id (or other id specific to the constituent) instead. You just need to make sure that if you terminate an older RG template record that you also remove the constituent id from their reference field.