With Scheduled Reports, you can have any report delivered to an inbox automatically, on the schedule you set. That means less time spent pulling the same reports over and over, and more time spent on the work that moves your mission forward. This article covers the kinds of reports worth automating and how to get the most out of the feature.
Use Cases
Think about the reports you rely on to get your work done. Which ones do you run again and again with the same filters every time? And which of those do you send along to teammates, your board, or leadership?
Here are some common use cases for scheduled reports:
Donor Identification and Cultivation
Major Gifts - regular reporting on individual gifts of a certain size
Giving Milestones - tracking donors as they pass thresholds of cumulative giving
Solicitor Scorecard - tracking interactions with prospects
Donor Recognition and Communication
Daily Donations - daily reporting on donors and their donations for acknowledgment
Lapsing Donors - customize from click-through report in Donor Retention Wheel and contact lapsing donors to encourage continued support
Pledge Reminder - customize report template and contact constituents to remind them to continue making pledge payments
Administration and Management
Task Report - view notifications for Tasks that have upcoming due dates, so that you can act on those Tasks
Campaign Progress - keep track of campaigns at regular intervals
Deposits and Reconciliation - automate accounting tasks and reports for administration teams
Tip: If you need help building your reports, email or chat our Support team. Scheduling reports will help with these use cases and many more. So what should your process look like when you use this feature?
Goal Setting
First, you should set a goal. Goal setting is a brief process that ensures your scheduled report will include all of the information your recipients need in order to accomplish a specific action. What action should be carried out as a result of a report? Does the report include all of the information your recipients need to act whenever they receive it, or should you include additional filters and columns for clarity? Answer these questions before saving your schedule.
Recipients, Frequency, and Content
Once you have set a goal for your report and added all of the information necessary to act on it, you should decide who will receive your report and how often they need to receive it. Then use the Subject and Content fields to clearly identify the report and explain the action you expect to see.
Recipients
Who is receiving the scheduled report? Do they need access to Bloomerang to act on the report, or can they take action steps without logging in to Bloomerang? It is a good idea to do a quick check and make sure you’re sending everything your recipient needs to accomplish the intended action.
Frequency
How often should the report be delivered? The frequency you choose is closely connected to the action you wish to see taken with the report. For example, if the goal of the report is to prompt a daily action, send it daily.
Content
Use the Subject field and Content field of the schedule to explain exactly what the report is and what should be done with it. Example:
Subject
Daily Donations Report
Content
This report contains all of the donations we received yesterday, as well as the contact information for each donor. Please give them a call and thank them today!
Putting It All Together
Let's put it all together with a full example.
Say someone at your organization sends pledge reminders to constituents every month. The goal is twofold: keep in touch with donors and keep funds coming in. You administer the Bloomerang database, but your coworker doesn't usually need access to it. You can support their work by customizing a report template in Bloomerang and scheduling it to arrive at the same time each month.
To customize and schedule a report:
Click Reports.
Click New Report.
Click the Pledge Reminders template.
Click Start Report.
Click More.
Click Details.
Enter a Name for your report.
Click Save.
The Pledge Reminders report shows all of your organization’s pledges that have an installment due in the next month. It also contains useful information like the status of the pledge, who started the pledge, the amount of the next installment, etc. Since your co-worker is going to be sending personal emails to these constituents, add an email column to the report.
In your report, click Columns.
Search for and select Email Address.
Click Add.
Click Apply.
Now it is time to save and schedule your report. Click Save .
Click More.
Click Schedule.
From the Frequency list, select Monthly.
Select a Day of the Month and Time.
Do not select Require Bloomerang Login to Biew Report. This co-worker doesn't have access to your database.
In the Recipients text box, enter your co-workers email address.
In the Subject text box, enter
Pledge Reminders.In the Content text box, enter the following:
Use this monthly pledge reminders report to email donors with upcoming pledge payments. If the pledge is in good standing, remember to thank them for keeping up with their pledge! If the pledge is in arrears, remind them how much it means to us to receive their pledge.Click Save.
Now the report reaches your coworker every month on its own. Your part is automated, and your coworker has what they need to get the job done.