Use Backup/Restore to update a secondary computer?

[ShiftElder]

We're brand new users of PCPlus, with the full program and all data installed on an office PC. Our worship campus is several miles away, and we do our counting there each Sunday. We want to use a second (laptop) PC to record contributions, then export the data and load it into the office PC. There's only one catch... updating the member data. Can we use the backup and restore utilities to keep the membership data (including profile data like envelope number) synchronized between the two computers?

Mark Skinner, Elder
Shift Ministries, Inc.
Albany, Oregon
mark@discovertheshift.com

[NeilZ]

We're brand new users of PCPlus, with the full program and all data installed on an office PC. Our worship campus is several miles away, and we do our counting there each Sunday. We want to use a second (laptop) PC to record contributions, then export the data and load it into the office PC. There's only one catch... updating the member data. Can we use the backup and restore utilities to keep the membership data (including profile data like envelope number) synchronized between the two computers?

Mark Skinner, Elder
Shift Ministries, Inc.
Albany, Oregon
mark@discovertheshift.com

At any service you're going to probably have visitors that you want to track, and if they give a donation, you will need to have that membership data entered, so that data needs to be sent back to the main office.

So, assuming that you're starting off with a database load to the laptop.

1. Enter contributions on the laptop.
2. Backup the laptop but only backup the Contributions, Mailing List & Profiles. You can select the Contributions Files only from the backup module selection screen.
3. Email or write the file to a flash drive and bring it back to the main office computer.
4. Restore that file on the main computer, then post contributions as normal to Funds Accounting.

Then, if the main computer does updates to the database, the following week you send over a backup, and restore on the laptop.


However, this is a very good example of how Powerchurch Online will save you plenty of time and frustration. You don't have to worry about keeping computers in sync, as you're all using the database in the 'cloud'. You may want to think about that.

Another option is using a desktop access program like GoToMYPC to do all the Contributions entry.

[ShiftElder]

Thanks for the information. We considered PowerChurch Online, but after a year of monthly fees we would have more than paid for the client version.

The backup/restore would work, but GoToMyPC is a good idea. I use GoToMeeting in my "regular" job, so I'm familiar with Citrix's offerings.

Thanks again.

Mark Skinner, Elder
The Shift Church
Albany, Oregon 97321