Combining Multiple Data Sets

When moving PowerChurch Plus to a centralized server within the church or moving to PowerChurch Online, you must first have a single set of data. If you have been working in an environment where multiple people use PowerChurch Plus on multiple, non-networked computers, the following processes would need to be completed to "combine" all of the data files into a single, complete data set.

Example 1: One computer has been used to track Membership and Contributions information and a second computer has been used to track Accounting information.

To do this, the easiest method is to go to the computer with the least amount of data - in this case the one with Accounting information - and make a backup containing only those files. The Backup utility in PowerChurch Plus allows you to make module-specific backups, such as "Accounting Files", "Membership Files", and "Contributions Files". In this case, you would want to back up only "Accounting Files".

Once you have your backup, go to the central computer and restore the backup.

It is very important that you make an "Accounting Files" backup and not an "All Data Files" backup, as all information contained in the backup will overwrite the existing files in the central computer.

It is highly recommended that you make an "All Data Files" backup of each data set before going through this process. This would allow you to "undo" any changes that were made, if necessary.

Example 2: One computer contains Contributions data and a second computer contains up to date Membership information.

This example is significantly more difficult!

PowerChurch stores the Contributions data by envelope number, which is related directly to the envelope number that is assigned in the Membership data. In most instances, a computer that is used to track Contributions only has very sparse Membership information, most likely Name, Address, and Envelope Number. The computer where Membership information is tracked and kept up to date most likely contains phone numbers, e-mail addresses, birthdays, and information regarding non-contributors.

When preparing to combine Contributions information into a data set that already contains Membership information, it is vital that you have the exact same envelope numbers assigned between the two sets of data.

To do this, you should start by running the "Envelope Numbers List" from the "Reports - Contributions" menu in each installation of PowerChurch Plus. When prompted for the sort order, choose "Alphabetical". Compare the numbers that are assigned to each person in each data set. You will, unfortunately, have to manually update the Membership records in the main computer to match what is contained in the Contributions computer. The easiest way to do this is using the "Reassign An Envelope Number" function in the Contributions menu.

It is highly recommended that you make an "All Data Files" backup of each data set before going through this process. This would allow you to "undo" any changes that were made, if necessary.

Example 3: Multiple computers that contain similar data in the same areas of the program. Each installation contains some duplicate records, each contains some unique information.

There is not a "merge data" function in PowerChurch Plus, which means that you can not use these methods to combine two sets of the same kind of data. The program can not merge two Membership Files backups together. As stated previously, when restoring a backup, PowerChurch Plus overwrites the data files with the files that are contained in the backup. In this example, you would have to manually update the installation of PowerChurch Plus that contains the most up to date Membership information with the changes or additional records that are missing, when compared to the second installation.

It is highly recommended that you make an "All Data Files" backup of each data set before going through this process. This would allow you to "undo" any changes that were made, if necessary.

Example 4: "It's just too much! Can PowerChurch Software combine these backups for us?!"

PowerChurch Software's Data Conversions department is usually occupied converting user data from competitor software into new installations of PowerChurch Plus. We can, however, also handle the sometimes nasty task of combining multiple PowerChurch Plus data sets for you. Data Conversions are a fee-based service. For more information, or to request a price quote for your specific situation, use the online Data Conversions form or give us a call at (800) 486-1800.