ImportOmatic

We have been using IOM for 6 years now and have loved how easy it makes transferring data by import.

Comments: The ease of use, fantastic support, and ability to move data in and out of my database with ease.

Pros:

I love that if I can get the data in a .csv, I can get it into my database. The opportunities are endless.

Cons:

Sometimes trying to figure out error codes and what they mean can be hard, but support is always there to help.

IOM changed my work life

Comments: I just love IOM. I am able to get large numbers of gifts into our system quickly during our busiest time of the year. And we update RE with MailChimp campaign activity, subscribers, unsubscribers, and adding new emails into MailChimp. AND Omatic Support is great - timely, responsive, and so friendly!

Pros:

The best thing is the auto-matching to existing records, with the ability to set what it matches on and when to ask you about it before importing. Before IOM we used the Net Community part (RELO) and it took FOREVER to one-by-one match records. We have an event that brings in 100s of donations weekly and I could never keep up with processing them. But now with IOM, I am on top of them every single day. And therefore, we are thanking our donors EVERY day! I also LOVE the ability to have things checked on the records depending on how the data comes in, i.e., if a new donor gift with no address, the "has no valid address" box is checked on the record after IOM imports it. So efficient!

Cons:

The one thing that bugs me is that when searching duplicates on addresses, it will pull old/inactive addresses in RE as a match. So then I spend the time going into the record to see how they are connected, only to discover that they aren't - it's just an expired address. There's no way to search only on active addresses.

Usability

Comments: The Omatic trainers and customer service teams are amazing. They're super quick to respond to cases and easy to work with, in general.

Pros:

We are so appreciative of the Profiles we were able to build during our training sessions. These have helped us immensely when pulling into RE event registrations or donations from our website.

Cons:

We are finding that there seems to some gifts that don't import through from our website and sustaining gifts are also hit-or-miss whether they're pulling through correctly (or at all). We continue to work with Customer Support to try and identify these issues and resolve them as quickly as possible.

We spend more time with donors and less time with spreadsheets

Comments: Reduced hand-data entry. Reduction in errors. Increased flexibility.

Pros:

I no longer have to prep my spreadsheets for my regular imports. I occasionally forget how amazing of a statement that is. Virtual data fields and dictionaries can be set up ahead of imports, including the ability to skip records that meet certain criteria. It matches or creates records, addresses can be old or slightly different--I choose when to update or ignore It matches on "close" names, if I want it to. I have fewer multi-pass imports, because so many more things can be done with each pass. But the biggest thing is that we are able, with the same number of staff members, to better customize our donor solicitations because we don't have to spend hours and hours pouring over column over column in thousands of lines of spreadsheets. Omatic lets us customize based on what we already know about our donors, which gives us time to continue learning more about them.

Cons:

It's sophisticated and robust. Which means if you're someone who hates instructor-led training and just likes to click around to learn, it will take you ages to learn everything it can do. It's SO incredibly customize-able--it will suggest but not dictate for many fields--that people who want full functionality without a learning curve are going to flat-out miss out on all the things it can do for you. If you are constantly in a work environment where you feel it's easier to do something the slow, hard way than figure out an easier way--if there is never an opportunity to slow down and learn something new--you won't realize its full benefits.

ImportOmatic review

Comments: We import thousands of gifts and constituents every week with ImportOmatic. We have multiple users importing files from several different sources to add/edit constituents, process gifts, and maintain address data. We also use it for data cleanup - export data from RE, manipulate it in the spreadsheet, and then reimport it to clean up the records.

Pros:

We've used ImportOmatic for years to streamline our import processes - rather than having to use several different RE processes, we can use a single file and a single import process to add/update records. The ability to set up import dictionaries and use the API to manipulate the imported data is tremendously useful.

Cons:

I don't have much in the way of cons. ImportOmatic does a great job of addressing some core weaknesses of RE. It's allowed us to function with RE without having to maintain our own custom solutions.

ImportOmatic Makes Batching Easier

Comments: I love it and recommend it. It makes using Raiser's Edge much easier and is a tremendous improvement over Raiser's Edge import.

Pros:

I love the review of constituent records vs incoming information and the ability to make very specific changes to records before committing import. It's much easier than reviewing record by record in Raiser's Edge batch and going through at least 2 tabs per record. It also makes it possible to edit a batch in a spreadsheet or other database software vs using Batch.

Cons:

Some of the updates caused a loss of attribute information or the need to create more than one profile, but it seems like these unexpected outcomes are corrected in later updates.

ImportOMatic for Raiser's Edge

Comments: ImportOMatic and Omatic Softwares are valued software providers that have reduced our processing time. The ease of use has allowed us to widen the scope of data that we include in our Raiser's Edge database.

Pros:

Works seemlessly with Raiser's Edge. The duplicate search features and dictionaries drastically reduce the amount of time spent on manipulating data sets that we are importing into our database.

Cons:

In interface could be more intuitive to allow for less training of new users.

Saves so much time!

Comments: Positive! Now that I fully understand how to use this product it has saved me a significant amount of time and effort

Pros:

This tool, when used correctly, can save you hours upon hours of data entry time. Super helpful and runs really well

Cons:

It can be difficult to learn and get the hang of, and there is a lot of coding and programming that goes in to making the software work that can be prohibitive.

Powerful tool

Comments: Omatic helps us uploade data from our Phonathon software to RE every day. We can now bring in our new student record into RE in weeks rather than months

Pros:

It provide us with the ability to automate many of our import needs

Cons:

Some of the options are not as intuitive as one would think

ImportOmatic helped us to overcome challenges we faced with appends and updates that are more comple

Pros:

Ease if use! Simple field selections allowusers of all levels to adjust to their departments needs.

Cons:

Minor compatibility issues with Blackbaud products. Stellar staff at ImportOmatic helped us to overcome.

ImportOmatic Review

Comments: We have an annual fundraising event where we sell cards to individuals where those cards can be used to receive a 20% discount on items purchased at over 750 retailers during a specific 10 day period. The volume of cards sold is huge, and every card sold has the purchaser info contained on the sales form (contact info). The data on each sales form must be entered into Raiser's Edge. Using ImportOmatic to export sales data entry info through our website into a csv file which is then imported using the scheduler tool has been a tremendous time saver and allows the info to flow into Raiser's Edge on a much quicker basis. This gives us access to potential new donors on a much more timely basis for use with our other appeals.

Pros:

With the use of the scheduler tool in conjunction with the ImportOmatic software tool, large volumes of data can be imported into Raiser's Edge without the need for touching each record...only those records that don't conform to the screening criteria need human touch. This greatly reduces the amount of time needed for volume imports.

Cons:

Sometimes the complexity involved when setting up a good configuration for a template can be a real challenge. It is a delicate balancing act to get a template set up that is tight enough not to reject a high volume of records versus not enough tightness that results in too many records being imported that really did need some human touch.

The right Raiser's Edge tool for the job

Comments: I'm using ImportOmatic to append or update data to the Raiser's Edge for data integrity and accuracy. The data is then used for fund raising and prospect research.

Pros:

The ImportOmatic tool saves me time by skipping the Blackbaud Raiser's Edge import process. The tools allows me to address Raiser's Edge importing issues. This tools has saved me a tremendous amount of time and allowed me to get me job done. Without this tool, I would not be able to complete several of my projects. This tool is hightly recommended if you are serious about moving data into Raiser's Edge.

Cons:

This software has a steep learning curve. I wish there were short 5-10 minute Youtube videos to address advance processes so I can just watch and learn. (ie. remove attribues fields, names matching, scoring, etc.) This saves me a call to Omatic or refer to the 793 page user's guide.

Good product

Comments: Pleasant

Pros:

I like that it really saves me time. I spend less time each day matching records up than I would without omatic.

Cons:

I wish that it could match up non-exact addresses, but I know there are limitations with that.

Changers to features reduced useability

Comments: We use Omatic to automatically pull queried information from Blackbaud Altru to Luminate Online for scheduled emails.

Pros:

Omatic has fantastic customer support, and their representatives have worked hard to make the software work for us.

Cons:

There are features that were once available and have been removed as the focus of Omatic has shifted, and the loss of these features have left us with little reason to keep using Omatic.

Cutting out the Middle Man

Comments: Everytime I have reached out for help I've been pointed to addtional resources, which is helpful.

Pros:

I like that this was already a partner with Raiser's Edge and the designers had a good understanding of data mangement and the Raiser's Edge. With training I've been able to utilize omatic to import info into RE and create new imports.

Cons:

There are so many nuances and details. It would be nice to be able set defaults, like anytime a zipcode is imported it is the end result is the same no matter the import.

Time and stress saver

Comments: ImportOmatic has saved us a lot of time and stress in trying to map fields to Raiser's Edge and completing the imports. It is effective at locating duplicates and it's nice to have the options for creating queries of the records changed.

Pros:

ImportOmatic has allowed us to do custom imports into Raiser's Edge with very little time, and sometimes even with little setup of the import profile. We have been able to import data into specific fields that Raiser's Edge's import feature does not allow us to do. And if there are exceptions, the ability to cancel the whole import until you can revise the profile is a lifesaver since it prevents you from making any changes in the database that you would have to undo.

Cons:

There are still some fields that are not mapped to import, but I have come across them too infrequently to be able to name them.

NDA Omatic Renew

Comments: I am pleased with Omatic.

Pros:

it was easy to navigate once I learned the software.

Cons:

I feel that it has all the features that we need.

Makes life so much easier

Comments: Omatic allows you to do so many things that yes you could do otherwise (for the most part) but it would take a significant amount of time, in other words the time savings have been significant.

Pros:

Omatic makes dealing with getting data into Raiser's Edge so much better. The interface is fantastic to use compared to the import tool that comes stock with RE and it is quite intuitive. We recently expanded our services with Omatic to include their Luminate Online connector for RE and we are very excited to begin using it.

Cons:

Honestly I have no cons personally. It provides so much for your money that I am more than satisfied with our choice of using Omatic!

Great Fit

Comments: We have had a great experience using Omatic. We are integrating data from an older system, with some difficult business processes. Omatic has been able to mitigate some of those processes for us, during the import process. Thereby eliminating the need for extensive weekly data clean-up.

Pros:

For our complex organization, Omatic is a great fit. With the customization one can make, the software can manage almost any situation.

Cons:

At this time, nothing. The software is doing what it is meant to do.

Manage and analyse data better and integrate fundraising

Pros:

Data imports are quick and reliable and integrating fundraising is great and correct information is imported from the financial system. A powerful software to handle fund accounting, donor or member management, recurring donations and fundraising tools etc.

Cons:

we cannot pause a process in ImportOmatic and data must be exact for format

Not as "omatic" as I'd hoped

Pros:

The customer support was the absolute best consultant. They were very knowledgeable and always willing and available to train and troubleshoot. She was the best part of our experience with Omatic.

Cons:

It's not as automatic as the title leads to believe. There is still a lot of manual work and I'm not sure I'm ever using it correctly.

Wonderful experience using this software.

Pros:

The profile creation is pretty much seamless. I prefer using ImportOmatci versus the classic RE import option.

Cons:

I wish support had a chat option- creating a ticket is often not the option best suited for my needs at times.

Life saving import help

Pros:

I spent years using the canned import feature in Raiser’s Edge. Omatic was a game changer by fully automating this process with no extra manipulation required!

Cons:

Not really anything I can point out here. Everything has a learning curve but this isn’t bad at all.

Great software!

Comments: We are getting our gifts imported from Site Stacker into Raiser's Edge. It saves time so we don't have to key them all in! We love it.

Pros:

Help and upfront training with the ImportOmatic staff.

Cons:

We like the software. It does what we need.

ImportOmatic - Great Importing Tool

Comments: Overall, ImportOmatic is a very good import tool, because when it works it works. It just neatly puts the data in the fields I mapped. I have so much to learn, but I do like working with it.

Pros:

I love that it's a pretty decent tool to easily map your fields to import. I love that it basis your import fields off of your spreadsheet and the fields set up in them. Also, I like that ImportOmatic gives you dictionaries and function settings to set up most common words that are misspelled, or abbreviations you can set up, so that when the system goes through the data, it imports the field into the database in the correct way. Wonderful.

Cons:

As I understand that ImportOmatic wants it so you don't have to do a lot of preparation to the spreadsheet. That the idea is to make sure the system does the work. It's not always clear how to do this. Updating existing education records, adding appeals to a full list....