You are here:
NPSP Data Management Best Practices
Improve data quality and learn data management best practices with these documentation articles and videos.
- Introduction
Data management is central to any organization's success with Salesforce. Making sure your data is accurate and actionable can help take your organization to the next level. - Build a Data Management Strategy
Having a clear data strategy is the first step in taking control of your data. A strategy helps your team align on how data will be collected, reviewed, and used to drive your organization's goals. - Improve Data Quality with Data Entry Tools
The Gift Entry tool in Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) provides a standardized way to enter gifts, which helps with both efficiency and data quality. Discover how it helps using these resources. - Improve Data Quality with Data Import Tools
Bring existing data into Salesforce to include existing records in your tracking and reporting. - Best Practices for Maintaining Clean Data
Clean data will help your team develop trust in your Salesforce instance, create actionable reports, and track progress toward goals. These best practices will help you keep your data clean. - Go Further with Data Management
Use these resources to get additional guidance, connect with Salesforce experts, and blaze your trail with data management.
Introduction
Data management is central to any organization's success with Salesforce. Making sure your data is accurate and actionable can help take your organization to the next level.
In this guide, we share a mix of resources—from documentation to videos and everything in between—all designed by Salesforce experts to help you take control of your data.
Build a Data Management Strategy
Having a clear data strategy is the first step in taking control of your data. A strategy helps your team align on how data will be collected, reviewed, and used to drive your organization's goals.
These resources help you build your data strategy and avoid common challenges.
Data Quality —Complete this Trailhead module to explore how you can assess the quality of your data and develop data standards defined in a typical management plan.
5 Ways to Simplify Nonprofit Data Management —Think about what data you already collect and what data you should collect.
When to Archive Data and Not Migrate It —Decide what data should be archived.
Improve Data Quality with Data Entry Tools
The Gift Entry tool in Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) provides a standardized way to enter gifts, which helps with both efficiency and data quality. Discover how it helps using these resources.
Enter Gifts in Gift Entry —Review this documentation for information on how to enter gifts into NPSP using Gift Entry.
Watch the Nonprofit Salesforce How-To Series video: Create Gift Entry Batches —Imagine you have a stack of checks to enter into NPSP. You can create a Gift Entry batch to help streamline your gift entry process and group them together. This video shows you how.
Watch the Nonprofit Salesforce How-To Series video: Enter Gifts Into Gift Entry Batches —Now imagine you need to enter the stack of checks into the batch. Learn how to add gifts using Gift Entry batches in this video.
Improve Data Quality with Data Import Tools
Bring existing data into Salesforce to include existing records in your tracking and reporting.
Salesforce for Nonprofits Data Import Tool Overview —Check out the many tools you can use to import existing data into Salesforce and NPSP.
Get Your Data Into NPSP —Learn how to get your data into Salesforce using the three basic tools: NPSP Data Importer, Gift Entry, and Data Loader.
NPSP Data Importer
NPSP Data Importer —Imagine you have a spreadsheet of gifts from new and existing donors to enter into Salesforce. By using NPSP Data Importer—a tool included in NPSP—you can import the spreadsheet using a single file. NPSP Data Importer does the hard work of creating new records or matching and updating existing contacts and accounts. In this Trailhead project, we show you how with step-by-step instructions.
Extend NPSP Data Importer with Advanced Mapping —Your spreadsheet of donors and gifts also has information about donors' language preferences, which is a custom field on the contact record for your organization. NPSP Data Importer's advanced mapping settings enable you to import this information. This Trailhead project teaches you how to import custom fields using NPSP Data Importer.
Salesforce Platform, AppExchange, and Other Data Import Tools
Use the Data Import Wizard —The Data Import Wizard is a browser-based tool included in Salesforce. It's convenient when you need to import or update records of objects not supported by NPSP Data Importer. For example, you could use the Data Import Wizard to create program and service records for Program Management Module and later import workshop attendance records. Even better, you can find the Data Import Wizard in Setup and there's nothing to install. This Trailhead unit gives you the basics.
Watch the Salesforce for Nonprofits How-To Series video: How to Import Tasks or Events into Current Records —Data Loader is a powerful tool for bulk importing, updating, exporting, and deleting data for any Salesforce object. For example, you can use the Data Loader to import a spreadsheet of tasks to assign for an upcoming fundraising event. You can also use Data Loader to archive stale campaign member records as part of your data management strategy. Watch this video to see how to use Data Loader to import tasks and events into an existing event.
Salesforce AppExchange —Check out the AppExchange if you want a data import tool with more bells and whistles such as a graphical user interface, automatic backups, and data transformation scenarios.
Best Practices for Maintaining Clean Data
Clean data will help your team develop trust in your Salesforce instance, create actionable reports, and track progress toward goals. These best practices will help you keep your data clean.
Take Control of Duplicates —Watch this video and learn how to use duplicate rules to remove, manage, and avoid duplicate data.
Duplicate Management —This Trailhead module offers a full overview of how to resolve and prevent duplicate data in Salesforce.
Prevent Duplicates in Nonprofit Success Pack —If your organization has a Premier Success Plan, you can request an individual expert coaching session to get personal guidance on how to prevent duplicates.
Go Further with Data Management
Use these resources to get additional guidance, connect with Salesforce experts, and blaze your trail with data management.
Ask an Expert —Get answers to your data management questions in a live session with an NPSP expert when you have the Premier Success Plan.
Explore Success Events —Check out the full list of upcoming and recorded NPSP Customer Success online events.
Trailblazer Community: Salesforce.org Customer Hub —Connect with nonprofits, Salesforce experts, and other Trailblazers like you in the Trailblazer Community. The community is a great place to ask questions, get answers, and share your experiences.
