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Introduction to Record Types (with Video Tutorial): https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/1156322
You have tons of data in PatronManager that applies to different categories, and record types help you keep all that data organized. In this article, we'll introduce you to what record types are, and how they can help you define your data.
Specifically, we'll cover:
- What is a record type?
- What do record types control?
- How do record types help me with my data?
- Can I create new custom record types?
Watch the video overview
What is a record type?
Record types lay the foundation for recording, organizing, and reporting on your disparate patron and donation records. Every record in PatronManager belongs to a certain record type.
The Account object contains record types like Household (for those Accounts with multiple Contacts under the same roof), Individual (for Accounts with one Contact), and Foundation (for Accounts belonging to foundation organizations).
Donations like Grants and Pledge Payments are entered and tracked differently than normal, one-off donations; their corresponding record types help you do just that.
What do record types control?
Record types control page layouts, sales processes on the Donation, and which values appear in a picklist. Let's take a look at a few record type examples on the Donation and Account objects.
Each record type has a page layout containing relevant fields. Take a look at these Donation record type and Grant record type page layout examples below. We'll highlight a few key page layout differences.
Donation record type page layout
The Donation record type contains fields and actions specific to tracking a standard donation.
- Actions: The Donation record page layout contains actions specific to standard donation processing, like "Process Credit Card Transaction" and "New Matching Donation"
- Amount: It contains a standard amount field to record the donation amount
- Donation Details: It also has a Donation Details section, which contains fields specific for tracking a standard donation.
Grant record type page layout
The Grant record type contains fields and actions specific to tracking a Grant from start to finish.
- Actions: The Grant record page layout contains specific actions, like "New Grant Payment"
- Grant Amount & Amount Paid fields: Instead of the standard Amount field, these fields track the total amount of the grant and the actual amount awarded if you receive the grant
- Grant Information section: it contains fields you'll need to track the grant application process
Want to learn how to assign page layouts to different record types? We have instructions for you!
On Donation records, the record type also controls the Sales Process, which determines the available values in the stage field. Consequently, the sales path is also dependent on the stage values on a record.
Donation record type
You'll notice the Donation record has two available stage values - Posted and Not Posted.
Record types also control what values are available for various picklist fields. As an example, let's look at the Type picklist field on an Account Household record and an Account Business record.
In this example, Account Household record can be categorized further into one of two Type field values.
By contrast, this Account Business record has many more available Type field values to further categorize what kind of business this Account is.
Learn how to update available picklist values by record type.
How do record types help me with my data?
Record types allow you to include or exclude categories of data via account donation roll-up fields, report filters, and list views. Let's delve into these three areas to find out more.
The Donation roll-up fields on the Account distill important donation information right on the Account, like Last Donation Amount, the Amount Donated This Fiscal Year, and more.
To ensure these numbers are accurate, you can exclude record types that would otherwise distort the data, like Group Sale and Group Sale Payment.
You can choose which Donation record types to include in these roll-up calculations via the "Record Types Used to Calculate Donation Roll-Up Totals" picklist field in the Organization Settings tab.
Use a report filter to exclude or include certain record types. In this example, the report excludes all Donations with a Major Gift, Grant, Pledge, Group Sale, or Group Sale record type from the results.
Just as with reports, you can include or exclude record types in your list views. Here, the list view is filtered to only include Contacts with either an Other Contact or Patron Contact record type.
Fun fact! If you filter a list view to include only one record type, you can in-line edit certain record fields directly on the list view.
Kanban view
Kanban view is grouped by record type and stage. The example below shows an All Donations List View in Kanban:
- Click on the record type to view donations belonging to that record type
- You'll see tiles representing donation records under their current stage
Can I create new custom record types?
Yes! If you keep data in your system that's fundamentally different, like school Account records or artist Contact records that should have fields only relevant to those record types, then you can create your own custom record types.
Here's an article to walk you through how to create a custom record type.