Getting Started: Tips and Tools

New event sites are pre-populated with basic information about your organization (from your account page) and the most commonly used settings.  This allows most features to work right "out-of-the-box".   You can review and adjust the site settings at Admin > Site Settings anytime, but it's most common to do so as you prepare to start using a particular feature.   

Help is just a click away. . .there are a myriad of help icons embedded right on your site.  The tips and instructions display in pop-up windows or in a sidebar so you don't have to leave the page you're working on to find an answer.

There are a number of shared tools found throughout the software. Learning them early will help you navigate the software like a pro and quickly access the data you need to make your decisions.

The Invitation system is a key tool to learn and embrace early.  The software uses invitations to provide your supporters with easy access to the online functions of your event site.  The emailed invitations contain a personalized link which brings each recipient to the desired page/form, logged in and ready to go.   You can invite selected supporters to donate, buy tickets, place online bids and much, more more.

First, take the fast track to becoming a power user by checking out these tips for navigating the software and using the tools available:

• Help Resources and Video  
• Learning the Tools Shared by all Datapages and Video
• Tracking your Progress with Live Reports
• Creating Custom Reports

If you haven't already, you'll want to Create a New Event.  

Be sure to review, edit if necessary, and approve the Privacy Policy for your event site (this is easier than it sounds - be a responsible digital citizen and just do it!)

Many Hands Make Light Work so you'll want to send invitations to Create a User Account to each member of your team so they can  get started too.

Our support team conducts pre-event reviews of auction sites - the week prior to your event date - and we'll email copies to each person listed on your organization page - so make sure the Event and Org Info listed on your site is correct.

Finally, Make a plan for how you will load the data for your donors, items, and guests to your site.   Guest data is usually created during the ticket sales process but returning users can Migrate some data from previous event sites and everyone can Import some data that already exists on a spreadsheet.