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Documentation

Slingshot

Welcome

Switching CMS systems can feel like a huge undertaking. Kind of like moving houses. You have to pack up all of the stuff you’ve amassed over the years, load it into a moving truck, transport it over to the new digs, unpack, organize, and pray you didn’t leave a box of necessities in the back of a closet at the old place.   

To help make your move easier, we created Slingshot. Slingshot is a tool that quickly and easily migrates the data from your old CMS into Rock. Think of it as the fastest and most reliable moving company in town. You tell Slingshot where to pick up your boxes and where to move them to, then sit back and let it do all the work for you—including the unpacking!  

How Slingshot Works

Slingshot works in a two-step process: 1) grab the data from your old system, and 2) move the data into Rock. When Slingshot pulls the data from the previous CMS, it bundles it into a .slingshot file, then imports that file into Rock. One of the great things about Slingshot is you don’t need to be a Rock expert to use it. All you need to do is tell it which data to pull and click the button to start the import.

Features

Here are the things that make Slingshot a great migration tool:

  • It’s super simple to use. You don’t need to be a database administrator to use Slingshot.
  • It’s easy to watch the progress of your migration and test if it was successful.
  • It allows you to specify the types of records to import and from what time frame.
  • It uses a Foreign System Key to differentiate between files containing the same data.
  • It’s fast. Your data will be migrated in a matter of hours, as opposed to days.

What to Expect

We think Slingshot is pretty awesome, but it doesn’t do everything we want it to yet. (Don’t worry. We’ll keep working on it.) You can trust it to grab most of the data from your current system, though, and import it into Rock.  

After the import, the data will need some clean up. Think again about what it’s like moving houses. After you’ve unpacked your boxes, you need to organize. You need to make sure the cereal bowls aren’t in the bathroom cabinets and the DVDs didn’t get tucked away in the laundry room. It’s the same with Slingshot. The data will need some tidying up. For example, your attendance data will be in Rock, but it will need some configuring before it shows up in analytics. With the help of your database administrator and some SQL scripts, though, analytics (as well as all of your Rock functions) will be up and running in no time.   

Best Practices 

Before using Slingshot, we recommend making a backup of your current CMS database. You’ll also want to verify what Storage Type is selected in the Person Image file type settings in Rock, as this will determine where imported photos will be stored during the import.  

After importing your data, you have an opportunity to fix and reconfigure Rock. Use that time to set up Rock so that it’s configured to meet your organization’s needs. Test things and try them out. Rock is really powerful. See how you can make the system work for you.  

One thing we caution is not to think of Slingshot as a data sync tool. It isn’t designed to keep multiple systems in sync, but rather to migrate data from one system to Rock. We suggest transitioning to Rock and then leaving your old system behind. Yes, it may take a bit of time to make sure all of your records in Rock are current and to get everyone in your organization on the same page. Once you’re there, though, jump in with both feet. Move in and get comfortable. Put your feet up on the sofa. Leave your socks on the floor. (OK, maybe we’ve pushed the house moving metaphor too far…) 

Looking Ahead 

We have a lot more functionality planned for Slingshot and we’re working hard to make it the best migration tool it can be. In the meantime, we’re excited to offer this great tool to the Rock community and hope it makes moving houses a little easier.   

OK, let’s get into the how-to’s of migrating your data using Slingshot.  

Using Slingshot with ACS 

Another “house” you might be moving from is ACS. The creation of the ACS exporter was started by BEMA Information Technologies. Just as with Fellowship One, there are specific steps you need to take to prepare for and begin your move to Rock. 

Preparation 

Before you can move your data to Rock, you need to create an export file in ACS.   

In the ACS People Suite, access the Advanced Export Menu screen and click the Create New Export button. 

In the Select Export Type screen, select Database Export and click OK. ACS will display the ACS Data Export Designer screen.  

This screen has three tabs: Groups, Included Data and Format. For each of the tabs, select the appropriate export settings for your organization. A couple of tips to guide you:

  • In the Groups tab, select All Individuals for Record Selection.
  • In the Individual Data tab, select Personal, Alternate Phones, Email Addresses, Small Groups, Family Comments, Individual Comments, CB Pledges and CB Gifts. For CB Pledges and CB Gifts, set the date range as 01/01/1901 to the current date.
  • In the Format tab, select Microsoft Access and specify a file name by clicking the Filename button.

The final step is to set the Refresh Options in the Refresh Export screen. Select All and click OK. This begins the export process.  

Migration

Now that you’ve created your export file in ACS, you’re ready to move your data to Rock.  

Begin by accessing the ACS Database Import screen in Slingshot. 

Locate and open the export file you created during the Preparation phase. 

Click Open to access the Slingshot-ACS screen. 

Configure the following fields according to your organization’s needs:

  1. Import Records Modified Since: This setting tells Slingshot how far back to pull data from. Slingshot will export any records modified after the date entered. If you want to export everything, set a date of 01/01/1901.
  2. Export Data Types: This setting tells Slingshot which types of data to export.
  3. Email Type to Export: ACS has multiple email types. This field allows you to select the email type you want exported.
  4. Select Campus Field: Select a custom field to track which campus the members belong to. If your organization doesn’t use campuses, leave this field blank.

Click Create Download Package to begin the migration and that’s it. Congratulations, you’ve officially moved houses! 

Be sure to read the Settling In section for next steps and best practices. The kinds of data Slingshot can import from ACS are outlined below. 

Specifications

Here’s what Slingshot is able to import from ACS: 

  • Individuals
  • Financial Data
  • Groups

Individuals include a lot of specifics:

  • First Name
  • Nick Name (Goes By Name)
  • Middle Name
  • Last Name
  • Salutation (Title)
  • Suffix
  • Home Phone
  • Preferred Phone
  • Email
  • Home Address
  • Gender
  • Marital Status
  • Connection Status (Member Status)
  • Record Status (Active Record)
  • Birthdate (Date of Birth)
  • Created Date Time
  • Modified Date Time
  • Family Role
  • Campus
  • Person Attributes (Open Fields)
  • Built-in Fields (Membership Date/Date Joined)

Financial Data includes:

  • Accounts (Funds and Sub-Funds)
  • Pledges
    • Account (Fund)
    • Start Date
    • End Date
    • Created Date Time
    • Modified Date Time
    • Total Amount (Total Pledged)
    • Frequency
  • Transactions
    • Account (Fund)
    • Amount
    • Summary (Gift Description)
    • Transaction Code (Check Number)
    • Transaction Date (Gift Date)
    • Transaction Source (Payment Type)
    • Currency Type (Payment Type)
    • Created Date Time (Gift Date) Group Data

Group Data Includes:

  • Group Name
  • Group Order
  • Group Members and Roles (Position)

The following are not able to be migrated using ACS:

  • Person Images
  • Check images associated with transactions
  • Batches
  • Attendance

Using Slingshot with Breeze 

Another of the “houses” you might be moving from is Breeze.  This import uses an Excel file format to migrate Breeze tags, which become Rock groups, so it is necessary for you to have Microsoft Excel installed on the computer running the Slingshot import or you will run into various errors about missing assemblies or DLLs. 

Preparation 

First you will need to export your data from the Breeze web application.  To create a Breeze export go to More > Account Settings > More > Export.  Export People, Tags, Contributions and Notes (Events information isn’t useful in Rock). Breeze will create four Excel spreadsheets. The initial exports will be XLSX files, but simply save them as CSVs from within Excel (except for the Tags file, which needs to remain as an XLSX).  The giving file has multiple worksheets, but you only need the first sheet because it contains all the data represented on every other sheet.  The tags XLSX contains a sheet for every tag and needs to be preserved as such, since the sheet name (tag name) represents the name of the new Rock group. 

Migration 

Now that you have three CSV files and one (tags) XLSX file, run the Breeze Slingshot executable (Slingshot.Breeze.exe).  Browse for and select each of the four files that you prepared earlier, then click “Create Conversion Package”.  Your slingshot file (called “breeze-export.slingshot”) will be created in the same directory as the Slingshot executable. 

Specifications 

Here’s what Slingshot can import from Breeze: 

  • People
  • Financial Data
  • Groups

People includes the following specifics:

  • Rock’s foreign id will be set to the Breeze Id
  • Families
  • Family role
  • First name
  • Nickname
  • Last name
  • Middle name
  • Email
  • Gender
  • Marital Status
  • Birthdate
  • Added date
  • Record last updated

*** Any additional fields in the person CSV file will be converted into a person attribute in Rock and placed in one attribute category.

Financial Data includes:

  • Accounts
  • Batches
  • Transactions

Group Data Includes

  • Group Name
  • Group Members

As mentioned, Events doesn’t contain any information that’s useful in Rock.

Using Slingshot with Church Community Builder (CCB)

Another “house” we support today that you may be moving from is Church Community Builder, or CCB. Let’s look at the unique steps to take to prepare for and to move from CCB to Rock.

Preparation

Before moving your data to Rock, you need to create an API user and password. Log into your CCB account and select API from the Settings menu.  

Create a new API User by clicking on “Add a new API User” and fill in the information for that user. 

Click on the Services tab and Select All services. Click on Save this API User. Record the username and password. 

Migration

Now that you have your API username and password, you’re ready to move your data to Rock. Begin by accessing the Church Community Builder Connection Information screen in Slingshot. 

  Enter your Hostname, API Username and API Password, then click Login to access the Slingshot-Church Community Builder screen. Hostname is the part of the URL you use to connect to CCB before “ccbchurch.com”, as in https://mychurch.ccbchurch.com. 

Configure the following fields according to your organization’s needs:

  1. Import Records Modified Since: This setting tells Slingshot how far back to pull data from. Slingshot will export any records modified after the date entered. The earlier the date, the longer the export will take (even if there is no data for the early dates), so ideally you’ll want to set this slightly before the modified date of your oldest data.
  2. Export Data Types: This setting tells Slingshot which types of data to export.
  3. Group Types to Export: This section allows you to select the group types you want exported.
  4. Consolidate schedules to Day of Week and Time: Schedules are exported from CCB as one-time occurrences, so there can be hundreds (or thousands). Enabling this setting causes Slingshot to consolidate them.
  5. Items Per Page/API Throttle Limit: The notes explain these settings. CCB’s API is finicky, and performance is dependent on their server load. It may be necessary to tweak these settings to get a good download, or to optimize download speed.

Click Create Download Package to begin the migration and that’s it. Congratulations, you’ve officially moved houses! Note: Be patient, because the export can take hours, depending on amount of data exported and the load on CCB’s servers. 

Be sure to read the Settling In section for next steps and best practices. The kinds of data Slingshot can import from CCB are outlined below. 

Advanced Options 

Slingshot has some advanced options to help you export your data: 

  1. Dump Response to XML Files: This setting will cause Slingshot to save the XML responses it receives from the CCB API.
  2. Consolidate schedules to Day of Week and Time: This setting, which is checked by default, will limit the number of schedules Slingshot creates in your Rock instance to one for any given time on a specific day of the week.
  3. Items Per Page: This setting tells Slingshot how many items to request from the CCB API with every request that it makes. A larger setting will result in fewer API requests and a faster download, but if the setting is too large it may cause the CCB API to time out. If you experience timeouts or errors while exporting your data, try using a smaller page size.
  4. API Throttle Limit: Slingshot generates many API requests and will very quickly hit the CCB API rate limit. Slingshot will make API requests until the API indicates that this many API requests remain. The CCB API limits accounts to 15 API requests per minute.

Specifications

Here’s what Slingshot is able to import from CCB:

  • Families
  • Individuals
  • Contributions
  • Groups
  • Attendance

Individuals include a lot of specifics:

  • Legal first name
  • First name
  • Last name
  • Middle name
  • Full name
  • Salutation
  • Image
  • Email
  • Addresses
  • Phones
  • Allergy
  • Gender 
  • Marital status
  • Birthday
  • Emergency contact
  • Anniversary
  • Baptized
  • Deceased
  • Membership type
  • Membership date
  • Receive email from church
  • Active
  • Created date
  • Modified date
  • Custom text, date and pulldowns

The following are not able to be migrated: 

  • Notes
  • Logins
  • Confirmed No Allergies
  • Mobile Carrier (Not Needed by Rock to do SMS Messages)
  • Phone type of 'Contact' (This is automatically calculated by CCB and not actually entered)
  • Limited access user
  • Membership End Date
  • Person Who Created/Last Modified Individual
  • Default New Group (Messages, Comments, Digest, SMS)
  • Privacy Settings
  • Individual MICR Information
  • Scheduled Giving
  • Significant Events (Requires one API call per person - https://yourchurch.ccbchurch.com/api.php?srv=individual_significant_events&id=48)
  • Individual communication preferences
  • Spiritual Gifts / Passions / Abilities / Personality Style
  • Background Checks
  • Positions
  • Serving
  • History
  • Friends (Requires a unique call per person)
  • Services You Usually Attend
  • Social Media Accounts (Not in API or export)

Using Slingshot with Elexio Community 

One of the “houses” you might be moving from is Elexio Community. The creation of the F1 exporter was started by Pillars. Let’s take a look at the unique steps to take to prepare for and to move from Elexio to Rock.  

Preparation 

Before moving your data to Rock, you will need two things: 

  • An Elexio login that has Admin privileges.
  • Will also need to run an export from Elexio.

Exporting from Elexio 

Even though most of the data will be coming from Elexio’s API.  Some data (such as giving) can only come from a CSV export.  Don’t worry!  We’ll make sure to combine the data into one cohesive Slingshot file. 

To get started, click on the gear in the top right and choose Export. 

Next, click the “Click to Export” link to start downloading. A zip file will be downloaded which will be needed for the export. 

Migration 

Next, we will start the export in Slingshot.  Start by entering your Church Code, username, and password and then click Login.  (The user account needs to be an Admin.) 

Enter the following fields with your organization’s F1 information: 

  1. Church Code: Enter the unique church code used to login to the Elexio.
  2. Username: Enter the username of your account with Admin privileges.
  3. Password: Enter the password of your account with Admin privileges.

Configure the following fields according to your organization’s needs: 

  1. Export Data Types: This setting tells Slingshot which types of data to export.
  2. Person Export: Remember the export file we downloaded from Elexio? Inside the zip folder is a file called individual.csv. Select the file to include it as part of the export.
  3. Giving Export: Just like the individual.csv file, we want to select the giving.csv file so that can be included with the export.

Click Create Download Package to begin the migration and that’s it. Congratulations, you’ve officially moved houses!

Specifications

Here’s what Slingshot is able to import from Elexio Community:

  • Individuals
  • Financial Data
  • Groups
  • Attendance

Individuals include a lot of specifics:

  • First Name
  • Nick Name (Preferred Name)
  • Middle Name
  • Last Name
  • Home Phone
  • Cell Phone
  • Work Phone
  • Email
  • Home Address
  • Gender
  • Marital Status
  • Record Status (Active Record)
  • Birthdate (Date of Birth)
  • Created Date Time
  • Modified Date Time
  • Family Role
  • Person Attributes (Text/Date Fields)
  • Photo
  • Baptism Date
  • Envelope Number

Financial Data includes:

  • Accounts
  • Pledges
    • Account
    • Start Date
    • End Date
    • Created Date Time
    • Modified Date Time
    • Total Amount (Total Pledged)
    • Frequency
  • Transactions
    • Account
    • Amount
    • Summary (Note)
    • Transaction Code (Check Number)
    • Transaction Date

Group Data Includes:

  • Name
  • Description
  • Location
  • Weekly Day & Time
  • Group Members

The following are not able to be migrated using Elexio:

  • Interactions

Using Slingshot with Fellowship One 

One of the “houses” you might be moving from is Fellowship One. The creation of the F1 exporter was started by BEMA Information Technologies. Let’s take a look at the unique steps to take to prepare for and to move from F1to Rock.  

There are two basic methods of migrating data from F1. The first, described in the next few paragraphs, obtains your data from F1 via the API. The second, described later, relies on a data export you’ve requested from F1, and is in the form of a Microsoft Access .mdb file. The second method is faster (although it takes time to obtain the data from F1), and is more complete. 

Let’s get started with the API import. 

Preparation for API Import 

There are a couple of important preliminary steps that need to be taken before you can move your data from F1 using the API method.  

API Key 

The first step is to apply for an API key at https://developer.fellowshipone.com/key/. 

For Environment type, select Production. For Realms, select People, Giving and Groups. Click Submit.  

You’ll receive an email confirmation from F1 when your key has been approved. You can view your key in F1 by going to Admin > Integration > Application Keys.  

User Account 

The second thing you need in order to move your data with Slingshot is a user account in F1 that has administrative privileges. That user account must be linked to a person in F1.   

Migration 

Now that you have your API key and your F1 user account set up, you’re ready to move your data to Rock.  

The first step in the migration process is telling Slingshot which data to move from F1. Begin by accessing the Fellowship One Connection Information screen in Slingshot. 

Select Import Type API, and enter the following fields with your organization’s F1 information:

  1. Church Code: Enter the unique church code used to login to the F1 portal.
  2. Consumer Key: Enter the API key found in the Application Keys screen.
  3. Consumer Secret: Enter the API consumer secret found in the Application Keys screen.
  4. Username/Password: Enter the username and password for the user account with administrative privileges.

Click Login to access the Slingshot – Fellowship One screen.

Configure the following fields according to your organization’s needs:

  1. Import Records Modified Since: This setting tells Slingshot how far back to pull data from. Slingshot will export any records modified after the date entered. If you want to export everything, set a date of 01/01/1901.
  2. Export Data Types: This setting tells Slingshot which types of data to export.
  3. Group Types: This setting tells Slingshot which group types to export.
  4. Contribution Options: Selecting this option tells Slingshot to export check and envelope images while exporting contributions.

* API Usage: This field shows the total number of API calls made by Slingshot during migration. F1 doesn’t currently have a maximum API call limit, but you may want to know this number for your information.  

Click Create Download Package to begin the migration, and that’s it. Congratulations, you’ve officially moved houses!

Be sure to read the Settling In section for next steps and best practices. The kinds of data Slingshot can import from F1 are outlined below.

Preparation for .mdb Import 

Data Export 

First, obtain your data from F1 in .mdb format. This is likely to be a rather large file. Download it to the computer on which you’ll run Slingshot. 

Migration

Begin by accessing the Fellowship One Connection Information screen in Slingshot. Select Import Type MDF, click Upload, and locate the .mdb file previously downloaded. In the Slingshot – Fellowship One screen, configure the following fields according to your organization’s needs:

  1. Import Records Modified Since: This setting tells Slingshot how far back to pull data from. Slingshot will export any records modified after the date entered. If you want to export everything, set a date of 01/01/1901.
  2. Export Data Types: This setting tells Slingshot which types of data to export.
  3. Group Types: This setting tells Slingshot which group types to export.
  4. Contribution Options: Selecting this option tells Slingshot to export check and envelope images while exporting contributions.

Click Create Download Package to begin the migration, and that’s it. Congratulations, you’ve officially moved houses!

Be sure to read the Settling In section for next steps and best practices. The kinds of data Slingshot can import from F1 are outlined below. 

Specifications 

Here’s what Slingshot is able to import from Fellowship One: 

  1. Individuals
  2. Financial Data
  3. Groups

Individuals include the following specifics:

  1. First Name
  2. Nick Name (Goes By Name)
  3. Middle Name
  4. Last Name
  5. Suffix (Limited to Rock types)
  6. Title (Prefix)
  7. Home Phone
  8. Work Phone
  9. Mobile Phone
  10. Email
  11. Home Address
  12. Previous Address
  13. Work Address (Business)
  14. Gender
  15. Marital Status
  16. Connection Status (Status)
  17. Record Status
  18. Birthdate (Date of Birth)
  19. Created Date Time
  20. Modified Date Time
  21. Family Role
  22. Campus
  23. Person Attributes
  24. Built-in Fields (Occupation, Employer, School, Denomination, Former Church)
  25. Person Image (API Export Only)

Financial Data includes:

  1. Accounts (Funds and Sub-Funds)
  2. Batches
  3. Pledges
  4. Transactions

Google Data includes:

  1. Group Name
  2. Group Type
  3. Group Members and Roles
  4. Attendance (.mdb export only)

The following are not able to be migrated using F1:

  1. Group descriptions and locations
  2. Jobs in the StaffingAssignments table
  3. Job and JobInformation tables
  4. Documents and the Requirements table
  5. Images (Person Photos and Checks)
  6. IndividualGiftedness and Giftedness Program tables
  7. Headcount table
  8. ContactFormData tables
  9. Relationship Manager and RelationshipNotes tables
  10. Users table
  11. Activity Schedule table
  12. Authorization table
  13. Bank account/routing number information
  14. “Head of Household” Marital Status (Rock doesn’t have a “head of household” concept)
  15. Family email addresses
  16. Family home phone numbers
  17. Family email addresses
  18. Family home phone numbers

Settling In 

Now that you’ve moved to Rock, it’s time to look around and see how Slingshot unpacked your data. Depending on the system you’ve migrated from and the migration settings you chose, you may find your data needs some reorganizing and cleaning up. For example, the groups in your Group Viewer may need to be restructured, or your attendance data may not be showing up in your analytics. Take some time to familiarize yourself with Rock. Try things out. Do some test runs and reconfigure Rock to meet your organization’s needs.