To help in the quest for achieving data integrity, most fundraising software provides a Duplicate Checker Utility tool that allows you to check your database for duplicate accounts using a variety of checking options. There are also several types of reports you can run to determine missing codes, such as reports that help identify missing groups, sources, funds, and appeals. You should also use these reports to identify inaccurate coding.

For example, look for accounts in which the Company field is blank but the Primary Group is Corporation or Foundation. This condition should not occur in your data. You can even get so detailed as matching zip codes with cities, but you'll want to start with manageable reports. Your fundraising software support should provide assistance in helping determine what reports would be best for you and how to run them.

Another feature allows users to combine two accounts into one, which is helpful when you have duplicate records. And the Mass File Updates feature enables you to make changes to many accounts at the same time. For instance, after running reports conducting a specific search, you may find that you have 100 accounts in your database with a primary group code of Corporation that should be Individual. Mass File Updates can change all of these records at once instead of one at a time. This powerful feature can be helpful with cleaning up poor data, but use it with caution: Make sure you have a current backup of your data before making a massive change. Your fundraising software support should be able to assist you with this type of undertaking.

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