How to transition from Salesforce NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud
Nonprofit technology is continuously evolving, bringing new challenges and opportunities. One significant shift in this landscape is the transition from Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) to Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud (NPC). Navigating this shift involves intricate considerations concerning data transformation, system provisioning, feature configurations, and integrations.
Below, we delve into these differences and offer insights and guidance to help your nonprofit smoothly transition from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud.
NPSP vs Nonprofit Cloud: Data transformation
Moving from Salesforce NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud isn’t just a system upgrade. It’s a fundamental shift in how your data is structured and utilized. Some of the key differences to address include:
- Contacts to Person Accounts: In NPSP, Contacts are standalone, but in NPC, they transform into Person Accounts—a unique blend of Contacts and Accounts. This change calls for a careful migration strategy to ensure all contact data is effectively converted into Person Accounts. While this shift may require some adjustment, it ultimately streamlines data management and enhances user experience.
- Redefining opportunities: NPC reimagines how gift information is stored. While Opportunities remain a feature and may be practical for major gifts, NPC introduces objects like Gift Commitments and Gift Transactions for more nuanced donation handling. Migrating Opportunities from NPSP into NPC’s new structures requires a strategic approach, considering constraints like the non-acceptance of $0 gift transactions in NPC.
- Gift and transaction information: NPC consolidates gift and transactional data into a single Object, differing from NPSP’s separate treatment. This consolidation demands a thoughtful combination of data from two distinct sources during migration.
- Tribute information: NPC separates tribute information into its own record, which is linked to gift transactions, unlike its integration within opportunity records in NPSP. This split requires a precise division of existing data.
These examples underscore the importance of taking a well-planned and thorough approach to data migration, ideally by partnering with experienced data migration experts.
If your organization is unsure of whether it’s the right time to transition, reach out to Fíonta. Our team of experts will perform a system audit to assess your needs, gauge timing, and determine the level of engagement.
Implementing and provisioning Nonprofit Cloud
After choosing to move forward with a migration, nonprofits will need to secure Nonprofit Cloud licenses From Salesforce. Work closely with your Salesforce Account Executive (AE) and implementation partner to get your organization provisioned correctly.
Undergoing the discovery process
During discovery, your Salesforce partner will work with your organization to understand how your existing technology functions, your goals for using NPC, and what measures you will need to take to achieve those objectives. Specifically, the team will recognize your pain points, map processes, identify future ones, and document requirements.
Reconfiguring NPSP settings and features for Nonprofit Cloud
Transitioning to NPC is not just a migration but also an update. This project is an opportunity to explore existing business processes and workflows and identify ways to make them more streamlined and effective using NPC.
For example, here are a few examples of how NPC’s approach to certain processes differs:
- Naming conventions: Unlike NPSP’s auto-naming, NPC requires alternative methods, such as Quick Action predefined values or record-triggered flows, for similar functionality.
- Rollups: NPC’s approach to rollups, a crucial feature in NPSP, is more advanced. It employs the Data Processing Engine, a powerful tool for calculating, summarizing, and displaying data, solving more complex business issues than NPSP’s Customizable Rollups.
- Reciprocal relationships: Creating reciprocal relationships between Contacts or Person Accounts requires additional steps in NPC—this is not an automatic feature. Record-triggered flows support reducing manual steps.
Migrating to NPC involves setting up a new organization, migrating data, and getting started in a new system. Rather than replicating NPSP processes in NPC, work with your Salesforce partner to evaluate and reconfigure them into more efficient workflows.
Nonprofit Cloud integration compatibility check
Integration compatibility is a vital consideration for all nonprofits. Since NPC is relatively new, some integrations, especially those designed for NPSP’s model, might not be immediately compatible with NPC’s new objects like Gift Transactions or Person Accounts.
It’s crucial to update third-party integrations or data import tools to the latest API version required by NPC. In our experience, even prominent, widely used tools initially required updates to work seamlessly with NPC. A proactive check on these integrations can save significant time and effort down the line.
A strategic shift from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud
The transition from Salesforce NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud is more than just a technological upgrade. It’s a strategic shift in how nonprofit organizations manage and leverage their data. Your organization can unlock NPC’s full potential by understanding the nuances of data transformation, correctly provisioning NPC, adapting to new settings and configurations, and ensuring integration compatibility.
Thorough planning and partnering with data migration experts like Fíonta can make this transition a smooth, rewarding journey toward enhanced efficiency and impact.