New Audit Trail — Security Profiles

Audit trails are one of the most reliable ways to answer a simple question with confidence: what changed, who changed it, and exactly what was different before and after?

If you’ve used audit trails in the system before, you already know they’re invaluable for troubleshooting, compliance, and day-to-day accountability. Now that capability has been expanded to include something many organizations care deeply about:

  • Changes to permissions (also known as security profiles)

Below is a clear walkthrough of how audit trails work, how to read them, and what’s new.

How audit trails have worked for years

Under Maintenance, you can access Audit Trails and review changes across key record types (for example, site-related updates).

To run an audit trail:

  • Select the area you want to audit (such as changes to sites)
  • Choose a date range
  • Run the search

How to read an audit trail entry

Each audit trail result is designed to show you both context and precision.

You’ll typically see:

  • Date and time the change occurred
  • User who made the change
  • Record the change was made to (for example, a site, family, or financial transaction)
  • Action type (such as update or delete)
  • Versioning details (the system keeps prior versions)
  • Field-level changes showing the old and new values

That last part is where audit trails shine: you can see exactly what was modified within the record—such as a corrected spelling in a last name, capitalization adjustments, and even updates to key dates (including both Gregorian and Hebrew dates of death when applicable).

Not time-bound: historical changes remain available

A major strength of the audit trail is that it’s not limited to a short retention window. If a record was updated years ago and updated again recently, those changes can still appear—giving you a complete story of how the record evolved over time.

What’s new: audit trail for permission (security profile) changes

The newest expansion adds audit trail visibility into permission updates—in other words, changes to what users can do after they log in.

This means when a security profile is modified (for example, changing multiple permissions from No Access to Read Only, or adjusting a specific permission from Write to Read Only), those changes can now be audited.

To view permission-change auditing:

  • Open the Audit Trail on Permissions
  • Narrow the range to the timeframe you want to inspect (for example, starting from the current day)
  • Review the results to see a list of permission fields that changed and the before/after values

You’ll see each permission adjustment listed clearly—such as repeated transitions from No to Read Only across multiple entries, along with any other permission refinements made during the same period.

Why this matters

Permission changes are among the most sensitive updates in any system because they directly affect access and control. Having an audit trail for these updates supports:

  • Security reviews (confirming what access was granted or restricted)
  • Compliance and internal governance (proving when and how access changed)
  • Operational clarity (reducing confusion when a user reports different access than expected)

Takeaway

Audit trails have long provided detailed, versioned visibility into record changes. Now, that same transparency extends to security profiles and permission updates, giving you a clearer, more accountable view of access control changes across your organization.

See the full video: https://share.shalomcloud.com/7KuGqYb6

“Include mailing labels” option is back—and it works in a much more practical way.

If you print financial statements, mailing labels can be the difference between a smooth monthly run and a frustrating, error-prone process.

The good news: the “Include mailing labels” option is back—and it works in a much more practical way.

What changed (and why it matters)

Previously, even when mailing labels were available, the workflow was clumsy:

  • Statements and labels were combined into one single PDF.
  • You had to print part of the file on plain paper.
  • Then swap paper types mid-job (remove plain paper, load label sheets).
  • Then print the remaining pages for labels.

That approach increased the chance of misprints and wasted label sheets.

Now, when you run statements with Include mailing labels selected, the system generates two separate files:

  • One link for the statements PDF
  • One link for the mailing labels PDF

When the statement run finishes, the notification email includes a dedicated link specifically for the labels, so you can download and print them independently.

include mailing labels

How to run statements with mailing labels

  1. In your statement run options, check Include mailing labels.
  2. Complete the statement run as usual.
  3. Wait for the completion email.
  4. Use the email links to open:
  • the statements file
  • the separate labels file

Critical printing settings (avoid misaligned labels)

Label alignment is almost always ruined by printer scaling.

The label PDF is already formatted with the correct spacing, padding, and margins, so you need to ensure your printer does not “help” by resizing it.

When printing labels, make sure:

  • You print one-sided
  • You select Actual size (or equivalent)

Avoid settings like:

  • Shrink to fit
  • Fit to page
  • Fit to printable area

Those options will scale the document, and even a small change can cause every label to drift out of position.

Recommended first-time test (saves label sheets)

Before using real labels:

  1. Print one label page on plain paper using Actual size.
  2. Hold it up against your label sheet/template.
  3. Confirm the text lines up with the label boundaries.

Once it matches, load your label sheets and print the labels PDF.

A simpler, safer labels workflow

With labels delivered as a separate PDF, you can print statements and labels independently—no mid-print paper swapping, no guessing page ranges, and far fewer wasted label sheets.

If you’ve avoided statement labels in the past because the process felt risky, this update makes it worth trying again—just remember: print at Actual size.

For previous articles about running statements, visit this link.

See the full video on this topic, visit this link.

More Flexibility with Donation Acknowledgements

Managing donation acknowledgements just got more flexible—especially when a donor wants someone else notified about their gift.

When a contribution is made to a fund (for example, a gift to the Cantors Music Fund in honor of a Bat Mitzvah), donors often request that a parent or honoree be informed. Until now, ShalomCloud treated the “donor” message and the “notifee” message as the same description.

This update introduces a simple but powerful improvement: you can now customize the description that appears in the acknowledgement sent to the notifee recipient—without changing what the contributor sees.

The scenario: donor + notify recipient

Here’s a common real-world use case:

  • A donor makes a contribution in honor of a Bat Mitzvah.
  • The donor asks that a parent (or another person) be notified.
  • The system already stores the notifee’s email address with the transaction.

That foundation remains the same. What’s new is the ability to tailor the notification wording for the person being informed.

Bulk acknowledgements still work the same

If you’re processing multiple donations at once, you can continue to send acknowledgements in bulk:

  1. Go to Queries → Financial Transactions.
  2. Filter to the set of contributions you want to process (for example, the ones entered today).
  3. Select the appropriate transactions.
  4. Click Bulk Acknowledge Payments.

This flow supports handling half a dozen—or a dozen—contributions quickly and consistently.

What’s new: an override description for the notifee recipient

You’ll now see an additional description field that’s automatically populated with the description entered when the transaction was created.

  • Default behavior: If you do nothing, the notifee recipient description matches the contributor description.
  • New option: You can override the notify description to better fit the audience receiving the notification.

For example, instead of sending the honoree’s parent a generic description like “Bat mitzvah of Heather Boyle,” you can personalize it into something warmer and clearer—such as “Bat mitzvah of your daughter Heather.”

That small change can make a big difference in how thoughtful and personal the notification feels.

Templates and subject lines: unchanged (and still flexible)

Everything else about the acknowledgement process remains familiar:

  • Choose an email template for the contributor.
  • Choose an email template for the notify recipient.
  • Enter a subject line if desired (if left blank, it defaults to “Donation”).
  • Click the Send Acknowledgements button to deliver messages for the transactions you selected.

Why this matters

This enhancement helps organizations:

  • Deliver more personal, context-appropriate donor notifications
  • Reduce awkward or overly generic wording in honoree/parent emails
  • Keep bulk processing fast while improving message quality

If your donors frequently give in honor of life events—and request that family members be informed—this new notifee description override is a practical upgrade that adds polish without adding extra steps.

See the full video:

Batch Yahrzeit Reminders: Streamline Email Sending Now

If you’ve ever clicked Send and then had to wait—watching your screen sit there with no real sense of how long it would take—this update is for you.

Who this change helps (and who it doesn’t)

  • Helps: Anyone sending Yahrzeit notifications by email, especially in larger volumes.
  • No change: If you send Yahrzeit notifications by hard copy, your workflow stays exactly the same.

What’s new: your screen is no longer tied up

Previously, sending Yahrzeit emails could lock up your screen while the system worked in the background.

Now, after you select your search results and choose a template, the system immediately takes you to a feedback screen.

A progress bar you can actually follow

On the feedback screen, you’ll see a progress bar that moves across the page while emails are being sent. Instead of wondering whether anything is happening (or how close you are to done), you get clear, real-time visual progress until completion.

More detailed sending results

Along with the progress bar, you’ll also get clearer delivery feedback, including:

  • How many emails the system attempted to send
  • How many emails were successfully sent

If those two numbers don’t match, it’s typically because some recipients can’t be emailed (for example, they don’t have an email address on file). In the demo scenario, a few messages could not be delivered for that exact reason.

Why this matters for high-volume sending

When you’re sending dozens—or even hundreds—of Yahrzeit notifications, small delays and unclear status updates quickly become frustrating. This new flow is designed to:

  • Keep your session responsive
  • Reduce uncertainty during sending
  • Provide immediate clarity when some messages can’t be delivered

What’s coming next

This progress-and-feedback approach is a technique we expect to apply in other parts of the system as well—especially anywhere a process currently ties up your screen for a while.

If you regularly send Yahrzeit emails in bulk, this update should make the experience noticeably faster, clearer, and more reassuring—especially with the added delivery details and the interactive progress bar.

See the full video: https://share.shalomcloud.com/d5uqb8Bg?sa=blog_post

Now Available — Printed Letters for Individuals

Reaching members isn’t always a one-channel game. Email is fast, text messages are immediate, and attachments make it easy to share documents. But sometimes the most effective message is the one that lands in a mailbox.

That’s why this update matters. You can now generate hard copy printed letters directly from an existing email template. And include personalized fields, such as first name.

The idea: reuse what already works

If you already maintain email templates (even simple ones filled with placeholder text), you’ve done the hard part: you’ve written and approved messaging that matches your organization’s tone.

Those templates often include personalization tokens—such as a first name substitution—so each message feels relevant to the recipient. When you run a member query, the system can merge that personalization for each selected individual.

What’s new: printed letters from email templates

Until now, your options were essentially digital:

  • Send an instant email you write on the spot
  • Send a text message
  • Choose an existing email template (optionally with an attachment) and email it to your list

Now you can take that same email template and choose to create printed letters for the members you’ve selected. The result is a set of letters generated from the template, ready to be produced as hard copy.

Why printed letters still win in key situations

Email is efficient, but hard copy has advantages when you need higher visibility or a more formal touch. Printed letters can be especially useful for:

  • Board communications that require a more official presentation
  • Fundraising outreach where a mailed letter may get more attention than another inbox message
  • Committee or leadership groups where you want the communication to stand out
  • Targeted audiences based on role or member attributes, rather than blasting everyone

In short: you’re no longer limited to emailing when your goal is to reach specific individuals with a tangible, high-impact message.

How it fits into your workflow

A common workflow looks like this:

  1. Start with an existing email template (even a basic one).
  2. Use a member query to select recipients.
  3. Apply personalization (such as first-name substitution).
  4. Choose the option to create printed letters for the selected recipients.

That’s it—same messaging assets, expanded delivery method.

The takeaway

This isn’t a brand-new concept so much as a smart expansion of what you already do: build templates once, personalize them through queries, and deliver them to the right people.

The difference is you can now deliver that message as printed letters, not just email—making targeted member outreach more flexible, more intentional, and often more effective.

See the full video here: Video

Now available — per transaction override for QB account to debit

For those who regularly post transactions to QuickBooks Online using ShalomCloud, a new feature might significantly streamline your workflow. Until now, the financial category mapping determined where the debit and the credit would post, for each payment to that category. With this change users now have the flexibility to redirect these debits to a different account.

Understanding the Default Posting Method

In ShalomCloud, each financial category is mapped to a corresponding pair of accounts in QuickBooks. For instance, when a payment posts to the Camp Scholarships Fund, it would debit Undeposited Funds and credit Scholarships. This method has been the standard practice, ensuring consistency across transactions.

Introducing Flexible Debit Posting

The latest update allows users to choose a different account to debit for a specific payment. Suppose you prefer the debit to go to a Money Market Account instead of Undeposited Funds. Now, you are able to make this entry directly during the posting process.

How It Works

  1. Select a family/household.
  2. Choose the category and fill out most of the screen as usual.
  3. Just above the save button, you’ll see a new field, “GL to Debit.”
  4. If you leave that field alone, the journal entry will post to the category default.
  5. Instead of using the default debit account, you may select something different.

This enhancement, while modest in scope, offers more control over your financial postings. It’s particularly beneficial for users seeking to customize their accounting processes without additional manual entries QuickBooks.

To see a short (4m 29s) video of this feature in action, access this link.

Unveiling a New Twist on an Old Concept

Unveiling a New Twist on an Old Concept: The Art of Discarding in Shalom Cloud

In the ever-evolving world of digital solutions, even the most traditional concepts can receive a modern twist. Today, we delve into an intriguing update in Shalom Cloud that transforms the way we think about managing household or family units within the system. The concept in question? Discarding.

Traditionally, actions like “destroy” meant a permanent removal, erasing all traces from existence. However, Shalom Cloud introduces us to “discard,” a soft delete that removes visibility but keeps the data intact. This subtle distinction has sparked a debate among users: is it better to discard, or simply change a family’s status to “resigned” or “inactive”? While this choice remains personal and varies across synagogues, the demand for a discard option has been acknowledged.

However, challenges have emerged. Imagine discarding a family unit, only to realize later that you need to retrieve it. Previously, this meant reaching out to support. In an empowering move towards self-service, Shalom Cloud now allows users to resurrect previously discarded families on their own.

Here’s how you can do it: navigate to Queries > Families. Since the original status of a discarded family may be unknown, it’s recommended to check all statuses. A new checkbox for “only discarded” families is now available. Upon searching, the discarded families appear. To restore them, simply check the actions column and hit the new purple “undiscard checked” button. Just like that, they return to your records, ready for management once more.

A noteworthy enhancement accompanies this update. Discarding a family with an outstanding balance can lead to complications, as there was previously no method to address the balance. The system now prevents discarding families with balances, prompting users to adjust financial transactions first. This additional safeguard ensures a seamless experience and prevents potential pitfalls.

In practice, suppose a family named Boyle has moved away, leaving behind a $950 balance. By adjusting this balance to zero, you can then proceed to discard them confidently. This update offers a complete round-trip process: query families, view all statuses, select only discarded, and restore or re-discard as needed.

While the frequency of needing this capability may be low, having it available is invaluable. Embrace this modern twist on an age-old concept and navigate your Shalom Cloud management tasks with newfound ease and efficiency.

See a video of this feature

Or, to see a step by step procedure, open the ShalomCloud User Manual, under the heading “Families — Discard and Undiscard.

Financial Queries — now by household attribute

Exploring the Enhanced Capabilities of Querying Financial Transactions

Navigating financial transactions can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task, but with recent enhancements, this process is becoming more intuitive and user-friendly. Let’s explore how you can leverage these capabilities to streamline your financial queries and get the most out of your transaction data.

One of the standout features in the latest update is the ability to filter transactions with precision. If you haven’t experimented with this screen, you’re in for a treat. Let’s dive into some practical examples to illustrate these capabilities.

Imagine you want to identify everyone who owes $100 or more. Simply enter “100” into the balance field, hit search, and you’ll have a list at your fingertips. This straightforward query can save you time and effort, allowing you to focus on strategic financial decisions.

Another powerful feature is querying payments received since a specific date. By setting the transaction date from a particular point and leaving the ‘to’ field blank, the system will generate results up to the current moment. For instance, if you want to see all payments made since October 1st, this function will display all relevant transactions, providing you with real-time insights.

If you’re specifically interested in dues, you can refine your search further. Adjust the transaction date to start from July 1st and use the category filter to focus on “dues.” Whether pointing and clicking through categories or utilizing the wildcard option by typing “dues,” this feature ensures you access all dues paid since your specified date.

The most notable enhancement, however, is the introduction of household attributes. This slight yet impactful change allows you to filter financial transactions based on family attributes, such as “senior couple” or “senior single.” By selecting these attributes, you can isolate dues paid by households fitting these criteria, providing a deeper level of analysis and understanding.

In conclusion, while these updates may seem modest, they offer a powerful toolkit for filtering and analyzing financial transactions. By incorporating these methods into your workflow, you can enhance your financial oversight and make more informed decisions. Dive in, experiment, and see how these features can transform your approach to financial management.

See these features in action: short video of 2 minutes, 38 seconds.

New Simplified Aged A/R Report

In the ever-evolving landscape of financial management, staying ahead with efficient reporting tools is crucial. Today, we delve into a new option on aged financial reporting. If you’re involved in managing finances, this change is designed with you in mind.

For those unfamiliar, accounts receivable aged reports are essential for understanding who owes what, and how long those amounts have been outstanding. Traditionally, these reports could be generated by family or by category, allowing for an in-depth exploration into specific areas such as tuition fees or donations.

Introducing the New Simplified Aged A/R Report by Family

Until now, aged reports by family included both a summary and a detailed view. These options provided insights into each category for which a family owed funds. However, the latest update introduces a streamlined approach: a one-line-per-household report. This compact version offers a quicker, more efficient way to grasp the financial landscape without getting lost in the minutiae.

Understanding the Reports

  1. Summary Report: The summary report breaks down financial obligations by family, displaying each category’s owed amounts. It’s a straightforward way to identify outstanding debts at a glance.
  2. Detail Report: While more time-consuming, this report provides a comprehensive view, detailing each transaction, including pledges and payments. It’s invaluable for those needing a deep dive into financial interactions.
  3. New Simplified Aged A/R Report: The latest addition is the one-line-per-household report. This format eschews detailed breakdowns in favor of a simpler overview, highlighting ages and grand totals for each family. It’s perfect for quickly assessing who owes what over various time frames.

The Importance of the ‘As Of’ Date

A pivotal aspect of these reports is the ‘as of’ date, which allows you to tailor your view to specific time frames—be it future projections or retrospective analyses. Adjusting this date ensures you capture the most relevant financial data, whether you’re looking at past transactions or future projections.

New Simplified Aged A/R Report

Enhancing Financial Oversight

This update not only simplifies financial tracking but also enhances your ability to manage and strategize around outstanding debts. By providing a concise, clear view of financial obligations, it empowers you to make informed decisions quickly and efficiently.

We hope this new feature proves invaluable to your financial operations, offering a streamlined path to understanding and managing accounts receivable. Whether you’re a seasoned finance professional or new to the field, this update is designed to make your task easier and more efficient.

See the full video: Aged Accounts Receivable

Explore the New Annual Installment Billing Feature

Discover the New Annual Installment Billing Feature

With this announcement, we introduce the capability of annual installment billing. While many are familiar with the monthly and quarterly billing cycles, the new annual option offers a strategic advantage for long-term financial planning, especially for significant contributions such as a building fund, or a capital campaign.

What is Installment Billing?

In general, it’s more straightforward to bill once for an entire amount, and then to draw down the amount owed as payments are made. However, some congregations prefer to charge the membership incrementally. Depending on an organization’s policies, installment billing can occur monthly, quarterly, or now, annually.

The New Annual Billing Capability

Previously, many organizations relied on monthly or quarterly billing cycles. The introduction of annual billing offers a fresh perspective for managing long-term financial commitments. For example, if your organization is running a building fund campaign, you can now set a total amount to be billed. By selecting the annual installment billing option, the total amount is divided into yearly installments, facilitating easier tracking and management.

How It Works

Let’s consider an example involving the Goldsmith family, a part of your organization’s financial contributors. Suppose they commit to a total contribution of $5,000 over five years for a campaign like the mikvah campaign. With the annual billing feature, you input the total amount, select the installment billing option, and set the first and last bill date—say, from September 2025 to September 2029. The system automatically divides the total into yearly amounts, aligning each installment with the appropriate fiscal year.

Benefits of Annual Installment Billing

  • Long-Term Planning: Organizations can plan more effectively for future projects with clear, predictable cash flows.
  • Simplified Management: With annual billing, there’s less frequent need to manage and adjust billing cycles, saving time and reducing errors.
  • Enhanced Reporting: Financial reports can now reflect long-term commitments more accurately, assisting in strategic decision-making.

By leveraging the new annual installment billing feature, organizations can enhance their financial management capabilities, ensuring they remain agile and efficient in today’s ever-evolving financial landscape. Embrace this new capability to optimize your organization’s financial strategies and achieve your long-term goals with confidence.

To see this feature in action, please view this video.