Month: March 2026

“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