The SmartSimple Blog

The end of the year is the perfect time to reflect on everything you've managed to accomplish during the previous 12 months. We've decided to take a look back on 2013 to bring you the ten biggest articles and most important announcements we've made on our blog! 10. Top 7 Qualities of an Ideal SmartSimple Candidate At the start of the year, we put together a list of the seven most desirable traits of a successful SmartSimple candidate. We look for these qualities every time we welcome someone aboard the SmartSimple crew - do you have what it takes? 9. SmartSimple's Best Practices and Lessons Learnt on... the Grant Application Process Based on years of feedback, SmartSimple has learned several valuable lessons on how to create and maintain a grants management solution that is truly authentic to the needs of our clients. 8. A Convenient Truth: 6 Reasons Why Your Grant Applications Need to Go Paperless We live in an increasingly paperless world. Have your grant ap...

You might have noticed that all of SmartSimple's software suites are named 360°. Why, you ask? We want to provide you, our clients, with a software solution that provides a full, holistic view of the relationships and processes that matter to your organization. Contact relationship management (CRM) is an essential component of SmartSimple. Contacts can be internal, external, and adjusted to reflect their most current status (e.g. a new employer). You can create an unlimited number of relationship types as well. Everything you need to track is done as a result of your contact’s interaction with the system. For instance, once an applicant uploads a financial statement, report, or meeting minutes to your system, you can easily identify those who belong to a given organization, and those who are associated with it. The image below displays the applicant and organization attached to a sample grant application: By clicking on the applicant's name, you’ll be directed to t...

Our Employee Spotlight series will highlight a different member of the SmartSimple crew every week. Take some time to get to know the wonderful and diverse team behind the SmartSimple platform! Danielle Burke is our Corporate Services Associate on the Administration team and has been working for SmartSimple since August 2011. In this week's SmartSimple Employee Spotlight, Danielle tells us about her hobbies and her best productivity tip (not to mention her guilty pleasure)! Productivity tip: Manage your time by prioritizing tasks. The easiest way to keep track of your time and tasks is to keep a to-do list. Ranking your tasks based on priority is key. This will also ensure you won't forget tasks or miss deadlines. What is your favourite part about working for SmartSimple? The people! Everyone works together so well, and it's a great team to be a part of. What are your hobbies? Watching TV, hanging out with my family, and my puppy Jade. What is your favouri...

In this series, Technical Community Support member Arthur Lathrop updates us on new and updated articles of interest in the  SmartSimple Wiki ! Read on to check out the latest Wiki news. Adding Styles to XML Worksheets A new page has been added containing instructions on adding CSS classes to your XML fields, complete with examples. Referencing Other Sections in XML Calculations A new page has been added with a walkthrough on how to reference other sections within XML formulas. XSL Template A description of the XSL Template section of the XML custom field is now available. Importing and Exporting Reports Did you know that you can export your reports and import them into other SmartSimple instances? This article explains how! Upgrades by Category The Upgrades by Category page has been brought up to date, current to the October 2013 upgrade . Take a moment to appreciate the evolutionary timeline of SmartSimple's different features. Questions? Comments? Don't...

The SmartSimple Client Story series highlights different clients and sheds light on how they came to choose and trust SmartSimple as their management software adviser. About CFEF The Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEF) is the professional association for Florida education foundations that serve over 2 million students and 295,000 educators throughout 67 county-wide school districts. The CFEF serves as the conduit for business and philanthropic investment in Florida’s classrooms by creating state and regional partnerships that directly impact student achievement at the local level. Challenges CFEF was in a position where they had outgrown their previous grants management system. As the CFEF granting program grew, the system remained stagnant. It was unable to accommodate new processes and meet evolving business needs. The grant application form, for instance, could not be edited or changed to any degree. “There was little flexibility with our old system,” ...

Our Employee Spotlight series will highlight a different member of the SmartSimple crew every week. Take some time to get to know the wonderful and diverse team behind the SmartSimple platform! Karim Fahmi is a Technical Resource for our Sales team and has been working for SmartSimple since March 2013. We get to know Karim better in this week's Employee Spotlight, which includes his best productivity tip, favourite movie, and his musical background! Productivity tip : When uploading data into the system, always test first by taking a sample of that data and ensuring it is loaded properly. Then, load the rest of the data. This will help you avoid unwanted records and save time. If the data is bad, you will only have to remove the sample you uploaded, as opposed to removing everything that was loaded. What is your favourite part about working for SmartSimple? The people I work with every day. It's almost like a little community on its own. SmartSimple is made up of ...

#GivingTuesday is a growing global movement that takes places today, the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. After a long weekend of shopping and deals, #GivingTuesday is a new day for giving back to charities and nonprofit organizations. As the tagline says, "Help good go viral." We at SmartSimple are lucky to be engaged with a number of different organizations, charities and active members of the philanthropic community. We've decided to share these fantastic resources so you can get involved right from your computer - and to help you make the most informed decisions about your charitable output. Google Hangout-a-thon Google is hosting an all-day #GivingTuesday Hangout to encourage users to either donate directly to nonprofits or purchase goods for good. They’re partnering with Mashable to feature over 24 charities and brands for users all over the world to support. Join the Hangout while you can, it ends at 9 pm EST! The Unselfie ...

Our Employee Spotlight series will highlight a different member of the SmartSimple crew every week. Take some time to get to know the wonderful and diverse team behind the SmartSimple platform! Sarah Harris is SmartSimple's Operations Manager and has been working for SmartSimple since May 2010, where she began in Administrative and Accounting Support. In this week's Employee Spotlight, we get to know her favourite movie, her diverse hobbies, and a surprising craft project from her past. Productivity tip : Work back schedules are the best way to prioritize your work and ensure you understand what's on your plate at any given time. If you're overwhelmed by having too many things to do at once, this is a great exercise. It also works well for team projects. What is your favourite part about working for SmartSimple?  I really enjoy working with a diverse group of people. SmartSimple employs great team players. What are your hobbies? I am a former dancer, an...