New Database - Adding People¶

Use these instructions for adding people to a new database. That is one in which you have not inserted people records using either the Insert People Spreadsheet or by Conversion. For all other cases, you should always add people in context - as a new member of an Involvement, as a guest, etc.

Step 1

In the main menu, select People > Add Person

Step 2

Click the Skip Search / Add New button.

Caution

Do not use this button under normal circumstances. Always search the database first before adding a new people record. You do not want to create duplicate records.

Step 3

Complete the form for the basic person information: First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Suffix, Nickname, Birthday, Email Address, Cell Phone, Gender, Marital Status, Campus, and Entry Point. Fields your church has made required are marked with an asterisk. If you do not know the First Name or Birthday, you can enter na. NA will not display on the person’s record; it is just an indicator that you are not inserting information there.

Important

Birthday, Gender, and Marital Status are very important, as this information helps prevent duplicate records in the future. Birthday (age) and Marital Status are also used to set the correct family position.

Click Submit.

If TouchPoint finds a record that may be the same person, it displays a Potential Duplicate message. Review the match before continuing. If you are sure this is a new person, click Submit, no duplicate check.

Step 4

Enter the family address and home phone information.

Tip

For the address, you can enter the Street and Zip, then click Submit. The address will be automatically verified and adjusted to comply with the US postal database of addresses (assuming that it is a US address). The correct City and State will be added.

If the address was adjusted, click Submit Again to accept the address changes. If the address cannot be validated and you know it is correct, click Skip Address Check.

Step 5

If you have other members of this same family, click Add to Last Family button and repeat above steps. This will put the family members in the same family with the same home address and phone number.

If you have finished with one family, click Commit and Add.

Once your database is populated and you are using it to record attendance, maintain groups, record contributions, etc., only add new records after searching properly. See Search and then Add People for best practices for maintaining a clean database, free of duplicate records.

Corrected the MenuAddPeople setting instructions, listed the current form fields, added the Potential Duplicate step, and removed a video that is no longer available.