Frequently Asked Questions

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A Pentium processor Windows 95 or higher; 8MB RAM minimum; Hard disk with 10 MB free disk space; minimum 800 x 600 resolution required; PhoneTree(tm) auto-messaging system for use with PhoneTree(tm) features; E-mail feature requires internet access, works with most internet service providers; Dialer feature requires modem with telephone attached

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The number of records that Nspire can hold is only limited by the amount of free hard drive that you have available on your computer. Nspire'sflexibility will let your keep up with phone numbers, small groups, family members, demographics, and anything else that may help you get to know each of your individuals and their family better.

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When installing Nspire, you have the option of installing it as a new product or as an upgrade. If you have an older version of the software, then choose upgrade. This will pull your current Youth Assistant data into the new program automatically.

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Nspire can import & export information in comma separated value files (.csv). To import data into Nspire, a user must first export the data from the other program. Refer to the program that has the data you wish to move to Nspire.

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Nspire 's licensing allows you to install Nspire on one computer or one network server. We recommend that you install Nspire on a network to take advantage of the connectivity between our ministry modules and to share your information with others who have access to your network.

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There are four versions of Nspire currently available. These are Youth, Children, College, and Adult.

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Nspire's mail merge feature allows you to create one letter, postcard, e-mail, etc, and send it to an entire group of individuals at once. Simply create the item, personalize it by including information from the database such as name, address, etc, and choose the group you would like to send it to. This could include everyone in the database, or just a particular group such as junior high or the drama committee.

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With Nspire you can choose to print mailing labels or to print the address directly on the envelope. You can choose from a list of default mailing label sizes, or create a new one.

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Nspire uses a series of tabs to categorize and store your information. The majority of these tabs are completely user-definable. You may name them whatever you want. Plus, you can create as many tabs as you need.

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Nspire provides security through the use of security groups. You decide who has access to the program, and what areas of the program they may access. For example, if you have someone who has volunteered to help with data entry, you can grant them access to only the parts of the program where information is entered. You may give everyone his/her own user name and password.

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With Nspire, you can track as many outreach types as you like. It only takes a few minutes to schedule your outreach, and then record follow-up!

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With Nspire, planning and tracking an event is easy. You can record who is signed up for an event, plus any forms that they might need to turn in. You have a place to record directions, contact information, itinerary information, etc. Plus, you can create custom tabs to track a variety of other information.

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Nspire offers two types of accounting: individual and event. The individual accounting feature lets you set up an account for every individual in your database. You may record money charged or collected for a certain event, or money that is not associated with an event. You may then view an itemized list for each individual account, or simply view the totals. The event accounting feature allows you to budget money and record expenses for a particular event. Plus, you can view how much money you have charged and collected for each event.

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With Nspire, your entire congregation can benefit from our ministry database. Using the four ministry modules, Children, Youth, College, and Adult, you can track information about anyone in your ministry. Each module works independently of the others allowing you to choose the modules you need for your ministry. Nspire's flexibility also allows you to meet your budget constraints and customize the system to the needs of your congregation.

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There are several modules and programs available for Nspire. When you purchase Nspire, the base system includes one of the following modules, Children, Youth, College, or Adult . You may choose to purchase additional ministry modules at a 25% discount of the full retail price. Attenda Plus, our comprehensive attendance module, and The Messenger are additional modules that can be added to the Nspire base system. While each ministry module represents a separate database for your ministers, Attenda Plus and The Messenger work across all of the ministry modules you have added to your base Nspire system. This means that all of your ministries benefit from the additional modules.

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hile any one module is powerful enough to track information about a wide range of individuals, you would quickly discover the limits of trying to maintain your database for the whole church in only one module. Each module is designed to allow a minister to completely customize their program to meet their ministry needs. Within a module, a minister can design their own reports, postcards, and birthday e-mails, modify the database to track information that pertains specifically to their ministry, plan their events, organize their small groups, and keep up with their attendance. And this just scratches the surface of what a module allows. The benefit of purchasing a module for each major ministry area in your congregation is to allow each minister to use their own talents and training to shape their Nspire database without stepping on another minister's toes. It prevents cluttering the workspace with unnecessary and often times unwanted customizations that other ministers make.

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When you purchase Nspire, you choose one ministry module to include with the system. You may choose from Children, Youth, College, or Adult ministry modules. You would choose the most appropriate module for your ministry. If you are purchasing the program to use in a Children and Youth ministry setting with two seperate ministers you would want to purchase an additional module to cover both ministries. If, however, you are a single minister working with all the children and youth in your congregation, you may wish to use only a single ministry module. In this case, you could use either the Children or Youth module for your ministry.

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Yes! And much more. Nspire will allow you to track information about the spiritual growth of your members and volunteers. You can use this information to connect volunteers and members who share the same gifts, and to encourage your volunteers to get more involved in mentoring.

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While there are no built-in reports for printing ID cards in Nspire, you can use Microsoft Word to create templates for use in Nspire. Attenda Plus, our add-on attendance software, can print ID cards and name tags with bar codes to track attendance.

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Nspire is compatible with the Phone Tree auto-messaging system. Use Nspire to compile the list of people that you would like to send a message to, then send that list of names to the Phone Tree. TCS Software is also a reseller of Phone Tree products and offers them at a discount to churches. Contact sales for more information.