If your question is not answered below, feel free to contact us by phone at 800-789-1617 or email.
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What are the system requirements needed to run this program?
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Nspire requires: · Windows XP or later · 1.0 GHz or better · 200MB free hard drive space · 1024x768 minimum video resolution · E-mail requires access to, and permission to relay over, an SMTP mail server or a MAPI compliant e-mail program like Outlook Express. · PhoneTree™: Requires PhoneTree™ Plus, USB, 2100 or better telephone messaging system ·
* Nspire can be used on a MAC with Virtual PC(Power PC) or Parallels(Intel). You still need to have a Windows OS to use Nspire.
How many people will Youth Assistant hold?
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The number of records that
Youth Assistant can hold is only limited by the amount of free hard drive that you have available on your computer.
Youth Assistant's flexibility 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.
If I have The Youth Assistant, an older version of the software, will I have to re-enter all of my data?
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When installing Youth Assistant, 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.
Can I import information from an existing database (other than Youth Assistant) into Youth Assistant?
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Youth Assistant can import & export information in comma separated value files (.csv). To import data into Youth Assistant, a user must first export the data from the other program. Refer to the program that has the data you wish to move to Youth Assistant.
Can I have Youth Assistant on more than one computer?
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Youth Assistant 's licensing allows you to install Youth Assistant on one computer or one network server. We recommend that you install Youth Assistant on a network to take advantage of the connectivity between our ministry zones and to share your information with others who have access to your network.
Can I use Youth Assistant for more than just youth and children's ministries?
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There are four versions of Youth Assistant currently available. These are Youth, Children, College, and Adult.
Can I send mass letters, postcards, e-mails, etc. with Youth Assistant?
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Youth Assistant'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.
Will Youth Assistant print mailing labels as well?
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With Youth Assistant 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.
Can I customize Youth Assistant to hold only the information that is relevant to my ministry?
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Youth Assistant 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.
How can I keep the information in Youth Assistant private?
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Youth Assistant 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.
I am overwhelmed with outreach! How can Youth Assistant help me?
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With Youth Assistant, 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!
My ministry is involved in so many events! How can Youth Assistant help me keep track of all of them?
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With Youth Assistant, 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.
What about accounting?
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Youth Assistant 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.
Can I track everyone in my church with the Youth Assistant program?
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With Youth Assistant, 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. Youth Assistant's flexibility also allows you to meet your budget constraints and customize the system to the needs of your congregation.
What are the Modules I can purchase for Youth Assistant?
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There are several modules and programs available for Youth Assistant. When you purchase Youth Assistant, 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 Youth Assistant 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 Youth Assistant system. This means that all of your ministries benefit from the additional modules.
What are the benefits of buying an additional module?
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While 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 Youth Assistant database without stepping on another minister's toes. It prevents cluttering the workspace with unnecessary and often times unwanted customizations that other ministers make.
What Modules do I need to purchase to use Youth Assistant?
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When you purchase Youth Assistant, 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.
Can I track spiritual gifts and talents with the Youth Assistant program?
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Yes! And much more. Youth Assistant 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.
Can I print ID cards from the Youth Assistant program?
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While there are no built-in reports for printing ID cards in Youth Assistant, you can use Microsoft Word to create templates for use in Youth Assistant. Attenda Plus, our add-on attendance software, can print ID cards and name tags with bar codes to track attendance.
Can I use the Youth Assistant program with my Phone Tree system at the church?
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Youth Assistant is compatible with the Phone Tree auto-messaging system. Use Youth Assistant 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.