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CommunitySuite and SmartSimple Integration

Updated

The CommunitySuite (CSuite) and SmartSimple integration synchronizes grant, payment, and disbursement data between the two platforms, keeping a foundation's fund accounting aligned with its grants management process.

Who: Staff who manage the grant application process in SmartSimple and fund accounting staff who manage payments and disbursements in CommunitySuite.

When to Use the CommunitySuite Integration

Use the CommunitySuite integration when:

  • Grant applications, decisions, statuses, and post-award activity need to live in SmartSimple after all payments have been disbursed, while fund accounting and payment disbursement are managed in CommunitySuite.
  • Payments approved in SmartSimple need to be created automatically in CommunitySuite, with payment status kept in sync between the two systems.
  • A foundation is moving from SmartSimple's Budget Manager to CommunitySuite and needs a defined data exchange between the two products.

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Key Terms

Term Meaning
Export settings Controls for data sent from SmartSimple to CommunitySuite, including organizations, users, grants, and payments.
Import settings Controls for data sent back from CommunitySuite to SmartSimple, including grant status, payment status, and disbursement detail.
Standard field A field built into the SmartSimple profile by default. Some standard fields still need to be enabled.
Custom field A field built specifically to support this integration, since formatting and applicability vary by client.
System of record The system whose data is treated as authoritative for a given field. For data imported from CommunitySuite, CommunitySuite is the system of record.

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Grant, Payment, and Disbursement Mapping

SmartSimple's UTA/module hierarchy maps to CommunitySuite's financial structure as follows. This mapping is specific to how this integration handles CommunitySuite financial data. The same record levels can represent other workflows in SmartSimple more broadly.

SmartSimple Level Represents in This Integration
Level 1 (Application) Grant
Level 2 (Activity) Voucher/Payment
Level 3 (Subactivity) Check/Disbursement

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How the Integration Works

The integration is configured through a mapping tool in SmartSimple. An administrator selects the universal tracking application (UTA)/module that should exchange data with CommunitySuite, then configures export settings and import settings for that UTA/module.

  • Export settings control data sent from SmartSimple to CommunitySuite.
  • Import settings control data sent back from CommunitySuite to SmartSimple.
  • Data exchange runs on a five-minute cycle. Records do not transfer instantly.
  • No coding is required in SmartSimple to configure or maintain the mapping.

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Known Limitations and Considerations

Required-field mismatches. If a field is required in CommunitySuite but not required in SmartSimple, the export will fail. Required fields need to stay in sync across both systems.

Split payments across funds. SmartSimple's Budget Manager supports splitting a single payment across multiple funds. CommunitySuite requires one payment per fund per year. This should be communicated clearly to any Budget Manager client before moving to CommunitySuite.

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Configure Export Settings in SmartSimple

To configure the settings in SmartSimple needed to integrate with CommunitySuite:

Enable the Data Exchange

The Data Exchange settings are located in the Integrations tab of Global Settings.

  1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, select Global Settings from the drop-down menu, and then click the Integrations tab.
  2. Locate the Data Exchange section, and then click New in the Data Exchange Type field.
  3. Click the Enable Data Exchange field, select the relevant UTA/module from the drop-down menu, and then click Save.

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Create the Export Settings Record

To enable the Export Settings in SmartSimple: 

  1. Click Export Settings.
  2. Click the New Data Exchange Export Settings [+] button.
  3. Click the Type field and select CSuite from the drop-down menu.
  4. Click the Export Caption field and enter CSuite Export.
  5. Click the Local Identifier field and enter the SmartSimple instance alias.
    • For example, if the SmartSimple URL is mysite.smartsimple.com, enter mysite.
  6. Click the Target URL field and enter the URL of the CommunitySuite site.
    • For example, smartsimple.fcsuite.com.
  7. Click the Export and History Access field and select the relevant roles.
  8. Toggle Activate on.
  9. Toggle Is Sandbox on when connecting to the sandbox site.
  10. Complete any additional fields, and then click Save.

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Map Organizations to CommunitySuite

To map organizations to CommunitySuite from SmartSimple, navigate to Organizations in the left navigation.

  1. Click Organizations in the left navigation to view the options to map organizations. All organization categories in SmartSimple can be selected for export.
  2. Determine the field mappings for organizations.
    • The minimum field required for mapping is Organization Name, which appears by default and cannot be removed.
  3. Click the Add [+] button to add additional field mapping, and then click Save.
    • Address, City, State, Website, and Zip Code are standard fields built into the SmartSimple organization profile. All other fields are treated as custom fields in SmartSimple. 
    • Adding these as additional field mappings is recommended.

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Map Users to CommunitySuite

To map users to CommunitySuite from SmartSimple, navigate to Users in the left navigation.

  1. Click Users in the left navigation to view the options to map users. All user roles can be selected for export.
  2. Determine the field mapping for users. There are no minimum required fields in user mapping.
  3. Click the Add [+] button to add additional field mapping, and then click Save.
    • Email, First Name, Last Name, and Work Title are standard fields in SmartSimple. Mapping these fields is recommended.
    • Additional fields can be mapped to standard or custom fields in SmartSimple, but the user standard fields are limited. Fields like Anonymous, Birthday, and Deceased in CommunitySuite would have to be built as custom fields in SmartSimple.
    • The list of fields in the drop-down menu includes all standard fields in CommunitySuite.

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Map Level 1 and Level 2 Records to CommunitySuite

To map Level 1 and Level 2 records, such as grants and payments, to CommunitySuite from SmartSimple, navigate to Application Manager in the left navigation.

  1. Click Application Manager in the left navigation and click the Application tab to set the export settings for Level 1, for example grants.
    • Filter by Application Types and Filter by Application Statuses are available here.
NOTE  Since SmartSimple is customizable and does not have a standard list of statuses, a status to send data to CommunitySuite must be configured. This can be set to trigger at any point in the process.
NOTE  Multiple statuses can be selected in the Filter by Application Statuses field. Since this can be difficult to track, starting with one status is recommended.
  1. Toggle Auto Export on Selected Statuses on.
  2. Locate the Profile field mapping section and select the applicable fields from the drop-down menus.
    • These fields map to the organization, owner, and person standard fields in SmartSimple. At minimum, the Grantee and Grantee Contact fields in CommunitySuite should be mapped to organization and owner standard fields in SmartSimple.
  3. Determine the field mapping for the fields being sent from SmartSimple to CommunitySuite.
    • At minimum, the Grant Date in CommunitySuite has to be sent over. The Grant Date can be entered directly into SmartSimple, or it can be calculated automatically based on the available data, such as the date of the first payment.
  4. Click the Add [+] button to add additional field mappings.
    • Any field that exists in SmartSimple can be pulled into any of these fields.
  5. Click the Activity tab to set the export settings for Level 2, for example payments.
    • This tab determines which activity types and statuses should be exported to create payment vouchers in CommunitySuite.
    • Filter by Activity Types and Filter by Activity Statuses are available here.
    • The Approval Status setting should correspond to the approval status in CommunitySuite.
NOTE  Payment Amount and Scheduled Payment Date are required fields in CommunitySuite. Integration is not possible without them.

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Configure Import Settings in SmartSimple

Import settings are configured similarly to export settings.

NOTE  Once data is sent to CommunitySuite from SmartSimple, it initially goes into the Imported bucket in the Grants area rather than the applicable status bucket, before it is processed in CommunitySuite. This works similarly to the integration between Grant Lifecycle Manager (GLM) and CommunitySuite.

Create the Import Settings Record

To enable the Import Settings in SmartSimple: 

  1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, select Global Settings, and click the Integrations tab.
  2. Locate the Data Exchange section and click Import Settings.
  3. Click the New Data Exchange Import Settings [+] button.
  4. Click the Type field and select CSuite from the drop-down menu.
  5. Click the Export Caption field and enter CSuite Import.
  6. Click the Local Identifier field and enter the SmartSimple instance alias.
    • For example, if the SmartSimple URL is mysite.smartsimple.com, enter mysite.
  7. Click the Source URL field and enter the URL of the CommunitySuite site.
    • For example, smartsimple.fcsuite.com.
  8. Click the Export and History Access field and select the relevant roles.
  9. Toggle Activate on.
  10. Toggle Is Sandbox on when connecting to the sandbox site.
  11. Complete any additional fields, and then click Save.

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Map Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Records to SmartSimple

To map Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 records, such as grants, payments, and disbursements, to SmartSimple from CommunitySuite, navigate to Application Manager in the left navigation.

  1. Click Application Manager in the left navigation to map the application fields back from CommunitySuite to the SmartSimple record.
  2. Toggle Is CSuite Grant Import UTA on.
  3. Click the Level 1 tab, locate the Status Mapping section, and select a status from the Created drop-down menu.
    • This setting determines which status in SmartSimple the CommunitySuite grant maps to once it has been processed and created in CommunitySuite. It can go to any status in the process.  Mapping this status is recommended.
NOTE  Most integrations will not select a Complete status, and this field will be left blank.
NOTE  A status can be selected from the Cancelled drop-down menu to map a cancelled status. If the grant is cancelled in CommunitySuite, it will trigger a status change in SmartSimple. Most integrations leave this field blank.
  1. Determine the optional field mapping for the fields being sent from CommunitySuite to SmartSimple.
    • Fund Name, External Grant Request ID, and Grant ID are configured as custom fields in SmartSimple.
  2. Click the Level 2 tab and select the Default Type and Default Status from the drop-down menus.
    • If a new payment/voucher is created in CommunitySuite, this setting determines the activity type and status it will be created with in SmartSimple.
  3. Locate the Status Mapping section and select the Pending Approval, Paid, and Canceled statuses from the drop-down menus.
    • These status mappings determine what the payment record status will move to in SmartSimple when the corresponding payment/voucher is updated in CommunitySuite.
  4. Determine the optional field mapping settings using the drop-down menus.
  5. Click the Add [+] button to add additional field mappings.
    • Amount, Payment Date, Voucher ID, and Fund Name can be pulled from CommunitySuite into SmartSimple. These are treated as custom fields in SmartSimple.
  6. Click the Level 3 tab and select the Default Type and Default Status from the drop-down menus.
    • The two statuses that can be mapped from CommunitySuite are Paid and Cancelled.
  7. Determine the field mapping settings using the drop-down menus.
    • Amount and Check ID are mandatory.
  8. Click the Add [+] button to add additional field mappings.
    • Account Full Name, Account ID, Account Name, Check Date, Check Number, Is Electronic, and Memo can be mapped from CommunitySuite to SmartSimple. All of these are treated as custom fields in SmartSimple.

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Recommended Best Practices

For any field imported from CommunitySuite, build the field in SmartSimple and permission it to deny modify for everyone, since CommunitySuite is the system of record for that data. Field-level permissions can be made more granular. A field can be set to deny modify only after a certain status is reached, or to allow modify only during specific statuses.

Label imported fields clearly, for example with a consistent prefix, so the data source is clear to anyone configuring or reviewing the record.

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CommunitySuite Integration Technical Details: Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Sync Instant?

The initial pass to CommunitySuite is not instant. The pass back from CommunitySuite to SmartSimple is instant.

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Can Organizations or Users Be Filtered?

Yes. Export can be filtered by organization category and by user role, so only relevant records are sent to CommunitySuite.

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Does Data Only Flow One Direction?

No. The integration is bidirectional. Export settings send data from SmartSimple to CommunitySuite, and import settings bring data back. Some fields, such as payment amount, sync in both directions.

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What About Required Field Mismatches?

If a field is required in CommunitySuite but not in SmartSimple, the export will fail. Any field CommunitySuite requires should also be marked required and completed in SmartSimple.

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Is There a Standard Set of Trigger Statuses?

No single set is required. Statuses are configurable to match each foundation's process. Using one dedicated status to trigger export is recommended, to keep tracking simple.

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Can a Budget Manager Foundation Move Without Process Changes?

Not entirely. Budget Manager supports splitting one payment across multiple funds, while CommunitySuite requires one payment per fund per year. This difference should be communicated clearly before a foundation moves from Budget Manager to CommunitySuite, since Budget Manager will no longer be needed in SmartSimple.

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How Is an Export Failure Identified?

A record that fails to export remains in its pending export status in SmartSimple and does not advance to the next step in the process.

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Should Imported Fields Be Editable?

Setting these fields to deny modify is recommended, since CommunitySuite is the system of record for that data. Locking can be applied at the field level or the whole-record level, and can vary by status.

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