The KC Ballet runs a school through Tessitura selling classes as performances. We are preparing to split them out into their own Control Group entity for several reasons. Segmenting seasons, performances, sources, Price types, etc from appearing for both the box office and the school. Creating new contact types (addresses, emails, etc) exclusively for school use.
My question is, have other folks gone through something similar? Are there any major pitfalls to be wary of? Are there any major disadvantages? Would it be smarter to leave everyone in the same control group and try to manage it at the user group level? Am I crazy for even trying?
Any input is appreciated, thanks.
Levi
Levi,
I think that's the cleanest way to handle it. We've created similar sub-divisions in our consortium without issue. Our only minor problem was updating some of our custom reports/procedures that look at constituent ownership to determine which organization maintained those records. Our DBA solved this by creating a table that holds the relationship between the organization, the parent control group and any sub control groups.
Also, if there are any bits of data (appeals, associations, note types, etc.) that are shared between the two departments you may need to employ a third control group. A note type, for example, can only be linked to one control group. So you may need a master control group for shared data and two sub control groups: one for the school and one for everyone else. The school would then be given access to the Master control group and their own. It can be tricky and tedious to plan out but usually worth it in the long run.
~Dan
Thanks Dan. I hadn't thought of the need for a third control group but that is definitely going to be a requirement. The longer I think on this, the more areas I realize we are going to have to touch. GL accounts just came to mind. I'm wondering if it would be better to move the existing GLs into the "Everyone" control group, or to just to create a matching set for the new group.
I'm sure there will be some fun hurdles to come. :)
I don't think you should create a separate set of matching GL#s. That would probably be very confusing for anyone in finance.
If the GLs are shared between departments then they should be assigned to the 3rd control group, aka "Master" or "Everyone." If they are specific to the school they can just get the school's control group.
Levi -
We use control groups as more of an organizational tool rather than a 'you can't see these people because you aren't in the same company' way. The only issue we've ever run into is that if a person in one control group is running a list and wanting to include people who have bought tickets in the other control group and they don't have access to that control group, they won't show up on the list (and you won't get any notice about this, so it can escape undetected at times). In that case, I echo Dan's sentiment that having an 'Everyone' control group has been really useful.
Heather