Volgistics Glossary¶

Volgistics uses specific terminology regarding the different aspects of your account. It can sometimes be confusing if you do not know what the terms mean. This help topic defines each term and can be a helpful resource when you are using the system.

A¶

Account - When the Volgistics team refers to an account they mean the entire database of records for your organization. Each Volgistics account has only a single account number and service level. The support team often gets help inquiries where account is used to refer to different things in the system such as volunteer, Coordinator, or System Operator records. Or sometimes even the Site, Place, or Assignment records. Volgistics generally refers to these items by name instead of as an account.

Accounting Access Code - This code allows people who are not setup as System Operators (or System Operators who have the Basic User or Power User operator levels) to gain access to the Volgistics Store for your account. You can find more information here.

Accounting Operator - This term is used to describe any person who can access the Volgistics Store for your account using the Accounting Access Code. This person may, or may not, be the Billing Contact on file for your account. The Accounting Operator does not count as a System Operator in your account's service level.

Active Status - This is a default Status in Volgistics that cannot be modified. The Active Status is generally used to describe a volunteer who has completed the induction process to volunteer with your organization and is now contributing. Please see Status in this glossary for more information.

Activity - Please see Assignment in this glossary for more information.

Address Label Reports - These reports make PDF files that put names and addresses for volunteers, contacts for volunteers, and/or Coordinators in common formats for sheet fed laser or ink jet printer labels. You can find more information here.

Administrator - Also referred to as Volgistics Administrator. Please see Volgistics Administrator in this glossary for more information.

Alerts - Notifications sent to System Operators or Coordinators when events occur such as receiving an application, self-scheduling, email opt-outs, or document uploads in the VicNet portal.

Anniversary Cards - Please see Greeting Cards in this glossary for more information.

Any Times - A term used to describe Assignments or schedule entries that do not require volunteers to serve specific times. You can setup the Rules tab of an Assignment to allow self-scheduling for any times in Assignments that do not require volunteers to serve a certain shift. Please see Schedule in this glossary for more information.

Applicant Status - A default Status in Volgistics generally used to describe people who have begun the process of becoming a volunteer by filling out an application form. Please see Status in this glossary for more information.

Application Forms - Online forms people interested in serving with your organization can complete. Information from these forms is automatically used to create volunteer records in your account. You can find more information here.

Applications Tab - A tab in the Volgistics mailbox used to receive new application forms and records converted (imported) into your account. You can learn more about how to receive records from the Applications tab here.

Archive - A section of your database used to store inactive, or un-needed, volunteer records, or the act of sending these records to the archived section. Please note this is separate from Status. Archived and non-archived records can have any Status in your account regardless of the section they are in. Because archived records have more limited functionality than non-archived records, they cost less on a record-by-record basis. You can find more information here.

Assigned Role - Roles in Volgistics are used to show the volunteer's relationship, or standing, in a specific Assignment. The Assigned Role is a default Role generally used to show that the volunteer is currently serving in the Assignment. Please see Role in this glossary for more information.

Assignment - The task, or work, the volunteers actually perform at your organization. Some organizations may refer to these as events, jobs, opportunities, work area, projects, or positions. Creating Assignments is important because it gives you more options for scheduling and recording service. You can find more information here.

Assignment Cluster - A Volgistics feature that allows you to group or organize similar Assignments together even if they are not listed under the same Site or Place in the account's Site, Place, and Assignment hierarchy. When this feature is enabled, many reports can be organized by Cluster. You can learn more about how to enable this feature here.

Assignment Preference Field - A preference field that applicants and volunteers can use to express that they are interested in serving in an assignment. You can learn more about setting up this field here. You can learn more about using this field on application forms here.

Assignment Profile Reports - These reports create PDF files with information about Assignments in your account. You can find more information here.

Attachment - A PDF or Microsoft Word document that is sent out with an email message. You can find more information here.

Audit - Each account's Administrator(s) can configure the account so that System Operators can review service records for accuracy. You can find information on how this works here.

Automatic Messages - Email or text messages automatically sent to volunteers and Coordinators by Volgistics. These can include schedule reminders, Checklist reminders, password messages, or self-scheduling alerts.

Automatic Payment - A payment option for paying your Volgistics service fee with automatic monthly payments charged to your credit card. You can find more information here.

Awards - A recognition program for tracking volunteer milestones such as a certain number of years or hours served. You can also setup recognition for things not based on a milestone, such as a Volunteer of the Month award. You can find more information here.

Awards Reports - Stock reports designed to help you manage your Award program. You can find more information here.

B¶

Back-up - Storing data for future reference. Volgistics does a system-wide back-up of all accounts nightly, but these can only be used to restore the entire system in the case of a catastrophic emergency. You may also want to make a local back-up of your volunteer information using the Data export option in Setup. If you do not have access to Setup, you can also get a back-up of your volunteer information using an Excel report like the All volunteer information report.

Basic User - A user level that controls the amount of access the System Operator has in the account. To customize the access, Administrators setup the Field Rights and Tab Rights for the Basic User operators.

Batch Reports - A report listing all service entries in a batch of service recorded with the Post feature. You can see an example of this report here and find more information about the report here.

Billing Contact - The person you select to receive automatic email messages concerning your account's status. This person may be the account's Administrator or another System Operator. Or it may be a person from a department in your organization that handles payments. You can find information on how to update the email address on file for the billing contact here.

Birthday Cards - Please see Greeting Cards in this glossary for more information.

Birthday List - You can setup Volgistics to display a list of volunteers who have upcoming or recent birthdays on the Welcome page that System Operators see when they login. The list can be configured to update automatically on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You can find more information here.

C¶

Calendar Year - The standard calendar year running from January 1st to December 31st. Your reports for volunteer service can be organized by calendar year, or fiscal year.

Cards - Please see Greeting Cards in this glossary for more information.

Characteristic Field - These customizable fields provide checkboxes for collecting information about your volunteers. They are ideal for recording things such as skills, interests, languages spoken, memberships, certifications, and more. You can find more information here.

Checklist Item - Checklists provide a tool for tracking the completion of actions volunteers must fulfill in order to serve. They can be one time requirements (such as reference checks, orientations, or confidentiality agreements) or recurring requirements (such as flu shots or background checks). You can find more information here.

Checklist Page - The Checklist page is an item on the Volgistics menu that provides a tool for System Operators to find volunteers who need to complete a Checklist item or who are eligible to receive an Award. This was formerly called the _Tickler page._

Checklist Reminders - Automatic messages that are sent to volunteers to let them know that a recurring Checklist item is due.

Child Record - A child record is a database term used for a record that belongs to another record. For example, one volunteer can have multiple service entries showing the dates she worked, the number of hours completed, and other related information. In this case, the service entries are "child" records of the volunteer.

Cluster - See Assignment Cluster for information.

Comment Fields - A field that can be added to volunteer application forms to collect narrative information. When the application form creates the volunteer's record, information entered in the Comment field is directed to the Notes tab of the record. You can find more information on how to add Comment fields to application forms here.

Contacts - The information for a volunteer's or group's contacts found on the Contacts tab of their record. Typical contacts include Emergency Contacts, References, and Employers. Other kinds of contacts can be customized. See Track Volunteer Contacts for more information. Contact fields can also be added to application forms. You can find more information on how to do this here.

Contacts Tab - A tab on the volunteer record where the Contacts for the record are stored. You can find more information on volunteer record organization here.

Conversion - The process of importing, or transferring, volunteer information from a previous database or file into your Volgistics account. You can find more information about the options for creating volunteer records here.

Coordinator - A Volgistics user who can access basic volunteer information and schedules through the VicNet module. These users do not have the same degree of access to the account as System Operators. Many organizations refer to their volunteer department's leaders as coordinators; however, these people may have System Operator records in your account. You can find more information about Coordinator records here.

Core Tab- This is a tab on the volunteer record where the basic information for the volunteer or group is stored. You can find more information on the Core tab here.

Count - The number of records in your account. You can find totals for the number of records used by selecting Setup from the menu, expanding the Account management link, and selecting Account status. You can also find numbers for volunteers with just certain characteristics. You can find more information on how to do this here. If you want to find the number of volunteers with service during a certain time period, use the Unduplicated Volunteer Count.

Credentials - The information used by a System Operator to access Volgistics. This includes their account number, plus the email address and password on file for them on their System Operator record. You can find more information about how to use credentials to login here.

Custom Reports - Volgistics contains Stock Reports that are pre-made reports designed to meet a variety of common volunteer tracking needs. You can also create custom reports where you select the organization, format, and fields for the report. You can find more information on creating custom reports here.

D¶

Daily Availability - A field used to track when volunteers are available to serve as well as when volunteers are needed for an assignment. This field appears on the Profile tab of volunteer and assignment records.

Date Entered - The date a volunteer record was added to your database. This date is recorded on the History tab of the volunteer record and is available in Sets and reports. You can find information on how records are added to your database here.

Date of Last Activity (DOLA) - Date of Last Activity is sometimes abbreviated as DOLA. The Date of Last Activity is the date of the last service entry made on a volunteer record. This date appears in the Statistics box on the volunteer record and is available in Sets and reports. You can find more information here.

Department - Volgistics does not have a term, or item, called department; however, many accounts use this term to refer to a Site, Place, or Assignment in their account's assignment structure. You can find more information here.

Directive - See Mandatory Service in this glossary for information.

Display Graphic - This is an image uploaded to Volgistics so that it appears on the online forms used in your account. Please see Logo Graphic in this glossary for more information.

Docs Tab - This is a tab on records for electronic document storage. The Docs tab always appears on volunteer records (learn more here). If the VicDocs module is included in your account's service level, there will also be a Docs tab on Coordinator records (learn more here) as well as Site, Place, and Assignment records (learn more here).

Documents Tab - A tab on the Volgistics Mailbox designed to help you manage your documents. The Documents tab will always have sub-tabs for attachment and volunteer documents. If the VicDocs module is included in your account's service level, there will also be sub-tabs for Coordinator, Site, Place, and Assignment documents. You can learn more about the Documents tab here.

DOLA - Please see Date of Last Activity (DOLA) in this glossary for information.

E¶

Email Messages - Communication sent to your volunteers and/or Coordinators via email. You can find more information on how to send email messages here.

Email Codes - Codes that can be inserted into the body of your email message to personalize the message with your volunteer's information. You can find more information here.

Email Opt-out - Please see Opt-out in this glossary for information.

Email Preferences - Part of the Opt-out feature that allows volunteers and Coordinators to select the types of email messages they wish to receive. You can find more information here.

Email Types - Categories of email messages volunteers use to select their Email Preferences. You can find more information here.

Event - Volgistics does not use the term event for anything but the actions, or tasks, a System Operator performs. However, many organizations use the term event to refer to a function where their volunteers will serve, or to the actual jobs or tasks the volunteers will perform at the event. In Volgistics, you will typically use Site or Place records for the overall event, and Assignment records for the jobs or tasks volunteers perform at the event.

Event Log - The Event Log is a record of key actions for your account. Quite often these are related to actions performed by a System Operator, but they can also be events the system initiates. Only key actions are tracked because logging every single action is not practical due to the additional processing and storage requirements this would introduce. You can find more information here.

Excel - A Microsoft application used for spreadsheet data. Volgistics does not supply the Excel program, but it can produce reports in Excel format. You can find more information in the Excel Spreadsheet Report entry.

Excel Spreadsheet Reports - Reports produced by Volgistics in spreadsheet format using the Excel file extension (.xlsx). There is a specific Excel report type here, and many other stock and custom reports can also be produced in Excel format.

F¶

Field Rights - Administrator(s) can restrict System Operator access to certain fields according to the operator's User Level. Fields can be hidden from view for a user level, or set to View only so the user can see the information but not change it. You can find more information here. You may also want to see Tab Rights in this glossary for more information.

Fields - Fields in Volgistics refer to locations where you can store information. Fields can have different types or formats such as text, date, dropdown list, or checkbox. You can find more information about the fields available in Volgistics here.

Fill Link - The Fill link is a link that appears beside an unfilled opening on your account's schedule. Clicking this link opens the Fill an opening box so that you can schedule a volunteer to fill the opening slot. Please see Opening in this glossary for more information on schedule openings.

Filled Opening - A filled opening slot means a volunteer is scheduled to serve in the shift that the opening represents. Please note that one opening can have multiple slots (for instance if 5 volunteers are needed for the shift). So even if a volunteer is filling one of the slots, there may still be unfilled opening slots available for the same opening. You can use the schedule icons as a visual indicator to see if an opening slot is filled or unfilled.

Fiscal Year - A 12-month period used to calculate annual financial statements. This is sometimes also called a financial year or budget year. You can setup Volgistics to figure year-to-date (YTD) totals and reports based on your organization's fiscal year. You can find more information on this here.

Flags - Flags provide a way to identify and categorize volunteer records. Flags differ from Types because a volunteer can have multiple Flags but only one Type. You can find more information here.

Floating Subtotal - Two customizable floating subtotal fields are available to help you track service over a certain range of months. The floating subtotal fields are available on most reports and in the Statistics box on the Core tab of the volunteer record. You can find more information here.

Former Role - Roles in Volgistics are used to show the volunteer's relationship, or standing, in a specific Assignment. The Former Role is a default Role generally used to show that the volunteer previously served in an Assignment, but is not serving in the Assignment at the current time. Please see Role in this glossary for more information.

Frequency - The Frequency field is a field that is used for schedule entries to show how often the entry will occur. It can be set to One time for assignments that will take place on just one date, or Regular if the entry will repeat on certain weekdays.

FTE - Please see Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) in this glossary for information.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) - Full-time equivalent (FTE) refers to a unit used to indicate a workload, or count, for hourly resources. Volgistics can assist volunteer leaders by calculating a FTE for volunteer service. You can find more information here.

G¶

Getting Started Interview - The Getting Started Interview takes place the first time someone logs-in to a new trial account. It is used to setup some basic options for the account, which can be changed later if necessary. You can find more information on what the interview covers here.

Graphic - In software, this generally refers to a picture or image file such as an organization's logo. Please see Logo Graphic in this glossary for more information.

Greeting Cards - Birthday, start date anniversary, and holiday cards that can be setup to appear when volunteers sign-in to the VicTouch module. You can find more information here.

Group - Volunteer records designed to be used when you have a group of volunteers (such as a school service group, or a group of volunteers from a business or social club). Group records are designed to be used when you do not need to track service, contact, and other information for each individual that serves as part of the group. You can find more information here.

H¶

Headquarters Operator - When an account has the Site Level Access feature enabled, a Headquarters Operator is an operator who can access all Sites instead of one particular Site at a time.

Help E-mail Tab - A tab in the Volgistics Mailbox used to submit and receive help inquiries.

Help Inquiry - Volgistics offers free, unlimited online support. A help inquiry refers to a question that has been submitted to our support team. You can find information on the recommended method of submitting questions from your Volgistics account here.

History Tab - This is a tab on the volunteer record where date records and the message history for the volunteer are stored. Date records are kept for things like when a Status was given, when a Checklist item was completed, or when an Award was received. The message history tracks when messages were sent to the volunteer as shown here. You can find more information about the tab structure of volunteer records here.

Holiday Cards - Please see Greeting Cards in this glossary for information.

Holidays - If your organization closes or keeps a reduced staff on certain days, you can clear the ongoing schedule for the date by using the Holidays feature. You can find more information on how this works here.

Hours - Please see Service Entry in this glossary for information.

Hours of Operation - The opening and closing times for when you will use volunteers. The Hours of Operation control the beginning and ending times for when volunteers can be scheduled. You can find more information here.

I¶

Impact - See Assignment Cluster for information.

Import - Please see Conversion in this glossary for information.

In Box Tab - A tab in the Volgistics Mailbox used to receive Reports and Alerts. You can find more information on the In Box tab here.

Inactive Status - A default Status in Volgistics generally used to describe people who are no longer volunteering with your organization. Please see Status in this glossary for more information.

Include - Include refers to selecting which volunteers appear on a list, report or tab. Two spots where Include settings appear are the Volunteers Page, and the Volunteers Tab. In addition, each report has an Include tab that controls which volunteers appear on the report.

Individual - Individual records in Volgistics represent one volunteer. You can learn more about the tabs and information that can be stored on records here. Volgistics also offers group records. Please see Group in this glossary for more information on group records.

Invoice - Please see Order-Invoice in this glossary for information.

J¶

Job(s) - Please see Assignment in this glossary for information.

K¶

Kiosk - Kiosk can refer to the furniture or structure used to hold a computer. In Volgistics, we generally use the term kiosk to refer to your account's VicTouch Sign-in Station.

Kiosk Mode - A method of launching the VicTouch module that causes the display to fill the entire monitor or screen. This give the most secure and reliable experience because it removes the web browser controls from view so only people with a special code can shut down VicTouch. You can learn more about how to configure your web browser to launch VicTouch in kiosk mode here.

L¶

Labels Reports - Volgistics has reports designed to produce PDF files that can be used with sheet fed labels such as file labels. You can find more information here.

Leave of Absence Status - Please see LOA Status in this glossary for information.

Life Hours - The grand total of all service hours entered for a volunteer. This figure is available on the volunteer's Service tab, and can be added to the Statistics box on the Core tab of the volunteer's record. The figure is also available on the Fields tab of most reports, and can be used as a benchmark when configuring Volgistics to determine who is available for awards.

LOA Status - A custom Status Administrator(s) can create in the Volgistics account. It is generally used to describe people who are on a Leave of Absence (LOA) from volunteering, but will likely return to an Active Status. Please see Status in this glossary for more information.

Local Back-up - Please see Back-up in this glossary for information.

Login - Entering your credentials and starting a Volgistics session. The account's System Operators can find more information here. Volunteers can learn about logging in to the VicNet portal in the Volunteer Guide for VicNet. Coordinators can learn about logging in to the portal in the Coordinator Guide for VicNet.

Logo Graphic - Image files uploaded to your account that contain your organization's logo. Separate graphics can be uploaded for your Display Graphic, Print Graphic, and the Mobile VicNet Graphic. You can find more information on uploading graphics here.

M¶

Mail Merge - Using a source document that contains information such as volunteer names, addresses, etc. to copy this information into a template letter, or other document. The mail merge is performed using word processing or similar software to individualize each copy of the finished document with the information from the source document. You can find information on making a source document in Volgistics here. Volgistics also allows you to personalize email messages with email codes.

Mailbox - The communications center in Volgistics. The mailbox view is the same for all System Operators unless an account has Site Level Access enabled. In this case, operators only see information for their Site. The mailbox has In Box, Out Box, Applications, Service, Help E-mail, and Documents tabs.

Mandate - See Mandatory Service in this glossary for information.

Mandatory Service - A goal for volunteers to perform a certain amount of service for your organization within a specified date range. You can find more information here.

Menu - The items along the left side of your Volgistics account that direct you to certain areas of the program. You can find more information here.

Merit Hours - A way to adjust service hours recorded for volunteers automatically. Regular hours can be augmented for situations such as serving on a weekend, taking an overnight shift, or serving in a hard to staff Assignment. Or regular hours can be decreased to account for lunches or breaks. You can find more information here.

Mobile VicNet Logo - This is an image uploaded to Volgistics so that it appears in the header when the VicNet portal is accessed on a mobile device via a web browser or the iOS or Android app. Please see Logo Graphic in this glossary for more information.

Month-to-date (MTD) - The month-to-date (MTD) total is the sum of all service hours entered for a volunteer from the first of the month to the current date in the month. For example, if it is March 22nd, the figure will represent a sum of service entries from March 1st to March 22nd for the volunteer. This figure can be added to the Statistics box on the Core tab of the volunteer's record, and is available on the Fields tab of most reports.

MTD - Please see Month-to-date (MTD) in this glossary for information.

Multi-Site Level Operator - A System Operator who is assigned to a pool of up to 10 Sites when the account uses Site Level Access. Multi-Site Level Operators can only view one Site at a time, but may switch their view to any of the Sites assigned to them.

N¶

Non-Archived - A section of your database used to store volunteer records for your volunteers who are actively serving. Please note this is separate from a volunteer's Status. Non-archived and archived records can have any Status in your account regardless of the section of your database they are in. You can find more information on the differences between non-archived and archived records here.

Notes Tab - A tab on the volunteer record where you can add narrative text information about the volunteer. Information from Comment Fields on volunteer application forms is placed on the Notes tab. You can find more information on the Notes tab here.

Notifications - Please see Alerts in this glossary for information.

Number - A unique identification number found on the Core tab of the volunteer record. This number is used as the PIN when volunteers sign-in to the VicTouch module. If you'd like to send volunteers their PIN in an email message, you can do this with an email code. You can find more information about system settings for volunteer numbers here.

O¶

On-Demand - In Volgistics, On-Demand refers to schedule reminder messages that are sent because a System Operator triggered the action. In most cases, schedule reminders are sent automatically by the system. You can find more information regarding On-Demand reminder messages here.

One Day Only - This refers to an opening or schedule entry that only takes place on one, specific date. It does not repeat on an ongoing basis. Please see Schedule in this glossary for more information.

Ongoing - This refers to an opening or schedule entry that takes place on a recurring, or repeated, basis. For example, a schedule entry that takes place on every Monday and Wednesday is said to take place on an ongoing basis. Please see Schedule in this glossary for more information.

Online Forms - Volgistics features that allow volunteers and potential volunteers to interact with your organization via the Internet. These include the Opportunity Directory, application forms, and the VicNet module.

Opening - Openings are used to create shifts, or pre-set times, when volunteers will serve. Openings can be setup to take place on just one specific date. Or, they can be setup to recur on an ongoing basis.

One opening can be setup to take place on multiple days and require multiple volunteers. For example, a single opening may take place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and have 5 slots, or volunteers needed, on each of those days. You can find more information on creating openings here.

Opening Notes - Notes that are added to the opening slots to provide additional information about the shift. Opening notes can only be added by System Operators and the notes repeat on each instance of the opening. There are also schedule entry notes that can provide additional information about a specific volunteer's shift at a certain date and time. You can find more information here.

Openings Only - A term used to describe Assignments or schedule entries that require volunteers to serve specific times. You can setup the Rules tab of an Assignment to allow self-scheduling for openings only in Assignments that require volunteers to serve a certain shift. Please see Schedule in this glossary for more information.

Opportunity - Please see Assignment in this glossary for information.

Opportunity Directory - An online form that lists your Assignments and descriptions. You can find more information on this here.

Opt-out - To ensure the integrity of Volgistics email messages, we require that opt-out choices be sent with all email messages sent to more than one volunteer or Coordinator. You can find information on why this is important here. The recipient selects what email types they would like to receive. These choices are used to setup the volunteer or Coordinator's email preferences.

Order-Invoice - A bill used with the pre-payment method to start the payment process. Volgistics does not send Order-Invoices because each account holder selects the number of months (1 to 18) they'd like to pre-pay for as well as the service level they'd like. Volgistics automatically sends email notices that the renewal date is approaching to the account's Billing Contact at regular intervals starting 60 days from the paid through date. You can find information on how to create an Order-Invoice here.

Out Box Tab - A tab on your Volgistics mailbox where you can send messages, and view saved and sent messages. Automatic messages that have been sent do not appear on your Out Box tab. You can learn more about the Out Box tab here.

P¶

Password - Part of the credentials that System Operators use to login to the Volgistics system, and volunteers and Coordinators use to login to VicNet. The passwords are not the same as the PIN volunteers use to sign-in to VicTouch. System Operator passwords are initially created by the Administrator who creates the record. The initial volunteer and Coordinator passwords can be created in a variety of ways. You can learn more about volunteer and Coordinator passwords here.

PDF - A file format for Volgistics reports. PDF files can be opened with Adobe's Acrobat Reader DC program, the built-in PDF viewer in many web browsers, and outside programs designed to open this type of file. You can learn more about PDF files here.

Photo - System Operators can optionally upload photos of volunteers to the Profile tab of the volunteer record. The photos can also be uploaded by volunteers and Coordinators through the VicNet module. You can learn more about the photo feature here.

Picture - Please see Photo in this glossary for information.

PIN - Please see Number in this glossary for information.

Place - The middle tier, or level, in the Site, Place, and Assignment hierarchy used to organize your assignment records. You can learn more about this structure here.

PO - Please see Purchase Order in this glossary for information.

Position - Please see Assignment in this glossary for information.

Post - For some, post may mean a job, task, or station that a volunteer serves at. In this case, see Assignment in this glossary for more information. In Volgistics, post means to add service information to volunteer records. You can learn more about this in the Service Entry definition in this glossary.

Power User - A user level that controls the amount of access the System Operator has in the account. To customize the access, the account's Administrator(s) setup the Field Rights and Tab Rights for the Power User operators.

Preference Field - Fields used to allow applicants or volunteers to express an interest in serving at certain Sites or Places, or in certain Assignments. Preferences can also be setup for other things as well such as an Assignment Cluster, state or province, or one of the spare fields on the Assignment record. You can learn more about Preference Fields here.

Preference Role - Roles in Volgistics are used to show the volunteer's relationship, or standing, in a specific Assignment. The Preference Role is a default Role generally used to show that the volunteer has an interest in serving in an Assignment, but is not scheduled in the Assignment yet. If the Assignment Preference field is setup to automatically give a Role in an Assignment, it is commonly the Preference Role. Please see Role in this glossary for more information.

Pre-payment - A payment option for paying your Volgistics Service Fee by creating an Order-Invoice and then either mailing a check for payment, or paying the invoice by credit card. You can find more information here.

Print - Please see Reports in this glossary for information.

Print Graphic - This is an image uploaded to Volgistics so that it appears on PDF versions of reports that you generate. Please see Logo Graphic in this glossary for more information.

Prior Year Comparison - A field you can add to Service Summary reports to show hours served in the previous year for the time period listed in the report. The report automatically calculates the percentage of loss or gain between the two years. You can learn more about this here.

Profile Tab - This is a tab on volunteer and assignment records. For volunteers (not assignments), the tab contains information such as their Date of Birth, photo, spare fields, and preference fields. For volunteers and assignments, the tab can contain information such as the Daily Availability and Characteristic fields. You can find more information about the tabs on volunteer records here.

Project - Please see Assignment in this glossary for information.

Prospect Status - A default Status in Volgistics generally used to describe people who you have collected basic information from, but who have not started the steps to start volunteering (such as filling out an Application Form) yet. For example, if you have an open house you may collect the names and email addresses of guests and enter them as a volunteer in your database with the Prospect Status. This would allow you to send them invitations to apply to volunteer, while keeping them separate from your volunteers with the Active Status who are actively serving. Please see Status in this glossary for more information.

Public Account Identifier - A unique identification number for Volgistics accounts that is used to associate their VicNet or VicTouch access points with their account.

Purchase Order (PO) - A purchase order (or PO) is document used by the Accounts Payable departments of some organizations to indicate that they will be purchasing a product. Volgistics does not accept purchase orders as payment for service fees. If your organization requires you to use purchase orders as part of the payment process, you will need to wait for the check to be generated for the purchase order and then send the check to us. If it helps the payment process, you can add a purchase order number to an Order-Invoice. You can learn more about how to do this here.

Q¶

Query - A query is a way to search the database based on certain criteria. Volgistics refers to the searches as Sets. See Set in this glossary for additional information.

QR Code for VicTouch - Instead of setting up sign-in stations for the VicTouch time stations, you can create QR codes volunteers can scan to launch VicTouch on their phone. You can learn more about this here.

R¶

Receipt - A document showing that an Order-Invoice for Volgistics service fees has been paid. You can view, print, or save Receipts in the Volgistics Store for your account. You can learn how to do this here.

Recognition - Please see Awards in this glossary for information.

Registration - Please see Application Forms in this glossary for information.

Regex - Please see Regular Expressions in this glossary for information.

Regular - System Operators and Coordinators can put volunteers on the schedule on a repeating, or recurring, basis such as every Monday or every other Friday. Volgistics refers to a person who is scheduled like this as a Regularly scheduled volunteer.

Regular Expressions - Regular Expressions (or Regex for short) are not unique to the Volgistics system, but the Search fields on the column headings of the Volunteer Page support some Regular Expressions to help you search for records. You can find many resources to learn more about Regular Expressions on the Internet. One resource is RegexOne.

Reports - Volgistics includes reporting features you can use to retrieve information from your account. Reports can be generated in PDF or Microsoft Excel formatted files. Completed report files are sent to the In Box tab of your Volgistics Mailbox. They can be saved locally, or opened, from there. You can learn about the stock, or pre-made, reports in Volgistics here. You can learn about how to make custom reports here.

Role - The Role in Volgistics shows a volunteer's relationship to an Assignment. Having a Role in an assignment does not necessarily mean that the volunteer is scheduled in the assignment, or has service recorded in the assignment, although this is quite often the case. You can find more information about Roles here.

Roster - Roster is not a term that is used by Volgistics. Depending on where you are from geographically, roster can mean various things. If you use it to mean people who are scheduled, see Schedule in this glossary for more information. If you use roster to describe a list, roll, count, etc., you may need to contact the support team and describe what you're looking for. The support team will gladly assist you with details on how to get the information you need.

Rules Tab - The Rules tab is located on Assignment records. It is used for things such as controlling which volunteers can self-schedule for the assignment, or whether volunteers can schedule for any times or for openings only. You can also setup self-scheduling alerts on the Rules tab. You can learn more about the Rules tab in Schedule Qualifications and Rules.

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Schedule - In Volgistics, the schedule is used to record information about when you expect volunteers to serve in the future. Because of this, the schedule for past years is not available indefinitely so you should not depend on the schedule to show historical information about when volunteers served in the past. Instead, we recommend using service entries to record information about when volunteers served in the past. Please note that service entries are not automatically created from the schedule--service must be put into the system using one of the methods shown here. You can find more information about the schedule feature in Volgistics here.

Schedule Entry - The registration or recording of details for a volunteer's schedule. Schedule entries record the assignment, times or shift, date(s), and any special notes about when the volunteer is expected to serve. Schedule entries can be for one date only, or for a repeating (ongoing) pattern of dates such as every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. Schedule entries can simply place the volunteer on the schedule, or they can place the volunteer on the schedule as filling an opening slot.

Schedule Entry Notes - A note to provide additional information about a volunteer's schedule entry. These notes can be added or modified by System Operators. Notes can also be added or modified in the VicNet portal by Coordinators if the Schedule page settings allow and volunteers if the self-scheduling settings allow. There are also opening notes to provide information about the opening the volunteer is filling. You can find more information about schedule notes here.

Schedule Icons - Schedule icons provide a quick visual way to see if an opening slot is filled by an individual volunteer or a group member, or if is still an unfilled opening slot. You can learn more about schedule icons here.

Schedule Reminders - Reminder messages sent by Email or text to volunteers and Coordinators. In most cases reminders are setup to be sent automatically by the system, but they can also be sent on-demand by System Operators. You can find more information on Schedule Reminder messages here.

Schedule Reports - These reports create PDF files with information about schedules in your account. You can find more information here.

Schedule Tab - A tab on volunteer, Coordinator, Site, Place, or Assignment records that shows the schedule for that particular record. For example, a volunteer's Schedule tab will only show that volunteer's schedule, a Coordinator's Schedule tab will show the schedule for all assignments the Coordinator oversees, a Site's Schedule tab will show the schedule for all assignments that fall under the Site, etc.

Secured-socket layer (SSL) - An online encryption method Volgistics uses to scramble your account's information as it travels over the Internet. You can learn more about this here.

Security Block - A built-in security feature used to help safeguard your information. This feature automatically stops login attempt to your account if too many invalid login attempts have been made from the same IP address. You can learn more about this here.

Self-Scheduling - An account's Administrator(s) can configure the Volgistics account to allow volunteers to place themselves on the schedule as long as either the VicNet or VicTouch module is included in the organization's service level. You can find more information on how to enable and configure self-scheduling in the Self-Scheduling Settings for VicNet and VicTouch help topic.

Self-Scheduling Alerts - A type of alert sent to System Operators and/or Coordinators to notify them that a volunteer has added or removed herself from the schedule. The alerts can be configured to be sent for just specific assignments. You can learn how to enable self-scheduling alerts in the Self-scheduling alerts section of the Schedule Qualifications and Rules help topic.

Sender ID - An email authentication protocol designed to combat spam. Volgistics offers two different Sender ID settings depending on how your organization handles Sender ID. You can learn more about this here.

Service - Please see Service Entry in this glossary for information.

Service Detail Reports - Reports designed to show service information in your account. The reports can be run in Excel or PDF format. You can find more information on Service Detail reports here.

Service Directive - See Mandatory Service in this glossary for information.

Service Entry - The registration or recording of details for a volunteer's past service with your organization. Service entries always record a date (or date range). Entries can also optionally record hours served, times served, the assignment the volunteer served in, Service Measure information, and a service note about the entry.

The system will automatically calculate Merit Hours for the service entry if you have setup a rule that applies to the entry. In addition, service entries can be applied toward a Mandatory Service goal for the volunteer.

Service entries need to be created through one of the methods shown in the Methods of Posting Service help topic. Service is not automatically entered based on the schedule. You can find more information about how service shows on a volunteer record in Service Tab Overview.

Service Fee - The payment required to use the Volgistics service at the service level you select for your account. Service fees are calculated by month, and you can select to make automatic monthly payments or pre-pay in advance for 1 to 18 months of service. You can learn more about Volgistics service fees here.

Service Hours - Please see Service Entry in this glossary for information.

Service Level - The maximums you choose for the number of non-archived volunteer records, archived volunteer records, and System Operators you can have in your account. Your service level also determines if your account has access to the optional VicNet, VicTouch, and VicDocs modules. You can find more information on this here.

Service Mandate - See Mandatory Service in this glossary for information.

Service Measures - Optional numerical fields you can setup to collect additional service information for things such as tours given, mileage driven, phone calls made, absences, visits, etc. You can find more information on Service Measures here.

Service Notes - A note to provide additional information about a volunteer's service entry. These notes must be enabled on the Service Tracking Ground Rules page. Notes can be added or modified by System Operators on the Service tab of volunteer records. If the account includes the VicNet portal, the Service page can also be set up to allow volunteers to enter a note with their service entry. The Add Service Notes to Reports help topic explains more about this.

Service Summary Reports - Reports designed to show service information in your account. The reports can be run in Excel or PDF format. You can find more information on Service Summary reports here.

Service Tab (Mailbox) - There is a Service tab on volunteer records and a Service tab on your Volgistics mailbox. This glossary item is for the mailbox. If you need information regarding the Service tab on volunteer records, see the Service Tab (Volunteer Record) item below.

The purpose of the Service tab on the mailbox is to allow System Operators review, edit, or delete service entries sent to be audited.

Service Tab (Volunteer Record) -There is a Service tab on volunteer records and a Service tab on your Volgistics mailbox. This glossary item is for the volunteer records. If you need information on the mailbox, see the Service Tab (Mailbox) item above.

The Service tab on volunteer records has three purposes. The top of the tab is where the Roles a volunteer has in assignments are recorded. There is more information on this here. The middle of the tab is where the volunteer's service information is recorded. You can find more information on this here. The bottom of the tab is where Mandatory Service for the volunteer is configured.

Service Values - You can assign a monetary value to be associated with service information. For example, Independent Sector (a Washington, D.C. based advocacy coalition) announced the U.S. average for volunteer service value was $29.95 per hour in 2022. The group also releases averages for each State and you can learn more at https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time. You can learn more about setting service values in Volgistics here.

Session - A Volgistics session starts when a System Operator correctly enters her or his credentials from the Login link at www.volgistics.com. Each operator can only have one active session at a time. So if one person is logged-in, and another person uses the same credentials to login, the first person's session will end. Sessions will also expire automatically when the system does not sense any activity by the operator for an extended period of time. You can learn more about this here.

Set - A Set is a way to query your account to identify certain volunteers. After a Set has been created, you can do various things with it such as view the volunteers in the Set, send a message to the volunteers in the Set, or run a report that only includes the volunteers in the Set. You can learn more about the Sets feature here.

Set Rule - A Set Rule is any aspect of the Volgistics system that can be used to build a Set to query your volunteer records. You can find a complete list of the Set Rules that are available here.

Setup - The menu option that allows System Operators to configure their account. Access to the Setup menu is usually only given to Volgistics Administrator level operators, but access can optionally be given to Power and Basic User level operators also. You can learn more here.

Shifts - See Opening in this glossary for information.

Sign-in Station - See VicTouch Sign-in Station in this glossary for information.

Site - The top tier, or level, in the Site, Place, and Assignment hierarchy used to organize an account's assignment records. You can learn more about this structure here.

Site Level Access - A Volgistics feature that allows System Operators to be restricted to a single Site, or to a pool of Sites they can switch between. When this is in place, the operator will only see Places and Assignments that are underneath the Site currently associated with their record. The operator will also only see volunteer records that are linked to their Site. You can learn more about this feature here.

Site-Level Operator - A System Operator who is assigned to one particular Site when the account uses Site Level Access.

Slot - See Opening in this glossary for information.

Spare Fields - Fields that the account's Administrator(s) can customize to meet the organization's needs. You can learn more about what types of spare fields are available, what records they are available on, and more here.

SSL - See Secured-socket layer (SSL) for information.

Start Date - The date a volunteer starts actively serving with your organization. By default this is the first Active Status date recorded for the volunteer, but the account's Administrator(s) can configure the account to use different Statuses for this date. You can find more information on this here.

Statistics Box - A box on the bottom of the Core tab of volunteer records that shows service information about the volunteer. Administrator(s) can configure the Statistics box to show the volunteer's Date of Last Activity and Years of Service, along with lifetime, year-to-date, and month-to-date service hours. Administrator(s) can also select to add two floating subtotals for customizable date ranges. You can learn more about how to configure the Statistics Box here.

Statistics Reports - Reports designed to summarize volunteer information such as demographics and retention for your entire account. You can learn more about these reports here.

Status - A volunteer's Status in Volgistics shows their current relationship with your organization. For example, an Applicant Status generally means that the volunteer has completed an application, but is not approved to serve yet. While an Active Status generally means that the volunteer has completed any vetting you require and is now actively serving. You can learn more about Statuses and how they are used here.

Stock Reports - These are pre-made, ready-to-run reports designed to meet many common needs volunteer organizations have for reporting. In addition to stock reports, you can also create custom reports if you cannot find a stock report that meets your needs. You can learn more about the stock reports available in Volgistics here.

Stop Date - The date a volunteer stops actively serving with your organization. By default this is the first Inactive Status date recorded for the volunteer, but Administrator(s) can configure the account to use different Statuses for this date. You can find more information on this here.

Store - Please see Volgistics Store in this glossary for information.

Substitute Role - Roles in Volgistics are used to show the volunteer's relationship, or standing, in a specific Assignment. The Substitute Role is a default Role generally used to show that the volunteer is available to fill in for other volunteers who cannot serve as scheduled. Please see Role in this glossary for more information.

System Operator - A person who logs into the Volgistics account by using the Login button at www.volgistics.com. These are generally the leaders of the volunteer department. Operators have three different levels that are configured by the account's Administrator(s). These are Volgistics Administrator, Power User, and Basic User. You can find more information on System Operators here.

System Operator Page - The page where the account's Administrator(s) add, delete, and configure System Operator records for the account. Administrators control the user's credentials, as well as the operator's user level, the menu items the operator can access, the tasks or jobs the operator can perform, and whether the operator is a Site-Level or Multi-Site Level Operator. You can find more information on the fields and settings on the System Operator Page here.

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Tab Rights - Tab rights give you the ability to hide certain tabs on volunteer records from System Operators with a certain user level. You can find more information on tab rights here. You may also want to see Field Rights in this glossary for more information.

Tags - Tags are a temporary way to identify a volunteer record (or a group of volunteer records). Once records are tagged, there are a variety of actions you can take. For example, you can change the Status of all the tagged records at once, or run a report for just the tagged volunteers. You can learn more about the Tags feature here.

Tasks - Tasks can mean a variety of things, but in most cases it is what the volunteers do to provide volunteer service. If this is the meaning you're using, please see Assignment in this glossary for more information.

Text Messages - Communication sent to your volunteers and/or Coordinators via text. You can find more information on text messages here.

Tickler - The former name of the Checklist Page.

Trainee Role - Roles in Volgistics are used to show the volunteer's relationship, or standing, in a specific Assignment. The Trainee Role is a default Role generally used to show that the volunteer is learning to serve in an Assignment. Please see Role in this glossary for more information.

Types - Types provide a way to identify and categorize volunteer records. Types differ from Flags because a volunteer can only have one Type, but they can have multiple Flags. You can find more information here.

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Unduplicated Volunteer Count - A count available on Service Detail and Service Summary reports that shows how many volunteers have service information recorded during the time period the report covers. The count is unduplicated because it factors out situations such as one volunteer who has service recorded in two different Assignments under the same Place. You can learn more here.

Unfilled Opening - An unfilled opening slot means that a volunteer is still needed to serve in the shift the opening represents. Please note that one opening can have multiple slots (for instance if 5 volunteers are needed for the shift). So one opening may have unfilled slots even if volunteers are scheduled to fill other slots for the opening. You can use the schedule icons as a visual indicator of if the opening slot is filled or unfilled.

User Level - The amount of access that System Operators have to the system. The three user levels are Volgistics Administrator, Power User, and Basic User. By default, the user levels have about the same amount of access to the system. The Volgistics Administrator(s) customizes how much access each user level has by setting tab rights and field rights for the user level. You can find more information on how Administrators control the access operators have here.

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Values - Please see Service Values in this glossary for information.

Vic - Vic stands for Volunteer Information Center. When Volgistics references Vic it means the item relates to one of the three optional modules (VicNet, VicTouch, or VicDocs), or a feature available in these modules such as VicMail.

VicMail - Messages sent to volunteers through the VicNet or VicTouch modules. You can find more information here

Vic Self-Scheduling - Please see Self-Scheduling in this glossary for information.

Vic Tab - A tab on the volunteer record where you can review a volunteer's access to the VicNet and VicTouch modules. You can find more information on the Vic tab here.

VicDocs - An optional module that you can add to your account's service level if you want to store electronic documents such as a photo release form a volunteer has signed. Documents can be uploaded by System Operators, by applicants when they apply, or you can set up the VicNet portal to allow Coordinators and volunteers to upload documents. You can learn more about the VicDocs feature here.

VicNet - An optional module that you can add to your account's service level to allow volunteers to download an app or sign-in over the Internet to do things like update their contact information, view messages, see their current schedule, add or remove themselves from the schedule, view their past service, or enter new service information. If the VicNet portal is part of an account's service level, they can also send volunteers text messages at no charge. You can learn more about this module here.

VicTouch - An optional module that you can add to your account's service level to allow volunteers to clock-in and clock-out when they arrive and depart from your facility. VicTouch can be set up on a wide variety of devices to make a VicTouch Station, or you can create QR codes volunteers can scan to launch the sign-in screen on their phone. The system automatically creates a service entry on the Service tab of the volunteer record when the volunteer signs-out. You can learn more about this module here.

VicTouch Sign-in Station - A computer or tablet that is set up to launch the VicTouch module. When VicTouch is included in your account's service level, you can set up as many sign-in stations as you need without impacting your monthly service fees. You can learn how to launch a VicTouch sign-in station here. In addition to sign-in stations, your volunteers can scan a QR code to launch VicTouch on their own phone.

Volgistics Administrator - A System Operator who generally has access to all aspects of the account. By default, the person who creates the account is the account's Administrator and this person can then create other operator records at any of the three levels: Volgistics Administrator, Power User, or Basic User. You can learn more about Volgistics Administrator level operators here.

Volgistics Store - Each account has a Volgistics Store that is used to arrange for payment of the account's service fees. The Store can only be accessed by Administrators for the account, or people who have the Accounting Access Code for the account. To get to the Store, go to www.volgistics.com, hover over Try or Buy on the menu, and select Store.

Volunteer and Assignment Matching - An optional feature that an account's Administrator(s) can enable that will help find volunteers who are a good fit to serve in an Assignment. You can learn more about this feature here.

Volunteer Count - Information about the number of volunteers in your account. Count can mean different things depending on the criteria you use to determine if a record qualifies. For example, Administrators can find the total number of records in the account by going to Setup, then Account management, and then Account status. Operators can also get counts for just records that meet certain criteria as shown here. Please note that group records will only count as one record for these two methods even though the group may represent many volunteers. Operators can also pull counts for volunteers who have service recorded in a specified date range with an unduplicated volunteer count. With this method, groups will show with the number of volunteers who performed the service, but there is not a way to factor out if the same volunteers from the group gave service more than once.

Volunteer List - Please see Volunteer Page in this glossary for information.

Volunteer List Reports - Reports designed to show information about volunteer records in your account. These reports are laid out in a table format and you can setup the report to be sorted in different ways such as by the volunteer's number, Start Date, Date of Last Activity, or lifetime service hours. The reports can be run in Excel or PDF format. You can find more information on Volunteer List reports here.

Volunteer Number - Please see Number in this glossary for more information.

Volunteer Page - This is also known as the volunteer list. This is the page you see when you select Volunteers from the top of the menu. You can find information about how to control which fields appear as columns on the volunteer page here. You can find information about how to search for specific records on the volunteer page here.

Volunteer Profile Reports - Reports designed to show information about the volunteer records in your account in a directory type format. These reports are only available in PDF format and they are the only reports that can contain volunteer photos. You can find more information on Volunteer Profile reports here.

Volunteer Records - Your volunteer records are accessed from the Volunteer page in your account. Volunteer records can be in the archived or non-archived section of your account. You can find information on how to find archived records here. You can find information on how to find non-archived records here.

A volunteer record can represent one person (individual records) or multiple volunteers (group records). Group records only count as one record toward the cap set for your account's service level even though they represent multiple volunteers. Volunteer records can be created in a variety of ways as shown here. You can learn more about the tabs and fields on volunteer records here.

VolunteerWorks - VolunteerWorks is Volgistics' legacy software. Support for this product ended in 2008 but we offer free conversions to Volgistics for organizations who are still using VolunteerWorks. You can learn more about this at https://www.volgistics.com/VolunteerWorks-conversion.htm.

Volunteers Tab - The Volunteers tab is a tab on Site, Place, Assignment, or Coordinator records. The purpose of the tab is to show volunteers associated with Assignments through a Role in the Assignment. If you use the optional Volunteer and Assignment Matching feature, the Volunteers tab on Assignment records can also show volunteers who match the Assignment's criteria. You can learn more about the Volunteers tab on a Site record here. To learn about the tab on a Place record, click here. And, to learn more about the tab on an Assignment record, click here.

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Web Browser - A web browser is an app or software you have on your computer or device that allows you to access the Internet. Approved web browsers for Volgistics include Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. You can learn more about web browsers and other system requirements for Volgistics here.

Welcome Page - The Welcome Page or screen is the first page System Operators see after they Login to Volgistics. Operators also see the page if Welcome is selected from the Volgistics menu. The Welcome page shows announcements from the Volgistics Team, account status information, and a Tip of the Week highlighting aspects of Volgistics that System Operators may be unaware of. Additionally, Administrators can setup the Welcome page to show statistics about the account and a list of volunteer birthdays. You can learn more about the statistics box here and the birthday list here.

Who's Here - The Who's Here page or screen is displayed if System Operators select Who's Here from the Volgistics menu. The main purpose of the page is to show which volunteers are currently signed-in to the VicTouch module. The page can also be setup to show volunteers who were signed-in previously during the day, volunteers scheduled for the day, or unfilled opening slots. You can learn more about the Who's Here page here.

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Year-to-date (YTD) - The year-to-date (YTD) total is the sum of all service hours entered for a volunteer from the first of the year to the current date in the year. Please note that "year" can mean either the calendar year or the fiscal year depending on how you have your account configured. For example, if the current date is September 15th and your account does not have a fiscal year set, the YTD figure will be all hours given from January 1st to September 15th. However, if the current date is September 15th and your account is set to have a fiscal year that starts June 1st, the YTD figure will be all hours given from June 1st to September 15th. The YTD figure can be added to the Statistics box on the Core tab of the volunteer's record, and is available on the Fields tab of most reports.

Years of Service - Years of service is the amount of time volunteers have been with your organization. In Volgistics, the system automatically calculates this total based on the volunteer's Status dates. By default, only time in the Active Status is counted, but account holders can configure different Statuses to count toward the total as well. You can find more information on this here.

YTD - Please see Year-to-date (YTD) in this glossary for information.

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