A nonprofit organization wants a report that compares giving at a consistent point in time from year to year. Now should the consultant set this up?

To compare giving at consistent points in time from year to year, the best solution is to set up a

Reporting Snapshot on Opportunities. A Reporting Snapshot allows you to capture data at specific

points in time and then compare it across different periods. Here are the steps to set this up:

Create the Report:

Create a report on Opportunities that includes the relevant data you want to capture (e.g., donation

amounts, dates).

Ensure the report filters are set to capture data for the specific time frames you are interested in.

Create a Custom Object:

Create a custom object to store the snapshot data.

Add fields to this custom object that correspond to the fields in your report.

Set Up the Reporting Snapshot:

Navigate to Setup.

In the Quick Find box, type "Reporting Snapshots" and select "Reporting Snapshots".

Click "New Reporting Snapshot".

Name the snapshot and select the source report you created.

Select the target object (the custom object you created).

Map the fields from the report to the fields in the custom object.

Schedule the Reporting Snapshot:

Set up a schedule for when the snapshot should run (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).

Save and activate the schedule.

By capturing the data at regular intervals, you can generate historical reports that compare giving

over different years at consistent points in time.

Reference:

"Set Up Reporting Snapshots" from Salesforce Help: Reporting Snapshots

"Salesforce Reporting Snapshots for Nonprofits" from Salesforce.org: Salesforce.org Guide