Case Management Roadmap Update—February 2023 

Last year was jam-packed with exciting news from Social Solutions: We announced that we’re joining EveryAction, Network for Good, GiveGab, and CyberGrants to become Bonterra; we revealed network referrals; we released single sign-on; and we made enhancements to our Rules & Alerts feature. 

And in a product roadmap update in February 2023, we revealed even more exciting news to our Social Solutions customers. We are planning some highly anticipated product updates that are sure to make our case management solution that much more impactful on your public sector agency or nonprofit organization. It’s no wonder it was our most-attended product roadmap update yet!

In the first half of this year, Social Solutions’ product team is focusing on features and updates that align with the following themes: 

• Strengthening Case Management Foundations. As our industry and technology continue to evolve, we have been heads-down focused on ensuring we provide the best possible platform. This year, we are doing that with upgrades to our billing service, improved Apricot accessibility, and several technical upgrades throughout the year. 
• Delivering on Most Requested Key Features. We’re introducing new features based on your feedback! From the ability to receive notifications related to dates with Time-Based Alerts, to complex configurations with Smart Fields | List, and serving and tracking the availability of beds with Inventory | Bed Management, we are continuing to serve the evolving needs across social good organizations. 
• Building Long-Term Accelerators with Data. We know that data drives decisions, which is why we’re focused on general reporting enhancements that help your teams gain insight and show your program’s impact. Look forward to our upcoming ETO Results Reporting Engine upgrade and stay compliant with required data and forms with our Blueprints Templates.   

In the roadmap recording below, we give more details about these product updates for the first half of 2023. Be sure to also read the Q&A below from the live event. We look forward to better supporting you in 2023! 

Roadmap video

Q&A

General Questions

Are the new features discussed in the webinar product-specific?

Yes, all new features or functionality discussed in the webinar are specific to certain Bonterra Case Management products or the product tier. If you have questions about a particular product or feature discussed, please reach out to your Client Success or Account Manager to learn more.

Are there training resources for these new features?

Yes! Our training team typically creates specialized labs for new features. We also write user documentation and walk-through videos that are available in the Knowledge Base.

What If I’m very interested in one of the features discussed today, but it was not mentioned as available in my product or tier?

We want to hear from you! Please submit it as an idea in our Ideas Portal so that we know you’re interested, or feel free to reach out to your Account Manager to learn more about our other products and tiers available to you.

Apricot portal

ETO portal

Penelope portal

I have some great ideas for changes or improvements to one of the Bonterra Case Management products. How can I best share them with the Bonterra team?

We want to hear from you! Please submit ideas in our Ideas Portal so that we know you’re interested, or feel free to reach out to your Account Manager to learn more about our other products and tiers available to you.

Apricot portal

ETO portal

Penelope portal

In Apricot, is there an option to include confidential notes that only select staff can access?

Yes, we recommend checking out our Field-Level Access feature.

Is Apricot available on a mobile device? If so, how can I activate it for my site?

Please reach out to Support if Mobile is not activated in your Apricot.

I need help with how to complete something in my Bonterra Case Management product! Are there training materials or options available?

Yes! We recommend first exploring our vast collection of available training videos in our Knowledge Base. If you are not able to find what you’re looking for, or would like more help, reach out to your Account Manager who can share more about our available training classes.

Does Bonterra provide any suggested devices or browser compatibility for accessing their Case Management platform?

To learn more about what browsers and devices may work best with the Bonterra Case Management platform, please review our knowledge base articles related to the product you are using:

Equipment Needed to Access Apricot

ETO Browser Compatibility

Penelope Minimum Workstation Browser Requirements

Program Enrollments

Where in Apricot can I find the new Program Enrollments feature?

Program Enrollments are available in Apricot right on the Document Folder – no configuration is required! Take a read through the release notes to learn more about this new feature.

Do I need to be on Role Based Permissions to use the new Program Enrollments?

You do not need to migrate to Role Based Permissions to use the new Program Enrollments.

Are the new Program Enrollments linked to my existing Program Enrollment form?

No, Program Enrollments are not connected to your organization’s existing Program Enrollment form. This new feature is introducing the concept of a Program Enrollment to Apricot itself so we can help organizations better capture and understand their program delivery. This feature is very new and we want feedback on it! Review the release notes, play around with it in Apricot, and let us know of any ideas you have that would help make the switch to this new feature in the Idea Portal.

Can I add more fields to the new Program Enrollment screen to capture more data about the Program Enrollment?

No, the fields on Program Enrollments are not customizable, but you can attach Tier 2 records to them to capture additional data related to the Enrollment. See the release notes for more information. This is great feedback we’d love to see come through the Ideas Portal so we can continue improving the new Program Enrollments functionality!

Can participants enroll themselves in a Program Enrollment through Connect?

No, participants cannot enroll themselves in a Program Enrollment through Connect. Program Enrollments are for the organization to enroll participants in a program. This is an awesome idea we’d love to see submitted through the Ideas Portal!

Can Guest Users use the new Program Enrollments feature?

No, Guest Users cannot access the new Program Enrollments functionality.

Rules & Alerts

When will the new Time-Based Alerts be available for Apricot?

Time-Based Alerts will be coming to Apricot 360 customers in early March 2023!

You mentioned that Time-Based Alerts will be available to Apricot 360 customers. Is there a timeframe for when this new functionality may be available to Apricot Core customers?

We don’t have plans to release Time-Based Alerts to Apricot Core customers at this time.

Are alerts available on Apricot core?

Yes, the Rules & Alerts feature is available in Core. Time-based events and multi-form conditions are on Apricot 360 only.

Will it ever be possible to create Rules & Alerts based on multiple fields in multiple forms on Apricot Core?

Yes, this is the direction we are heading toward. In late September we released multi-form conditions to Apricot 360. Now, an alert’s logic can look across two forms.

With Time-Based Alerts, will I be able to create alerts for yearly recurring dates, such as birthdays?

Yes! Birthday notifications are a great way to use “Day Of” events in the rule creation.

What about Time-Based Alerts for something slightly more complex, such as three days before a birthday?

Yes! When building the rule’s logic, for example, you can select the “Upcoming” event type and select three days before Use Record Date Field > Date of Birth.

Will Time-Based Alerts consider the user’s time zone?

Yes, Time-Based Alerts respect each Apricot database’s time settings.

Will the Time-Based Alerts allow participants’ ages to auto-update?

No, but it could prompt users when to make those updates. We recommend upvoting this submission in the Ideas Portal.

With Apricot Rules & Alerts, will all staff members be able to create and set their own alerts?

Not yet, however, this is a great idea. In this first iteration, all alerts are system-generated based on admin-defined logic.

Can Rules & Alerts be structured to notify only the currently-assigned staff member once a case meets certain criteria?

Great question. We are actively working on this. There are currently three popular ways staff are assigned to records: Staff Linking Fields, User List Fields, and Caseloads. Our plan is to start with User List Field. Reach out to Support to get started using User List Fields if that is currently not in your form design!

When building Rules & Alerts, are there any tips you would recommend to ensure the best experience for my organization?

We recommend starting slow and being very thoughtful when building new alert logic. Alerts should be targeted and timely to have the greatest effect. It is important to avoid creating more alerts than your staff can easily manage and avoid alert fatigue. Too many complex Rules & Alerts may unintentionally slow a workflow.

ETO Results Reporting

When can ETO customers expect the Results Reporting upgrade to take place?

ETO customers in Australia and Canada have already been upgraded. For those in the U.S., we are planning for the ETO Results Reporting Upgrade to occur March 17 through March 20, 2023.

Where can I learn more about what is changing with the new Results Reporting upgrade in ETO?

To learn more about the new version of Results Reporting coming to ETO, the best place to check out first would be our Knowledge Base article. If you have additional questions, be sure to reach out to your Client Success Manager.

What training will be available for the new Results Reporting upgrade in ETO?

We will be updating our paid live training, and there are extensive release notes on the ETO Results changes available here and here.

Will we be able to build our own customized reports once ETO Results Reporting is upgraded?

Good news, custom reports are available today in ETO Results!

Will there be any enhancements to Apricot Aggregate Reporting?

While there are not any updates to Apricot Aggregate Reporting planned at this time, if there are enhancements you’d like to see in the future please submit them through our Ideas Portal.

HMIS/Blueprints

If I’m on ETO, do I have access to the HMIS Template forms?

For HMIS and HUD reporting on ETO, the HMIS Template is available. Reach out to your Account Manager to learn more.

Batch Uploads

When can we expect Attachments in Batch Uploads to be available in ETO?

We are targeting early March 2023 for the Attachments in Batch Upload release in ETO at this time.

In ETO, can we get a report on attachments per client?

Yes, this is available today in ETO results.

Smart Fields

How do Smart Lists differ from Lookup Lists?

Lookup Lists require an administrator to manually update and maintain a list of responses to use in multiple form configurations. Smart Lists will allow Apricot to create a list of options for you based on Form responses. Say you have a “Hospital” form completed for each hospital your organization may interact with which includes all of their details and a field called “Hospital Name.” And say you have a separate tier 2 “Referral” form where you need to refer to a hospital that you have completed that form for in Apricot. A Smart List can help you cut down on the manual administration needed for creating and updating a list of hospitals for this “Referral” form by building the list options for you based on existing records in Apricot.

Do Smart Fields replace or enhance Dynamic Dropdowns, Auto Populate, or other Linking field types?

No, Smart Fields will not replace or enhance Auto Populate or Linking field types.

It is, however, a new alternative to the previous Dynamic Dropdown field type that will be simple to set up for administrators!

Smart Fields will allow administrators to simply set up the Smart List to use data from other Form setups so they don’t have to spend time managing options in a list and staff don’t have to duplicate data entry.

Which tiers of Apricot will be able to use Smart Fields?

Smart Fields will be available to Apricot 360 and Core customers.

Inventory

Once released, what tiers of Apricot will Inventory: Bed Management be available for?

Inventory will be available to Apricot 360 upon initial release.

Will the new Inventory functionality interact with Tier 1 Participant Forms?

Yes, Inventory will allow organizations to know which of their participants are using their resources.

Will the new Inventory functionality be able to handle other types of resources besides beds?

Yes. While beds within the housing industry are our primary focus for the first release of this feature, we do see this being a foundation for other types of goods.