OA LodgeMaster Users,
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.4.2! We have fixed 13 bugs from the 4.4.1 release. This version also includes a new updated offline version and completes the third and final phase of our system maintenance.
In version 4.4.1 we released our brand new BSA Unit Data Sync tool. In this release we have fixed several bugs in the new sync tool that will make using the tool a better experience. Users should no longer see unknown errors when running the sync and should see all units in their council as part of the export. We have also fixed an issue that prevented syncing clubs.
A full list of bug fixes can be found on the LodgeMaster Documentation site. Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org to access the online Lodge Client, view documentation, submit support and feature requests.
Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
OA LodgeMaster Users,
Part 2 of the OA LodgeMaster maintenance is now complete. You can access the online lodge client by going to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org and clicking the Lodge Client button. If you had a bookmark for the online Lodge Client, you will need to update the URL to https://lodgemaster-client.oa-bsa.org. The online lodge client has moved as part of our maintenance. If you use the offline lodge client, please continue reading for details on part 3 of our scheduled maintenance.
Maintenance Part 3 - Offline Lodge Client
Users of the offline lodge client must sync all local changes by 10:00 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Failure to sync all local changes before 10:00 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 will result in a loss of data. On Tuesday, May 19, 2020 beginning at 10:00 PM EDT the OA LodgeMaster team will complete part 3 of our maintenance. Part 3 brings improvements to the offline lodge client that will require users to download a new version of the offline lodge client. Users of the offline client will need to download and install version 4.4.2 which will be released on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Once part 3 of our maintenance is complete and version 4.4.2 is ready to be installed, we will send an email out.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation while we work to complete our required maintenance.
WWW,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
OA LodgeMaster will be unavailable beginning at 11:00 PM EDT on Friday, May 15, 2020 until 11:59 PM EDT on Saturday, May 16, 2020. During this time, the LodgeMaster Team will be performing part two of the infrastructure upgrades started during our previous maintenance window on May 9, 2020. Part two of the upgrade is expected to take a significant amount of time. Users should expect no access to LodgeMaster on Saturday, May 16, 2020. During the maintenance window, you will not be able to login to the LodgeMaster Online Lodge Client or perform a sync in the Offline Lodge Client. With lodge events across the country cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are working to complete all needed maintenance before lodges begin operating events again. We hope this approach limits the impact these maintenance windows have on your day-to-day lodge management in LodgeMaster.
You can follow the status of the maintenance on the OA status page at https://status.oa-bsa.org. Once the maintenance is complete, we will post an update to the status page. In the event we need to extend the maintenance window for an unforeseen reason, we will communicate the extended maintenance window on the OA status page. Users of OA LodgeMaster are advised to subscribe to status updates to be alerted of changes to scheduled maintenance and of future maintenance events.
OA LodgeMaster Users,
Beginning on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, LodgeMaster, in partnership with the BSA, will begin syncing service hours directly from LodgeMaster to the BSA system. The BSA will be retiring the Good Turn for America (GTFA) service hour portal and all service hours for lodges will be entered via LodgeMaster. A nightly sync process will sync service hours from LodgeMaster to the BSA system. No changes are required on the part of the lodge.
Please note: All service hours for service dates in 2020 will be synced retroactively to the BSA system even if they were entered before May 6, 2020. Lodges should not send any 2020 service hours to their council for upload - all 2020 services hours entered in LodgeMaster will be automatically fed to the BSA system and be included in your council’s service hour numbers.
WWW,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited the announce the release of our latest new feature – BSA Unit Data Sync! This new feature released in Lodge Client version 4.4.1 enables lodges to sync unit data from the BSA system to your OA LodgeMaster lodge database. BSA Unit Data Sync will update unit designations, charter organization information, and the contact information for the unit Scoutmaster and Committee Chairman.
The new sync tool is now enabled for all lodge’s and ready to use! Before using the new sync tool, we strongly recommend reviewing the documentation and watching the webinar recording where we demo the new tool. Running the tool without viewing the documentation could result in unintended data loss and data changes. Links to the documentation as well as the webinar recording are below. If you have questions please email: support@lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org.
Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
Thank you for joining us for our LodgeMaster Webinar – New BSA Sync Capabilities in LodgeMaster. We hope that you enjoyed the webinar and find the new Unit Data Sync tools useful. The webinar recording is now available along with the PowerPoint slides. Click here to view the webinar slides along with the slides and recordings of our previous webinars. To view the video recording click the button below. We look forward seeing everyone this summer at NOAC.
OA LodgeMaster Users,
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.4.1! We have fixed 10 bugs from the 4.4.0 release. Notable bug fixes include improvements to split transactions in the Finance Module, a couple bugs in the member editor UI, Unit of Excellence report improvements, and a couple updates to the offline client.
Coming Soon – BSA ScoutNET sync tools! We have added the ability to sync unit data directly from ScoutNET to your LodgeMaster lodge database! These new tools will be released next week after a webinar on Wednesday, April 29th. Due to the potential impact on your database we will not be enabling these tools until after our webinar. We felt it was important to provide training and have documentation available before turning these tools on. Webinar details can be found below.
These are just a few of the highlights from our release. A full list of improvements can be found on the LodgeMaster Documentation site with the link below. Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org to access the online Lodge Client, view documentation, submit support and feature requests.
Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce our next webinar - New BSA Unit Sync Capabilities! The webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 9 PM EDT/6 PM PDT. As mentioned in the 4.4.1 release notes, we have added new BSA ScoutNET sync tools! These new tools will allow Lodge Administrators to sync unit data directly from the BSA membership management system to OA LodgeMaster. Join us on Wednesday for a deep dive into the new tools and learn how to use these new tools. We strongly recommend all Lodge Administrators attend the webinar or watch the recording prior to using the tools. The webinar will be recorded and published online 12-24 hours after the conclusion of the webinar. Click the button below to register via Zoom. Once you complete your registration, you will receive an email confirmation with a link to join. Please note that preregistration via Zoom is required. We hope to see everyone next Wednesday!
The NOAC Technology Software Support Team is looking for additional members to join our support team! The NOAC Technology Software Support Team is responsible for the development and onsite support of the conference app and many other technologies used during the conference. At NOAC, you’ll work at our support desk and or in the field providing direct support to conference delegates and staff members.
Arrowmen interested should be comfortable with technology and be able to provide support for iOS and Android devices. Support team members will assist delegates with resetting passwords, logging into the NOAC app, updating profiles, connecting to the university Wi-Fi, and general iOS and Android app troubleshooting. They will also help support other committee’s technology use at the conference. Arrowmen interested should apply through the National Order of the Arrow Event Registration System (NOAERS) selecting Logistics > Technology as your committee preference.
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce an exciting opportunity at the National Order of the Arrow Conference, Hackathon at NOAC! The Hackathon at NOAC will be a two-day high energy opportunity for Arrowmen to focus on current and emerging technology in the Order of the Arrow. Beginning Thursday Hackathon participants will be exposed to training from industry experts, participate in hands-on labs, and the traditional “Hackathon” competition.
Arrowmen interested in the Hackathon should register beginning on April1st for the activity in NOAERS. Hackathon participants will need to provide their own laptop and should have some level of technology experience prior to attending. There is no additional cost to participate in the Hackathon. For more information and to sign up for this first ever Hackathon at NOAC click the link below!
The LodgeMaster Team will once again be offering training sessions at NOAC! Our first training session will be designed for our new users covering the basics of LodgeMaster. This class will be offered twice as a 60-minute session. The second class, offered once as a 3-hour session, will focus on the new digital induction tools and the future of the LodgeMaster Project. The 2nd class will be geared towards our advanced users and those more heavily involved in LodgeMaster Management as well as the Lodge Key-3. Registration for both classes will be handled through NOAERS opening April 1st! Training dates and times will be available in NOAERS closer to the conference. Reply to this email with questions. We hope to see you all there!
LodgeMaster – In-Depth Basics For Managing Your Lodge
Join us for an introduction and in-depth tour of everything LodgeMaster has to offer for a lodge. New users and those not super comfortable with the program should definitely attend. We’ll walk through some basics, then show how to manage members, create and manage events, and more.
LodgeMaster – New Inductions Tools & Future Member Portal
All LodgeMaster users are invited to join us as we unveil the new digital inductions tools available through LodgeMaster to all lodges. We’ll talk about unit election and visit management, the new unit leader portal, and the new candidate portal. We’ll also talk about our future plans for the rest of 2020 and into 2021, including a new portal for all members to manage their information and make payments. There will also be plenty of time for questions and to discuss ideas with the team at the end.
OA LodgeMaster Users,
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.4.0! We fixed 12 bugs and made 6 improvements. In addition to the noticeable bug fixes and improvements, we’ve begun work on the new inductions tools which are scheduled to be released this year at NOAC.
A few important things to note about the 4.4.0 update:
- We’ve added the ability to upload a lodge logo and your lodge secretary signature in lodge configuration. The lodge logo will be used in the the future on some reports and letters. The secretary signature will be used in the future on membership cards to replace the current text signature. You can begin uploading these today but the logos wont be used until a future release.
- We’ve added permissions for the new inductions tools under user permissions. We’ve added these permissions now and they can be assigned to users, but they will not be used until the induction tools are released later this year.
- We’ve added fields for registration links for events which will be used in the future. We’ve also adjusted the event flags to remove unused ones and add a new LLD flag.
- We have rebuilt the unit communications section in the unit editor to simply use – there are now pre-defined communication types and forms on contact, plus we have added a new notes field. All previous data was migrated to the new fields.
These are just a few of the highlights from our release. A full list of improvements can be found on the LodgeMaster Documentation site.
Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org to access the online Lodge Client, view documentation, submit support and feature requests.
Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
On Wednesday, January 15, 2020 the OA LodgeMaster team will be updating both the online and offline Lodge Client to version 4.4. Users should expect downtime on Wednesday afternoon while we perform the upgrade. The upgrade to 4.4 will begin at 1:00 PM EST and last approximately 5 hours. In version 4.4 we have made database changes that require you to re-download the offline database. Please read the Offline Client Update Instructions below if you use the offline Lodge Client. You can check the status of the update on the OA status page at https://status.oa-bsa.org. Once the upgrade is complete, we will post an update to the status page.
Offline Client Update Instructions
Offline Lodge Client users will need to sync before running the offline 4.4 installer. You will receive a warning message in the installer reminding you to sync before installing, this is very important, and you should make sure you have synced any changes before upgrading. Once you install and run version 4.4 your local database will be cleared and then updated with the new database structure and your lodge data will be downloaded again. Please let all your users know this important note. Failure to perform a sync prior to updating to 4.4 will result in the loss of data. The LodgeMaster team is unable to recover lost data.
OA LodgeMaster Users,
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.3.1! We fixed 27 bugs and made 9 improvements. In version 4.3.1 we focused on making the user experience better. We made many behind the scenes improvements to email, fixed several bugs within finance, and made improvements to user account management.
We’ve added an improved grid to the email module display email statistics. Lodge Admins can now view detailed delivery information including unique opens, click rates, and search by delivered address for sent emails. Other enhancements include new alerts when a message is approved/rejected, improved email scheduling, and sent email grid sorting. We’ve also fixed an issue that prevented Lodge Admins from reactivating user accounts.
These are just a few of the highlights from our release. A full list of improvements can be found by clicking the button below.
Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org to access the online Lodge Client, view documentation, submit support and feature requests.
Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
The LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce our next webinar in the LodgeMaster 4 series! Our upcoming webinar, Finance Version 4 – An In-Depth Look, will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 9 PM EDT/6 PM PDT. We will spend 45 minutes covering the new Finance Module released in version 4.3.0. At the end of the webinar we will take questions for a 5 to 10-minute question and answer session. The recorded webinar will be published approximately 24-hours after its conclusion.
For more information an to register click the button below. We hope to see everyone on October 16th.
Finance Version 4 – An In-Depth Look
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
9PM Eastern | 6PM Pacific
The LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce our next webinar in the LodgeMaster 4 series! Our next webinar, What’s New in LodgeMaster 4.3.0, will be held on Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 9 PM EDT/6 PM PDT. We will spend 30 minutes talking about the 26 bug fixes, 14 improvements, and 8 new features in 4.3.0. At the end of the webinar we will take questions for a question and answer session. The webinar will be recorded and published online in the event you are unable to attend live. Click the button below to register. Once you complete your registration, you will receive an email confirmation with a link to join. We hope to see everyone on September 3rd!
What’s New in LodgeMaster 4.3.0
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
9 PM Eastern | 6 PM Pacific
OA LodgeMaster Users,
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.3.0! We fixed 26 bugs, made 14 improvements, and added 8 new features! We are very excited to announce the release of the final LodgeMaster 4 module - finance! As of version 4.3.0 we have completely retired the legacy version 3 Silverlight client. Other notable new features include the new Performance Management Program wizard and reports, new non-member capabilities, controls to manage your lodge structure, new event and unit non-member functionality, and the ability to merge address and contact types.
Important notes about the release:
- The finance module has been migrated to the new LodgeMaster version 4 platform. Users will no longer need to use version 3 to access the Finance Module. Version 4 of the finance module includes updated and simplified screens, mobile optimization, and an easier to learn format.
- The replacement for Journey to Excellence (JTE), Performance Management Program (PMP), has been released. The new PMP program was announced as the replacement to JTE in June by the National Order of the Arrow Committee. Click here to read more about the change.
- The Brotherhood waiting period has changed from 10 months to 6 months. All wizards and reports have been updated in the Lodge Client to reflect this change. The change was announced in June by the National Order of the Arrow Committee. Click here to read more about the change.
- We’ve added a new tool to keep your lodge Key-3 data up-to-date. You will now be get a reminder in the Lodge Client every 3 months to update your Key-3 data. You can also run the tool from the Tools menu in the Members Module. The National Office uses this data for communication with lodges so it’s important to keep this information up to date for your lodge.
- We’ve made several major changes to the Lodge Structure making it easier to manage overall:
- We’ve added the ability for lodges to merge areas into other areas. This will allow you to do your own chapter mergers. Merging two chapters is irreversible and changes a lot of lodge data at once. Because of this we’ve added a double confirmation message when merging areas. Use caution when merging records.
- You can now delete chapters and areas from the Lodge Structure when there are no references to them. This will allow you to delete chapters that are created by mistake during an import or remove areas that are no longer needed. This action is irreversible and cannot be undone.
- Chapters, areas, committees, and positions within can now be reordered to represent the correct hierarchy of areas and positions in the lodge.
- We’ve added the ability to merge all contact types. You can now merge types of mailing addresses, emails, and phone numbers. This will allow you to remove old entries and combine types. If the merge function is unable to merge an entry you will get an error with what couldn’t be merged and you can manually update those records. This action is irreversible and cannot be undone. Use caution when merging records.
- Related to contact types we’ve added ‘Parent’ as a built-in system contact type for both email phone. The new field can be imported, added to the member and event grids and the new field is now a searchable field in the grid. You can also email the new type in events. If you had an existing contact type called ‘Parent’ we’ve merged that into the new system field. If you have a parent/guardian field called something else, you can use the new contact type merge to merge the field into the new system ‘Parent’ field.
- We’ve completely redesigned how non-members are added and managed. You can now add non-members directly to events and as unit contacts. You no longer need to first add them in the Members Module as a non-member. The old non-member flag and screen will be deprecated and removed in the future – we will announce a timeline in the future.
- We’ve added duplicate checking when adding and importing new members. The system will now prevent the creation of duplicate BSA IDs. If no BSA ID is input / imported, the program remains unchanged. If an BSA is input / imported, the system now checks if that ID exists already and gives and error and prevents you from adding the duplicate.
- Administrators can now delete user invites that have not been claimed. This will allow you to clean up your invited user list. We’ve also changed how permissions are assigned. You can no longer add a chapter level permission if the user has the same permission at the lodge level as it is redundant.
Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org/ to access the online system, and if needed, download the offline version. As always, if you have questions or problems, please submit a request online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC).
Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
OA LodgeMaster Users,
On Wednesday, August 7, 2019 the OA LodgeMaster team will be updating both the online and offline Lodge Client to version 4.3. Users should expect downtime on Wednesday afternoon while we perform the upgrade. The upgrade to 4.3 will begin at 12:00 PM EDT and last approximately 5 hours. In version 4.3 we have made database changes that require you to re-download the offline database. Please read the Offline Client Update Instructions below if you use the offline Lodge Client.
Offline Client Update Instructions
Offline Lodge Client users will need to sync before running the offline 4.3 installer. You will receive a warning message in the installer reminding you to sync before installing, this is very important, and you should make sure you have synced any changes before upgrading. Once you install and run version 4.3 your local database will be cleared and then update with the new database structure and your lodge data will be downloaded again. Please let all of your users know this important note. Failure to perform a sync prior to updating to 4.3 will result in the loss of data. The LodgeMaster team is unable to recover lost data.
Thank you,
The OA LodgeMaster Team