Get started, begin here:
a rapid-fire guide to what Cameo can do and where to look.

Getting help

when something changes

  • When something new is added to Cameo, or something changes, we will announce it here on cameo-membership.uk

➤ You might want to sign up, in the sidebar alongside this article,
to get emails when a new post is published.

how do I …?

  • ask how to to do something

➤ Help button at top of window, then ask a question in the how do I … ? box
➤ see article: a new way of asking for help

help in context

  • help for each section

➤ question mark button on the right side of each section heading
➤ also from the index in the How To window as above

App layout

screen divided into three

  • what you want to do: main menu down the left

➤ Click a menu button to show a list of sections for that menu entry

  • who you want to do it for: quick search box and list of people found down the right

➤ Click a result to see detail for that member

  • how to do it: work to be done in the middle, divided into sections. Many sections work on the currently selected search result or results,

➤ Click a section heading to see the section

  • not everyone can see or do everything

➤ Administrators can set permissions in
➤ admin → cameo users

accordion lists

  • search results and lists of items open up to reveal detail when you click on an item’s one-line summary
  • clicking a search result selects (or deselects) it, identifying which person a task should be applied to
  • sometimes this has several levels, each opening up further detail; for example, one from a list of batches of emails opens up summaries of the emails in that batch and a click on an email summary opens up the email detail

filters

  • most lists of things have boxes in the heading where you can limit or extend what you see. For example, a list of emails may have a date column, and entering a date in the heading shows emails on, before or after that date, depending on what is most useful in context.
  • some columns also have a vertical arrow which sorts the results based on that column
  • most lists show a limited number of entries with links at the bottom to show more

People

Storing and searching membership records:

paying members

  • current (paid up to date or mildly overdue) – grey
  • old (expired, resigned etc) – pink
  • new (not yet enrolled) – yellow

➤ In the right hand column under the main search box

contacts

(Non-paying members) divided into categories:

  • supporters (people who actively want to be involved, but not as members)
  • stakeholders (people you want to involve, e.g. council officers)
  • customers (e.g. event ticket purchasers, who aren’t already a member or contact)
  • representatives (as in councillors, MPs etc; when enabled)

then further sub-divided by your own contact types, e.g. advertisers, council officers etc.

➤ as shown in the right hand column under the main search box;
see article: contact categories

  • coloured mauve by default, but customisable

➤ in organisation settings → contact types

search

  • search by name/number/email/postcode in the main search box

➤ top right of window

  • other more detailed searches, including by dates, geographical, political

➤ search more → general search,
➤ search more → map search, etc

  • combine searches

➤ filter button in main search box (see article: refine search controls), or
➤ search more → general search etc, and search within existing search results;
➤ see article: easier searching with multiple criteria

  • used lists (qv) for saved searches

➤ communication → lists

  • all search results shown in right-hand column

add members

using:

  • join form embedded in your website (see forms), and later enrolling them

➤ forms → manage forms

  • manual one-off additions

➤ new members → add membership

  • flexibly import bulk data (e.g. from another database) from spreadsheet (or JSON)

➤ new  members → import members;
➤ see article: import membership records from spreadsheets

  • convert a contact to a new member

➤ member tasks → membership status, cards and qrcodes

  • enrol new members to make them current members

➤ new members → enrol;
➤ see article: the membership life-cycle

edit membership data

➤ just change it in place in the right-hand column

non-fussy search

  • accents ignored (e.g. â matches a and vice-versa)

➤ everywhere you can search

  • dates in any sensible format (including relative dates like “yesterday” or “3 weeks ago”), or use a date-picker calendar

➤ everywhere you can enter dates;
➤ see article: about dates in Cameo

statistics

➤ library → statistics

  • such as counts by type, location, turnover
  • saved monthly, compare over time

➤ see article: statistics comparisons

custom fields in membership records

  • social media handles, websites and alternate email addresses

➤ +@ to the right of each individual;
➤ see article: store social media handles, extra emails and phone numbers

  • custom fields for dates, email addresses, single and multiple select, text, paragraphs, tick boxes

➤ admin → custom fields

  • for links between records (e.g. “this person is this other person’s tutor”)
  • use in searches and substitutions (see templates)

multiple separately named individuals in a household

  • child data processing consent (GDPR)

➤ join form
➤ member tasks → membership status, cards and qrcodes
➤ see article: under 16 data processing consent

organise delivery rounds

  • for e.g. distributing paper newsletters

➤ organisation settings → delivery rounds
➤ field in membership record
➤ list source deliverers
➤ mailing labels

membership life-cycle

➤ see article: the membership life cycle

  • join
  • pay
  • enrol
  • renew
  • expire
  • resign
  • delete (purge over time: GDPR says you must not keep data indefinitely)

Data Integrity

Undo and Redo

  • for all changes made (unusual in a web app)

➤ buttons at the top next to the main search box

extensive help

  • and searchable FAQ (“How do I…”)

➤ Help button at the top next to the main search box

daily off-site (encrypted) backups

  • stored in a standard JSON format, so can also be used to export and move data between systems
  • audit trail of all membership record changes made

➤ member info → change history

  • extensive logging of activity
  • email bounce handling (e.g. your mailshot rejected as false positive spam)

➤ communications → sent email
➤ see article: email delivery and bounces

Send email

content

  • comes from templates (see below) into which member and other data is substituted (“mail merge”)

➤ communications → templates
➤ then new template and choose email

mailshots

  • sent to lists of people either selected according to some criteria you choose (automatic) or explicitly subscribed (manual)

➤ communications → lists ; set audience of template to a list

  • to ad-hoc groups of people (individually chosen by searching)

➤ set audience of template to individually chosen

  • as a side-effect of doing some other task (the “template services task…”), such as enrolment or generating renewal reminders

➤ communications → templates audience
➤ each task has a button to create a proforma template for the task which you can customise.

  • as a side-effect of someone filling in a form – the template services form …
    • can substitute data collected by the form
    • often a confirmation at completion, but also to validate email addresses

➤ communications → templates audience
➤ when you turn on email in a form (forms → manage forms)
there is a button to create a proforma template

  • as a side-effect of an event booking (either via a form or manual “box office” transaction, e.g. sends e-tickets, the template services event…)

➤ communications → templates audience
➤ when you manage events (events & bookings→ events and especially one-off event),
buttons let you create proforma templates

Templates

➤ communications → templates

  • conversational style emails and letters (“Dear …, please renew…, Yours sincerely…”)
  • professional e-newsletters, via news builder

➤ communications → templates, then the news builder button in the editor content formatting controls
➤ see tutorial: using news builder
➤ see article: news builder: a small button with big impact

  • email attachments (personalised PNG or PDF)

➤ communications → templates, attachment menu
➤ each attachment is itself formed from a further template
➤ see article: PDF templates

  • tabular data (reports and for filling in other people’s forms)

➤ communications → templates, then new template, choose report
➤ see article: how to make spreadsheet CSV reports

  • insert into pre-printed forms, like Royal Mail “Drop ‘n’ go, or cheque paying in slips.

➤ communications → templates, then new template, choose letter

also use templates and merging to make:

➤ communications → templates, then new template

  • letters

➤ choose letter

  • mailing labels

➤ choose letter

  • event tickets (printed or electronic with scannable barcodes)

➤ start with templates created for you in events

  • reports (spreadsheets of member data)

➤ choose report
➤ see article: how to make spreadsheet CSV reports

  • PDFs

➤ choose PDF
➤ see article: PDF templates

  • invoices and purchase orders (as email attachments, for posting, or as stand-alone documents – see trading

➤ create proforma invoice in trading → invoices, quotations and purchase orders
➤ see article: trading documents

Lists

use lists to group people together in arbitrary ways

➤ communications → lists, list source

  • manually, e.g. “sub-committee members”, “volunteer photographers”
  • automatically, based on criteria such as where they live, communication preferences, event bookings made, email or postal

opt-outs

  • automated opt-outs, evidence management for GDPR

➤ forms→ manage forms, then new form and choose optout form type
➤ member tasks → list subscriptions to control manual opt-outs
➤ opt-outs also indicated for each individual in membership record in right-hand column

  • use lists as the recipients (audience) of mailshots

➤ communications → templates; audience

Forms

  • use forms embedded in your website for self-service collection of data of various kinds, for example joining

➤ forms→ manage forms

  • customise all text, order of fields, and style

➤ forms→ manage forms
➤ forms→ colour scheme and style

collect payments, by:

  • credit/debit card,
  • direct debit,
  • PayPal,
  • bank,
  • cheque,
  • vouchers,
  • …

➤ forms→ manage forms
➤ organisation settings → payment methods

  • collect Gift Aid declarations when collecting payments; submit Gift Aid claims to HMRC; make tax year exceptions

➤ forms → manage forms
➤ accounting info → gift aid
➤ declaration noted at end of membership record
➤ member info → attachments to attach the original declaration if e.g. emailed

WordPress plugins

  • for easy embedding of forms

➤ forms → wordpress plugins

form personalisation

  • send an email link to a page containing a form that identifies the visitor, e.g. opt-out link in mailshots, “show email in browser” link, button to book an event so the booking form knows who they are

➤ communications → templates, personalise link button in content controls
➤ forms→ manage forms

  • send emails to confirm completion, or verify email address etc

➤ forms→ manage forms, email control button

different kinds of form

➤ forms→ manage forms, then new form

Many different form types, including:

  • join (paid membership)
  • renew (paid membership)
  • sign up as contact
  • “contact us”
  • book for an event
  • merchandise sales (coming soon)
  • questionnaires, petitions, consultations and surveys: graphical and geographical response analysis
  • mailing list opt-outs
  • changes of address, phone, email etc
  • collecting donations and gift-aid declarations

Events

free or paid, with multiple pricing categories (e.g. adult/child, member discounts, earlybird discounts, discount voucher codes)

use events for

  • one-off events
  • multi-day events (like conferences)
  • repeated performances at same or different venues
  • differently priced seating areas, optional individual seat selection (seating plan)
  • appointment bookings
  • timed equipment loans/rentals

➤ events & bookings → venues
➤ events & bookings → price plans;
➤ see article: events management

ticketing

  • e-tickets and/or paper tickets
  • separate barcode scanner app for on-the-door check-ins and ticket validation

➤ events & bookings→ events and especially one-off event
➤ https://checkin.cameo.example.com

  • self-service or box-office-style booking

➤ forms → manage forms then new form, then
booking, or one-off event makes a proforma form for you;
➤ events & bookings → reservations, bookings and attendance

  • custom data collection with booking (e.g. “do you have any special dietary requirements?”)

➤ forms → manage forms, booking form, custom fields button

  • season tickets

➤ events & bookings → venues

  • mailing lists based on previous bookings and/or attendees

➤ events & bookings → events then assigned to lists control
➤ communications → lists, source event attendees or events assigned

centralise event descriptions

  • WordPress plugins to manage event summaries and descriptions on your website (switching events as time passes, grouping by event genre etc)

➤ events & bookings → events
➤ events & bookings → venues
➤ events & bookings → price plans;
➤ see article: formatted full event descriptions
➤ see article: events listings WordPress plugin

  • news builder blocks to easily include forthcoming event information in mailshots

➤ communications → templates, then news builder button in template content controls
➤ see tutorial: using news builder
➤ see article: news builder event blocks

booking progress summaries

  • on demand
  • emailed at intervals

➤ events & bookings → booking notifications;
➤ see article: booking summary improvements

Notifications

➤ library → notifications

  • set reminders

➤ library → add reminder

  • get emailed selectively (using tags)

➤ profile → profile & log out, subscribe to notifications, or
➤ click a tag in library → notifications

  • include attachments with notifications

➤ see article: notifications: file attachments and contactus form

activity summaries

  • automatically posted and emailed
  • new members
  • renewals
  • amendments
  • event bookings

➤ Subscribe to tags:
#ImportedNewMembers, #ImportedNewContacts
#Imported Renewals
#EventBookings;
➤ see article: new member summary notifications

Attachments

store files for various purposes:

  • general file store, organised with tags, protect by privilege
  • attach to a membership record (keep incoming correspondence, files supporting applications etc)
  • with bank statements (scans or PDFs of statements, original CSVs from which transactions are imported)
  • invoices and purchase orders (e.f. incoming bill attached to PO, or their PO attached to your outgoing invoice)
  • bank deposit evidence (keep photos of cheques in case of dispute)
  • photo ids for individuals
  • responses to questionnaires, event bookings and contact forms
  • attachments to calendar entries

➤ see article: managing attachments

email attachments direct to Cameo

➤ profile → incoming email

link to scanner app for direct upload from scans

➤ profile → scanner PIN
see tutorial: adding scanned attachments with Scanner Pro: a step-by-step guide

Calendar

➤ library→ calendar
➤ see article: appointments and meetings calendar

  • comprehensive calendar
  • link to people records
  • tag and filter by tags
  • repeating entries
  • add attachments
  • get notified

Accounting

complete accounting system

  • including intelligent reconciliation to chart of accounts

➤ organisation settings → book-keeping chart of accounts
➤ see article: introducing accounting and trading

attribution to memberships

  • track subscription payments and donations

➤ accounting tasks → reconciliation

  • track overdue membership payments

➤ accounting tasks → overdue automatic payments and
➤ renewals → overdue manual renewals

  • track overdue invoices

➤ trading → aged receivables (unpaid invoices) (and notification tag InvoicesOverdue for email)

issue invoices, quotations and purchase orders

➤ trading → invoices, quotations and purchase orders;
➤ see article: trading documents


financial reports

➤ accounting info → reports

track receipts

➤ trading → receipts
➤ see article: receipts and expenses claims

  • forward emails or scan into Cameo

➤ profile → incoming email

  • attach to corresponding bank transaction

➤ accounting tasks → import statements

  • submit expense claims

➤ trading → receipts and expenses claims

third-party links

import statement lines from

➤ organisation settings → bank accounts

  • Xero
  • PayPal
  • Stripe (card payments)
  • GoCardless (direct debits)

Trading

e.g. merchandise

issue invoices, purchase orders and quotations

➤ trading → invoices, quotations and purchase orders

list stock of goods and services for sale

➤ trading → inventory and stock

including photos, descriptions and prices, feeding into:

  • invoices

➤ trading → invoices, quotations and purchase orders

  • shopping cart (coming soon)

➤ forms → manage forms

  • accounting reconciliation

➤ accounting tasks → reconciliation

Lobbying (if enabled)

➤ organisation settings → politics and government

  • group people by political areas (constituencies, wards etc)

➤ communications → lists, list source political areas

  • indicate who people’s representatives are

➤ member info → map and representatives

  • import and update representative details (where available)

➤ organisation settings → politics and government

Access control

  • two factor authentication

➤ profile → two-step verification

  • key and biometric authentication

➤ profile → profile and logout, Key/biometric login
➤ see article: more choices for biometric and physical key log-in

  • privileges control who can do and see what (e.g. financial information)

➤ admin → cameo users

  • vulnerable password checking

➤ on setting password at login
➤ see article: about passwords

  • modern, up-to-date web security safeguards