1. Is Andar an ASP or hosted solution?
2. Can I use Andar over the web?
3. How is Andar licensed?
4. Can multiple nonprofit organizations share Andar?
5. Does Helix offer software support?
6. How often are service packs available and what do they contain?
7. How often are new versions of Andar released?
8. Can Andar import data from other sources?
9. How is data transferred from e-Pledge into the Andar database?

A: Not really, but it can be! Helix offers Andar as “off the shelf” software that you install on your servers. If you wish, you could have your servers hosted off-site by an Application Service Provider (ASP). Helix does not offer the actual hosting service; we concentrates on nonprofit software development. Helix does not manage your data in any way--you manage your own data on your own servers.

A: Some functionality is supported. Andar offers an e-Community Suite of modules that allows donors to make donations and affiliated agencies to access information through a web browser.

Andar is a client/server application. This enables Andar to use advanced GUI interactive technologies that are not available through web browsers. Also, web browsers are not known for high performance. Andar can be accessed through third-party products such as Microsoft Terminal Services, Citrix, or Netilla, which allow client/server products such as Andar to run over any web browser.

A: Andar is licensed on a concurrent user basis. This means that you may install the Andar software on as many workstations as you wish but if you are licensed for 10 concurrent users, only 10 users can use Andar at the same time. When an 11th user attempts to use Andar, that user is refused access; one of the 10 current users must logoff in order for someone else to use Andar. Note that all users accessing Andar’s e-Community Suite through the web use a single licenses of Andar. This means that regardless of the number of concurrent users for which you are licensed, thousands of web visitors can give online simultaneously.

A: Absolutely. As a matter of fact, we have numerous customers that do just that. Helix realizes that not all nonprofit organizations have the technical resources to manage donor database software. Some nonprofit organizations have banded together to share technology resources and allow members of their to access a centralized server where several independent Andar donor databases reside. Each nonprofit organization or chapter therefore can have its own independent and secure donor database that is accessed through a virtual private network (VPN) or terminal server.

A: Yes, we do. Actually, we are quite proud of our support services. With a maintenance agreement, customers have unlimited access to our help desk via telephone, e-mail, and our support web site. Our support web site contains a knowledge base of many tens of thousands of articles that can be browsed for assistance. Also, customers can download all service packs and new releases through our support web site.

A: Yes, absolutely. Andar contains a very powerful “lockbox” import utility that allows you to mass-import data into the Andar donor and gift tracking database. The data is imported and held in a lockbox for validation. Once validated by Andar, it is integrated into the database. New accounts are created, existing accounts are merged, and unsure accounts are held for manual review.

A: It’s not! Andar’s e-Pledge/CRM module is fully integrated with the Andar donor database. This means that when a donor gives over the web, the transaction shows up immediately in the Andar database--no data transfer is required. In fact, all campaign totals, throughout Andar, are also up to date. Campaigners can obtain an up-to-the-second update at any time through the Andar screens or reports.