Harnessing Custom Integration: Planning Center Online Forms Meet CareNote

Team members at CareNote, a leading pastoral care app, collaborate on integration features.
CareNote Integration: Team members optimize pastoral care app features in a state-of-the-art office, enhancing user experience and functionality.

Welcome to a pivotal update in CareNote's evolving service offerings. Today, we're thrilled to introduce a new feature that not only meets specific user demands but also pioneers our first customer-sponsored custom integration. This initiative, which involves integrating Planning Center Online (PCO) forms with CareNote, was spearheaded by a church that sought to centralize its care management processes. Let's explore how this integration transforms CareNote’s capabilities and how it was made possible through user sponsorship.

Understanding Customer-Sponsored Custom Integration

What exactly is customer-sponsored custom integration? It's a collaborative model where users can fund the development of specific features they need immediately, which are planned but not yet prioritized on our development roadmap. This approach not only accelerates feature availability for the sponsoring user but also benefits the entire CareNote community once implemented.

How It Works

  • User-Driven Request: You identify a feature that is crucial for your pastoral care needs, but not yet available in CareNote. This could be specific functionality that aligns with your organizational needs.

  • Scope and Sponsorship: Once a feature is identified, your organization can choose to sponsor its development. This involves funding the initial costs associated with the development to prioritize and expedite its integration into CareNote.[1]

  • Community Benefit: After development, the feature is made available to all CareNote users. This not only enhances your operations but also contributes to the enrichment of the CareNote ecosystem, providing value to the entire community of users.


  1. Sponsorship for custom feature development in CareNote starts at $750. This pricing ensures we can deliver high-quality, tailored solutions that meet your specific needs while also making the new features available for the benefit of all users. ↩︎

Step-by-Step Guide to PCO Form Integration

This custom integration allows users to seamlessly import and manage Planning Center Online forms within CareNote, providing a centralized platform for managing submissions and maintaining up-to-date care receiver data.

Setting Up the Integration:

  1. Access the Admin Panel: Navigate to your profile settings and select the 'Admin Panel.'
  2. Planning Center Forms: Locate the new 'Planning Center forms' option in the left side navigation.
  3. Import Forms: Click on 'Import PCO Forms' to synchronize your forms directly from Planning Center Online.

Managing Form Submissions:

  • View Forms: After importing, view all your PCO forms displayed in a comprehensive table.
  • Refresh and Download: Update and download form submissions to keep your data synchronized with any new entries or changes.

Benefits of PCO Forms Integration in CareNote

  • Streamlined Administration: Reduces manual data entry and improves administrative efficiency.
  • Real-Time Updates: Ensures care providers have immediate access to the latest form submissions and care receiver updates.
  • Enhanced Data Management: Keeps care receiver information synchronized between CareNote and Planning Center, reducing discrepancies and data lags.

Conclusion

Our new PCO form integration exemplifies CareNote's commitment to responsive innovation and community-driven development. By enabling custom integrations funded by our users, we're not only addressing specific needs but also enhancing our platform's overall effectiveness and adaptability.

Stay tuned for further updates and documentation on this and other features. We invite you to engage with this new functionality and share your experiences and suggestions, which are invaluable as we strive to tailor CareNote to better serve you and the broader community.