SOAR is a simple scouting software platform that shut down unexpectedly in March of 2023. At that time TroopWebHost helped hundreds of SOAR customers migrate to TroopWebHost using the backup files that were graciously provided by SOAR management.
SOAR has since recovered and no longer makes these backup files available to their customers. However, they do support an export capability that can be used to transfer membership data to TroopWebHost.
Exporting Membership Data From SOAR
You must have administrative access to export membership data from SOAR. After logging on to your SOAR site, you should see an Administration submenu in the lower left section of the page, as shown below. Select Members from that submenu.
Once you click Members from the above menu, you will see the page shown below. Click the Export icon to continue.
Clicking the Export button, as shown above, will cause an Excel spreadsheet to be downloaded to your device. Click on that file to open the spreadsheet in Excel (or compatible software).
If you opened the file in Excel, you will see that it contains four tabs, or "worksheets", as shown below. These will appear at the bottom of the window.
Save the contents of the first two tabs to CSV files. This will put the data in a format that can be uploaded into TroopWebHost.
While in the "Scouts" tab, open the File menu to Save As. Type in a name for the CSV file you are going to create, like "SOAR Scouts".
Open the drop down list for file type by clicking the down arrow on the right side of that control, as indicated below.
Choose "CSV (MS-DOS)". Then click the Save button.
Return to the spreadsheet and select the "Adults" tab. Then open the File menu and select Save As. Enter a file name like "SOAR Adults", select the CSV file type, and Save.
Make sure you know the location of these two CSV files on your computer. You are now ready to transfer these files into TroopWebHost.
Uploading SOAR Membership Files To TroopWebHost
Log on to your TroopWebHost site. Open your main menu to Membership → Upload Members → Upload SOAR Members.
You need to run this function for each of the files you exported from SOAR.
Select the file using the "Choose File" control, as shown above. On some browsers, this may have a different caption.
If you selected the Adults file, click the Adults? checkbox.
If you wish to update existing records, which are identified by matching their BSA ID number or exact spelling of first and last name, then click the checkbox for Update Existing Records?.
If this is the first time you've uploaded this file, enable the Trial Run? option. This will allow you to see which existing members will be updated, as well as what new members will be added. This allows you to prevent duplicate membership records from being created in your system. When the upload completes, the system will list the names that would have been added; if you think that any of those names are already in your database, you need to figure out why they did not find a match. This could be because the BSA ID was missing, or because the spelling of the first and last name did not match exactly. Make the necessary corrections before uploading the file again - again, with the Trial Run option selected. Once you are convinced that no duplicates will be created should you upload the file without the Trial Run option.
Click the Upload Members File button to begin the upload. Please be patient; do not click the button again. This may take several minutes to complete. Once it completes, it will display a status page. This may include a list of patrols that you will need to add.
After The Upload Completes
The upload will attempt to create relationships between scouts and their parents, based on an exact match of their mailing address. If the addresses are not spelled exactly the same, the upload will not create the desired relationship.
Obviously, the upload cannot create these relationships until you've uploaded both the Adult and the Scout files. Once you have completed the upload for both files, run the Scout Parent Cross Reference report to see what relationships have (or haven't) been created. You will then need to manually enter the missing relationships.
The upload will also generate a User ID for each new member that is added. For those members who are in leadership positions, you should update their User ID to authorize them for additional user roles. This will allow them to access the TroopWebHost functions appropriate for their position.
When you are ready to have members use the site, you can communicate their logon information using the Send User IDs and Passwords function.
The upload will not transfer leadership positions or YPT training history.