Run a Mail Merge from a Report or Query

One of the great features of Salsa CRM is the ability to send letters to a group of constituents using a mail merge. You can run a mail merge from Step 4 of the Advanced Query Wizard, or use one of the other built-in reports like a Donor Detail, LYBUNT, or SYBUNT. Here are the steps to create an email message and send it from a report. 

Create Your Document

First, go into Word and create your letter. You can include images, headers, footers, etc. - but we recommend avoiding adding any tables, as those don’t always agree with CRM.

To auto-populate values from your report into your letter (like name, received date, etc.) you’ll want to use variables. CRM Variables are fields in the database whose values will translate into your letter. Common variables are:

• {{Today’s Date}}
• {{Smart Addressee}} 
• {{Smart Informal Salutation}}
• {{Smart Informal Salutation}}
• {{First Name}}
• {{Last Name}}
• {{Smart Address}} (usually the primary address of the smart addressee)
• {{Donation Amount}} (for a single gift)
• {{Received Date}} (for a single gift)
• {{Total Gift Amounts}} (for donation totals)

Add Your Documents to CRM

If you have not previously added documents to Salsa CRM, upload one into the system. Go to Manage > Documents > Word Processor.

To upload...

1. If you created your document in Google Docs, and if you see the Google Docs window come up:
   1. 1. Click the button to Open From Google Drive.
      2. Rename your document in the top left corner, or if you’re happy with it as-is, click Save & Close.
2. If you created the attachment in Word or some other external editor, choose Other Word Processing Options to upload your documents on the Google Docs screen.
3. If you do not see the Google Docs screen when you access the Word Processor, you’ll see a different menu. 
   1. 1. From the drop-down, choose Store a Document.
      2. Choose your document, 
      3. Click Add to Database.

Define Your Audience

If you run a query to find your email recipients...

1. Continue through the Advanced Query Wizard process, clicking next until you are on Step 4: Post-query Options page.
2. Choose Mail Merge from the post-query options.

If you’re using a different type of built-in report, for example, the Donor Detail Report...

1. Run your report from the Built-in Reports menu.
2. Once the report generates, click Other Actions in the top-right corner. 
3. From that menu, choose View in Advanced Query. This opens the report in the query wizard.
4. Click “Next” to go to the post-query options page.
5. Choose Mail Merge from the post-query options.

Merge Your Audience with Your Document

Once you click the Mail Merge button, the mail merge menu appears. 

1. Uncheck any of those report results you want to exclude from your letters. 
2. Click Select Document. The document search window will open up.
3. Change the document type to DOCX.
4. Click Search.
5. From the list, of documents, double click the document you’d like to use. You’ll be returned to the mail merge screen. 
6. Now, that document shows up as a blue hyperlink next to the Select Document button.
7. Click the Options button. Here you can choose to save a copy of the document to the constituent records of the people in your report.
8. Once you’ve chosen your options, click OK.  
9. Click Run Mail Merge. This will open a new tab with your merged documents. 
10. On the right is the list of people whose letters are in this batch to print. You can click on any of these names to view the letter for that specific donor. If any of those names are red, it means that the letter has a variable that hasn’t merged. For example, if you had a variable in your letter for {{Appeal Name}} but the donation was entered without an appeal chosen, the letter would still show the {{Appeal Name}} variable, and the donor’s name would look red. You can then click on that red name, then the “Edit” button to edit that one letter.
11. Once you’re ready to print your letters (or download them to PDF), click “Print All” in the top right corner. Once you choose your printer and click “Print” you’ll get a pop-up in the CRM asking if the printing was successful.
12. Click OK to update the constituent records with a copy of that document if you chose that as an option during your mail merge.