Adding New Accession Records

Each accession must have a unique accession number to distinguish it from other accessions. Accession numbers can include numbers, letters, and punctuation. PastPerfect recommmends assigning two-part numbers, such as 2017.1, where the first four digits represent the year of the accession and the next digits identify the chronological order of the accession in the year. However, PastPerfect will support any numbering system your institution may already have in place.

Before adding a new accession, we recommend you enter the donor into Contacts. Accession documents, such as the Deed of Gift and Thank You Letter, will not be available for a donor unless the donor exists in Contacts and is linked to the accession record. See Adding New Contact Record for details.

Add New Accession Record

1.Click "New Record" on the Accessions Query screen or on an existing Accession record

2.Populate the required fields: Accession Number and Source

•The Accession No must be unique. The Last Number added will be displayed for your reference.

•To select the donor from Contacts, click the down arrow for Select Contact and begin typing the donor's name. This will automatically fill in the Source and Address. A link will be created between the Contact record and this Accession record.

•If the donor does not exist in Contacts, type the donor's name in Source and fill in the donor's name and address in Address

3.Click "Add New Record"

4.Populate other fields if desired

•It is recommended to populate the Description of Items field so it can be used on the Deed of Gift and Thank You Letter.

•If you place a check in the box for "Display restricted flag on associated catalog records", a flag will appear on the Object, Photo, Archive, and Library records that the items are "Restricted by Accession."

5.Click "Save" in the Edit Bar at the top of the screen

Add Additional Donors

If there is more than one donor for an accession, additional donors can be added to the Accession record. Be sure the additional donors exist in the Contacts file (see Adding New Contact Record for).

1.Click "Edit" in the Edit Bar at the top of the Accession Record screen

2.Click "Add Additional Donor" above the Donors Grid

3.Browse or filter to find the donor(s) from Contacts that you want to add:

•Browse using the page buttons at the bottom of the pop-up window.  Records can be sorted by clicking on a column header.

•Use a filter to find the donor(s) (see Working with Filters).

4.Using the check boxes to the left, select the donor(s) and click "Add All Checked Records."

5.The contact(s) will be added to the Donors Grid on the Accession screen

6.Click "Save" at the top of the screen

The first contact selected when the Accession record was created will remain as the "Source" at the top of the screen.

Remove Donor from Record

If the wrong donor was accidentally added to an accession record, you can remove them from the Donors Grid using the steps below. If the donor you want to remove was the first one selected, you may also need to change the Source, Primary Contact, and Address fields in the Top Section of the record.

1.Click "Edit" in the Edit Bar at the top of the screen

2.Hover over the donor you want to remove in the Donors Grid

3.Click the Trash Can icon on the far right

4.Click "Yes" to confirm

5.Click "Save" in the Edit Bar at the top of the screen