Apteco Learn Mission Schedule Time with an Apteco Architect Play with a Live System

What is a Behaviour?

Stop 16 of 58 · about 5 minutes

How do you ask "when, how many, how much" without building anything first? The old way: ask someone to build a new field, wait a week, then find out it counted the wrong thing. The new way: ask Orbit, and it works out the answer while you watch.

Do this stop in the courseRead the lesson
The Behaviours tab: choose Recency (how recently), Frequency (how often) or Value (how much).
The Behaviours tab: choose Recency (how recently), Frequency (how often) or Value (how much). Help Hub: Behaviours

Sample charity: the people and numbers in these screens are made up, so the picture shows the tool, not a result.

The lesson

A Behaviour is a question Orbit answers for every supporter, right when you look. Nobody has to build a field first.

Every Behaviour is one of three kinds:

  • Recency: when? When was their first gift? When was their last shift?
  • Frequency: how many? How many gifts this year? How many shifts last year?
  • Value: how much? How many dollars did they give last year?

The Field Guide lists 10+ Behaviours, kept in a folder called Behaviours. Each one is named as a plain question, like Gifts this year or First gift date. The gift ones need only the three columns from Part 1. The next three stops put them to work.

Watch this stop · about a minute

More of it in Orbit

A Frequency Behaviour in Apteco's sample data: a name, the transactions to count (Sales) and who it is per (Customers). For a charity, that is Donations per Supporters.
A Frequency Behaviour in Apteco's sample data: a name, the transactions to count (Sales) and who it is per (Customers). For a charity, that is Donations per Supporters. Help Hub: Behaviours

Your turn, in Orbit

  1. Open Donation Analysis. Click Filters, then + Add Filter, and open the Behaviours tab.
  2. Look at the three kinds: Recency, Frequency and Value.
  3. Choose Frequency. Name it Gifts last year. Pick Donations to count, Per Supporters, add a Donation Date filter for last year, and click Apply.
  4. Click Reset All when you are done.

Quick check

"How many gifts did each supporter make last year?" Which kind of Behaviour?
  • Recency
  • Frequency
  • Value

Answer: Frequency

"When was each supporter's first gift?" Which kind?
  • Recency
  • Frequency
  • Value

Answer: Recency

"How many dollars did each supporter give last year?" Which kind?
  • Recency
  • Frequency
  • Value

Answer: Value

Need a hint?

When is Recency. How many is Frequency. How much is Value.

Why it matters

When everyone counts the same way, the board, the fundraisers and the volunteer team see the same numbers.

Read on

Read more in the Apteco Help Hub

Learn Mission is a free course. You read a little, do it yourself, then answer one quick check. Orin, the assistant in Orbit, walks with you. Your progress stays in your browser.

Do this stop yourself

It is stop 16 of 58. Open it in the course, or start from the beginning.

Open this stop in the course

All of Part 3: Behaviours

The whole course, stop by stop