Before converting to ParishSOFT Family Suite, review and update key fields in your existing system. The completeness and accuracy of your data directly affect the quality of the records you convert.
This article outlines the data fields ParishSOFT recommends reviewing and updating before submitting your data for conversion.
Purpose of This Step
This step helps ensure that:
- Member roles are assigned correctly after conversion
- Family relationships convert accurately
- Formal salutations and household structures behave as expected
These updates should be completed before you submit your data backup for conversion.
Software‑Specific Preparation
If you are currently using PDS or ACS, ParishSOFT provides additional guidance specific to those systems.
- Refer to the Software‑Specific Data Preparations link in the conversion resources.
Required Data Updates
Review and update the following fields in your existing system prior to conversion.
Gender
- All members must have a Gender recorded.
- Gender is a required field in ParishSOFT Family Suite.
- Acceptable values:
- Male
- Female
- Unknown
If no gender is provided, it will default to Unknown, which may prevent automatic role assignment.
Member Roles
During conversion, ParishSOFT assigns roles based on gender and marital status:
- Married males → Husband
- Married females → Wife
- Single adults → Head
If a member is marked as Head of Household and has a marriage sacrament recorded, the system updates the role to Husband or Wife, unless gender is Unknown.
Important: In cases where the wife is listed as Head of Household (for example, when the spouse is not Catholic), the conversion process will still automatically update her role to Wife.
Allowed Member Roles
Only the following roles are supported in ParishSOFT Family Suite:
- Adult
- Daughter
- Father
- Foster Daughter
- Foster Son
- Grandchild
- Granddaughter
- Grandfather
- Grandmother
- Grandson
- Head
- Husband
- Mother
- Other
- Son
- Stepchild
- Unknown
- Wife
If your current data includes other role values, the conversion process will attempt to map them. To ensure accuracy, ParishSOFT recommends updating roles before submitting your data.
Titles
If your current system uses member titles (such as Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Dr.):
- Verify titles are correct for Head/Husband and Wife
- Titles are used to generate Formal Salutations in ParishSOFT (for example, Mr. and Mrs. Smith)
Marital Status
- Verify that both spouses have the same marital status
- Mismatched statuses can prevent correct family linking
Important data integrity warning: If adult children remain in their parents’ family record and have marriage information, the system may incorrectly link a child's marriage record to a parent of the opposite gender.
To prevent this:
- Remove marriage records from adult children, or
- Move adult children into their own family records before conversion
Summary
Preparing your data prior to conversion helps ensure:
- Accurate household structures
- Correct role and relationship assignments
- Reliable formal salutations and reporting
Completing these updates before submitting your data reduces post‑conversion corrections and delays.
If you would like to read all the steps in the Conversion Process, click the Conversion Steps document link below:
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