Limitations to be aware of
- Framework setup is not self-service. Accreditation names, categories, hour/point rules and intervals are set up by support or your account manager from a template you complete. (Administrators can manage Activity source labels themselves.) Plan changes ahead, as they are not instant.
- Backdating only applies within an accreditation's date range. When you add one late, only historical activities inside its start and end dates count. Get the dates right before saving, or eligible activities will be missed.
- Portal submissions may need approval. Member-submitted activities only count once approved by an administrator, unless auto-approve is enabled in Umbraco.
- The Action Centre may not be enabled by default. If you can't see the Accreditation Action Centre (shown as Goals), support can add it to your account.
- The tab and portal page label vary by account. Because the label is configurable (Accreditation / Goals / CPD), training material and member communications must use whichever label your account uses.
- Event awards depend on the chosen status. If you award on Attending rather than Attended, the value is granted before the event happens and may need reconciling for no-shows.
- Some product labels still read "Goals". The Action Centre, the List Builder criteria group, and the event Goals and Points section still say "Goals" even where the feature is named Accreditation.
Best practice
- Design the framework carefully up front. Settle categories, min/max caps, overarching totals and the interval/start-date logic before configuration, because they determine how hours and points are counted and are not trivial to change.
- Validate on a test contact. Before rolling out, add the accreditation and a few activities to a test contact and confirm the snapshot, hours, points and Achieved? behave as expected.
- Check both Hours and Points. An accreditation can be complete on one measure and short on the other — check both columns before judging progress.
- Keep evidence with activities. Attach a document to each activity (and require it for portal submissions) so approvals and later review are straightforward; keep Auto-Approve off when evidence matters.
- Work approvals regularly. Clear member submissions often so members get timely credit.
- Combine the Action Centre with List Builder. Use the Action Centre for monitoring and export, and List Builder to act on segments — for example emailing members not achieved in the current period.
- Set dates from when the activity occurred. Use Date occurred accurately, as it drives whether an activity falls within a date range during backdating.