With SUMAC you can programme the matching process flow to reflect the type of scheme you are running. When partnerships are matched they can either be provisional or live, and the relevant emails can be sent manually or automatically, for example.

To programme the matching process flow, go to ‘Scheme Settings’ and then click the ‘Matching’ tab and scroll down to ‘Matching flow’. This is a simple, programmable flow chart, with different options at each stage of the process.

The process starts with the first box 'When a partnership is created' - which could be using auto matching, or could be manually from the bulk matching screen or from individual member profiles.

Moving onto the next box, when a partnership is created, do you want to set the status of the partnership to provisional or live?

Provisional is the default. When a Provisional partnership is created, the partnership is offered to one or other, or both partners and must be accepted before it becomes a live partnership. We will follow this route first.

When a partnership is created and the status is set to provisional the 'Provisional email' - the email that offers the proposed partnership - can be sent manually or automatically.

If 'manually' is selected, the provisional email can be sent from partnerships profiles, or in a bulk process from the partnerships data screen.

If 'automatically' is selected, then no intervention is required - SUMAC will send the email out as soon as the provisional partnership is created.

If you select ‘automatically’ you can also choose whether the emails are copied to the scheme reply email address. This will over-ride the email CC options on the Basic settings tab.

The next box determines to whom the provisional email is sent - effectively the person that must accept the proposed partnership before it can be switched to live.

The default - and most common in practice - is the mentee, however, it can be the mentor, or can be both mentee and mentor.

Once a partnership is accepted the status will automatically change to live and the confirmation email can then be sent out to both partners. The next box in the matching flow allows you to choose whether the confirmation email is sent out automatically, as soon as the partnership is accepted, or manually, which again, can be done from partnership profiles or from the partnerships data screen.

Again, if you select ‘automatically’ you can also choose whether the emails are copied to the scheme reply email address and this will over-ride the email CC options on the Basic settings tab.

If we go back and try a different option in the matching flow, we can change the first option so that 'when a partnership is created, the status is set to Live.

This means that the partnership is not offered and becomes live without the need for either partner to accept.