How to set up ParishSOFT Facility Calendar
The first step you must undertake to begin using Facility Calendar is to add all of the resources. These are the building blocks that will make it easier for you to use the program in the long run. If you are using Facility Calendar on a trial basis, we suggest setting up a slice of real data in each of these categories in order to get a true idea of how the whole package works. You will not lose this data when you transition.
The first thing you will want to do is to go to the Settings page (gear icon / upper right). On the left side of the Settings page, you will see the buttons that represent the categories for the resource building blocks you will need to set up.
You may find it helpful to start with the categories that are the building blocks to other categories. For example, make a list of all of your equipment and the quantities of each. If you add your equipment first, then later when you add your rooms, you will be able to simply associate the equipment with the room where it resides. The list below will point out when one category is a building block to another.
Setting Categories
- General: organization name, default timezone, date format, phone number format
- People: Add people who will have access to this software (to add events or to approve certain functions for events) and/or who may be the contact person for events. People must be added before permissions.
- Permissions: Set the permissions for the people you added on the People page. By assigning a role to a user, you give them a collection of permissions. The roles are Admin (global permissions), Parish Office Resources, Volunteers - (View & Propose permissions). Permissions may only be added after people.
- Rooms: Add a building and then add rooms to the building. Once you have created a Room 'Setup' or added Equipment, you may apply a Room Setup to a room and apply Equipment to rooms. This will make these setups and this equipment available to reserve later when adding a request for a room. We recommend populating the Equipment and Room Setup categories before adding the Rooms.
- Room Setups: This category allows you to give a name to various room setup types so you can differentiate between layouts such as a classroom-style setup or a round table discussion-style setup. You will also assign equipment to these setups. You also may add images of the various room configurations. We recommend populating the Room Setup category before adding the Rooms and after adding Equipment.
- Equipment: This category allows you to add every piece of equipment available for an event. We recommend populating the Equipment category before adding the Rooms or Room Setups.
- Vehicles: This category may be populated in any order. This would include the vehicles that church groups may need for their events.
- Properties: Significant for providing views of events and how they are going to show (both internal and external views). Properties are grouped into categories. Set up your own categories that meet the needs of your particular organization. Then, tag your events with these categories. Some examples are Calendar Type (Internal, Public, School), Ministry (Community, Spiritual Growth, Support Groups, Young Adults, Youth), Services (Funerals, Mass, Memorials), etc. Later, you may pull up calendar views based on these categories. Use these to create particular calendar views.
- Responsibilities: child care requests, tech requests, kitchen requests, vehicle requests; these requests must be approved by a person who is responsible for approving them. The responsibility categories cannot be changed but the people assigned to approve the request for these requests can.
General Setting
- Add the basic information for formatting your Facility Calendar: organization name, default timezone, date format, phone number format
People Setting
- Add people who will have access to this software (to add events or to approve certain functions for events) and/or who may be the contact person for events. People must be added before permissions.
- If you would like the person to access the calendar, add a password for them. Make sure you also give them Permissions.
- For a more in-depth article, see How to add people to the Facility Calendar.
Permissions Setting
- This is where you may set the permissions for the people you added on the People page. By assigning a role to a user, you give them a collection of permissions. The roles listed in this example are Admin (global permissions), Parish Office Resources, and Volunteers - (View & Propose permissions). The only one that comes with the program is Admin and that role cannot be changed. The others are just to give an idea. We suggest adding permissions after adding people. That way you can add the permissions and assign people to them at the same time.
- For additional information, see How to add permission roles and assign them to users
Buildings and Rooms Setting
- Add buildings and rooms and then apply the room setups and equipment to the rooms. Once this is done, when people create an event, they may reserve the equipment and room setup that has been assigned to the room.
- For additional information on the Rooms page, see How to add buildings and rooms.
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Room Setup
Equipment Setting
Vehicles Setting
Properties Setting
For additional details see the following articles:
Responsibilities Setting
When an event is added there is an option to mark the following requests for approval: child care requests, tech requests, kitchen requests, vehicle requests; these requests must be approved by an authorized person. The responsibility categories cannot be changed but the people assigned to approve the request for these requests can.
- Simply begin typing the name of the person authorized to approve these requests
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