To simplify Group Settings and Check-In management, we've released significant changes to the Group Settings page and a huge new feature titled Check-In Visibility.
With this update, you can now automate when Groups appear for check-in, reducing administrative setup and check-in errors by displaying only the right groups at the correct times!
Simply set a Group meeting day, time, and a Check-In visibility timeframe, and our system will handle the rest! Set it and forget it!
What's Changed?
- Group Settings has a New Look
- Managing Group Properties is Much Simpler
- Group Meet Time replaced Meeting Time (and is way more important for Check-In)
- The Big News: Check-In Visibility
Do I Need to Update Anything?
In short, no! 🙂 To avoid disruption, we've ensured that you don't need to change anything.
However, to take advantage of Check-In Visibility, you will need to make a few changes when you're ready. For more information, see our Check-In Visibility FAQs or Check-In Visibility Setup Article.
A New Look for Group Settings!
The Group Setting screen used to be long, cluttered, and, honestly, a little confusing.
Now, when you edit a group, you'll notice Group Settings have been placed into three well-organized, expandable sections. Group Information, Attendance and Check-In, and Properties and Settings.
Once you expand each section, you'll notice the UI has been updated to match our current styles. While many settings options remain in the exact same order, we've re-ordered a few to match the most common things that need to be configured first, making it faster to set up groups and find what you're looking for.
Managing Group Properties is Way Easier!
Previously, assigning Group Properties was a little cumbersome. They were buried between other fields with text so small that even Gen. Z needed boomer glasses to find them 👓. Moreover, to apply or remove a property, you had to scroll through a vertical list that was often as lengthy as Leviticus 14 (aka. the longest chapter in Scripture)! 😜
Commercial Break - what are Group Properties? At a super simple level, they're customizable tags you can apply to groups. They're powerful because well-tagged groups make searching, filtering, viewing, mass communicating, reporting, and managing your Groups easier. And since groups contain people, properties make caring for your community massively simpler. Learn more about Group Properties.
What we've enhanced!
Expand Properties and Settings and Group Properties is the first heading, which is prominently visible! Goodbye glasses!
- Applied Properties now appear as blue 'chips' next to their parent property for easy organization.
(item 1, above) - Need to remove a property? Just click the "X" icon on the blue chip, and you're done!
(item 1, above) - Need to apply a property? Simply keyword search using the field provided. Goodbye Leviticus 14!
(item 2, above)
Group Meet Time
Under Group Information, we've replaced the Meeting Day and Time text fields with a new Group Meet time field that can be toggled on or off.
Do I need to update this field?
Nope! 🙂
If you didn't use the previous day/time fields, Group Meet Time will simply display as toggled off. If you used the previous day/time fields, Group Meet Time will be toggled on, and your selected day and time will be displayed as before.
Group Meet Time is now way more important!
In addition to appearing in the Group Finder, if a Group Meet Time is selected, it determines when a group will appear in Check-In if you choose to enable Check-In Visibility - our new big enhancement, below.
Enhancement: Check-In Visibility
When you expand Attendance and Check-In and scroll down, you'll notice a new heading titled Check-in Visibility.
What it does:
You can now automatically show or hide check-in groups based on the day and time they occur (the Group Meet Time). Specifically, you can set those groups to dynamically appear and disappear up to 90 minutes before and after the Group Meet Time.
Why this is huge! Previously, you couldn't set a specific time for a group to appear for check-in. And while groups "could" appear on particular days, the setup was complex (and not volunteer-friendly). The result? A long, confusing list of groups and inaccurate attendance.
With this new enhancement, you can set it and forget it. Set a Group Meet Time and a visibility timeframe, and our system will take care of the rest!
How it Works:
While we hope this new feature is self-explanatory, here's how it works.
If Always Show Group at check-in is selected, that group will display exactly as it does now. In other words, it will always appear, subject to any station-specific settings you've set.
- Station-specific setting example: If you set a Check-In station to only allow people to check into groups they're part of and not in this group, they won't see it on the list.
If Set Group visibility time frame is selected, using the provided dropdowns, simply set your group to display in Check-In up to 90 minutes before and after the Group Meet Time. (Again, group display is subject to any station-specific settings you've created.)
Note: If you haven't set a Group Meet Time, a blue notification box will appear alerting you that a Group Meet Time is required to use the new Group Visibility time frame. In addition, the Set Group visibility time frame options will be grayed out (below).
For your next steps, see our Check-In Visibility FAQs or Check-In Visibility Setup Article.
How Check-In Visibility can Simplify your Processes:
Scenario: Too many service times are displayed at a check-in station.
- Now, display only the groups that match the appropriate service time using a single station. This is much simpler and cleaner for your volunteers and congregation.
Scenario: Mid-week groups are displayed on Sunday (or vice versa).
- Check-In Visibility allows you to easily display only the groups that match the appropriate weekday.
Scenario: Multiple check-in stations were required to display your group. Between each service, you had to manually update each check-in location to make groups display how you wanted. This was laborious and error-prone.
- Check-In Visibility now dramatically simplifies your setup.
Check-In Visibility FAQs
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Again, Nope! 🙂
Even if you have a Group Meet Time set, always show Group at check-in will be selected. Therefore, your check-in experience works exactly as before - no tweaking required!
(However, we suggest that when you're ready, you take advantage of this new ability to simplify managing when your Check-In groups are visible.)
Important: If you're using iPad Check-In and want to use Check-in Visibility, you'll need to ensure the iOS Check-In App has been updated to the most recent version so all features work correctly. (v. 3.01.2)
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Yes! The new ability to set the day and time groups appear for check-in is available using every check-in method, even our integrated mobile app.
- No. You must still perform a non-mobile check-in to activate the check-in module on our mobile app. Learn more.
Summary
We hope this update better organizes Group Management and simplifies Check-In for your ministry, saving you time in administrative setup and training your teams. Again, because groups 'house' all your people, simplified management is essential for effective administration and community care. And in the end, people are what it's all about.
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