The schedule

The schedule is the grid for one season: its dates (plans) run across the page and your positions run down it, grouped by team. Each cell shows how many people a position needs on that date, who is on it, and how each of them answered.

How to use it

Open the schedule

1. In the staff dashboard, open Services.
2. Choose the season in the picker at the top. How to add a season and send its requests is in Volunteer seasons.

The first column (Position) stays put while the dates scroll sideways. Who is on how often sits to the right of the grid, or below it on a narrow screen.

Add a date

A plan is one service on one date, such as Sunday 9:00 AM on October 4.

1. Choose Add plan.
2. Title starts as “Sunday 9:00”; change it if you like.
3. Starts: the date and time. After the first plan, it suggests a week after your last one.
4. Minutes: how long the service lasts (90 unless you change it).
5. Campus (optional): where the service is. Notes (optional): anything the team should know.
6. Choose Add plan. The date appears as a new column, in date order.

Say what a date needs

1. In a position’s row, under the date, choose Need.
2. Enter How many are needed, then Save. The cell shows “0 of 2”.

Use the three-dot menu on a cell for Change how many, or Not needed this date to take the position off that date (only while nobody is on it). Positions themselves are explained in Positions.

Put people on a date

1. In the cell, choose Add.
2. Under Who, search the team and choose a name. Only active members of that position’s team are listed, and not anyone already on that position for that date.
3. Choose Assign.

The person appears in the cell straight away, and the date appears on their My schedule page in the member portal. If they were already sent this season’s request, the date joins it. If not, Send requests asks them (see Volunteer seasons).

Read a cell

• “1 of 2” means one person is on, of two needed. It is orange and bold while the position is short.
• Each name shows the person’s answer:
  • Gray: no answer yet. Point to the name (or choose it) to see “Not asked yet”, before you send requests, or “Asked, no reply yet”.
  • Green with a check: they said yes (“Accepted”).
  • Red with an X: they said no (“Declined”), followed by their word for you if they left one, such as “Declined: Away that weekend”.
• An orange dot after a name means the person blocked out that date (“Blockout on this date”). See Blockout dates.
• “1 you cannot see” counts a young volunteer whose name your role doesn’t show.

Record an answer, or take someone off

Choose a person’s name in the grid:

• Mark accepted or Mark declined, when someone tells you their answer in person or by phone.
• Take off this date removes them from that date.

Cancel or restore a date

1. Open the three-dot menu at the top of the date’s column and choose Cancel this date. It takes effect at once.
2. The column is dimmed and reads “Cancelled” in place of the title. The people on it and their answers stay, but you can’t add anyone or change what it needs.
3. To bring it back, open the same menu and choose Restore this date. Everyone on it, and their answers, come back as they were.

A cancelled date leaves volunteers’ My schedule page and stops counting in Who is on how often.

Who is on how often

The panel lists everyone on a date this season, the busiest first. For each person it shows how many times they are on, and their answers so far (“3 yes · 1 no”). An Often badge marks anyone on half the season’s dates or more, not counting cancelled dates: in an eight-Sunday season, that is four or more. Until anyone is on a date, it says “Nobody is on a date yet.”

Use it to spread the load before you choose Send requests.

Good to know

• Who can do it. Owners, administrators and ministry leaders add dates, set needs, put people on and take them off, mark answers and cancel dates. Staff can read the schedule and Who is on how often, but change nothing.
• A “no” still counts. The count in a cell includes everyone on that date, whatever they answered. Someone who said no still counts toward “2 of 2” until you take them off and put someone else on.
• The need is a guide. You can put on more people than a position needs.
• No double-booking warning. You can put the same person on two positions on the same date (Vocals and Guitar, say), and HoW doesn’t warn you. Who is on how often counts each one.
• Blockouts don’t show in the Add list. The orange dot appears once the person is on the date. Check for it after you add someone, and before you send requests.
• Marking an answer for someone replaces their own answer, and clears any word they left with it. Every answer, theirs or yours, is noted on the person’s record.
• Volunteers aren’t told when you take them off a date or cancel one; HoW doesn’t send messages about the schedule yet. Let them know yourself.
• No editing a date yet. You can’t change a date’s title, time, campus or notes on screen, and you can’t delete a single date. Cancel it and add a new one.
• Campuses on dates. A date’s campus shows in its column after the title (“Sunday 9:00 · North Campus”), and volunteers see it too. The date’s time is shown in that campus’s time zone, wherever you are. A date with no campus is shown in your own device’s time zone.
• Children’s records. If your role can’t see children’s records, a young volunteer is counted in the cell but not named, and isn’t listed in Who is on how often.
• Your church’s subscription. Services depends on your church’s subscription (Core, Pro or Elite); see Your plan.

If something isn’t right

• “They are already on this date.” That person is already on this position for this date.
• “They are not on this team, or the plan is cancelled.” Only active members of the position’s team can be put on it, and nobody can be added to a cancelled date.
• “Not assigned. Check your access and try again.” Your role may not allow it. Ask an owner or administrator.
• “Everyone on the team is already on this date.” Everybody on the team is on this position for that date. To add people to the team, see Positions.
• “Nobody on the team by that name.” The person you typed isn’t an active member of that position’s team.
• “A plan needs a title, a start and an end after it.” Fill in Title and Starts.
• “The campus is not one of this church’s. Choose again.” The campus list changed while you were working. Close the dialog and choose the campus again.
• “The plan was not saved. Check your access and try again.” Your role may not allow it, or the connection dropped.
• “Could not load the schedule.” Choose Try again.
• “No plans in this season.” The season has no dates yet. Choose Add plan.
• There are no Need or Add buttons. The date is cancelled, or your role lets you view only.
• “… was not cancelled”, “… was not taken off this date”, “… was not marked accepted” (and the like). HoW couldn’t make that change, and the message says why:
  • “your role doesn’t allow it, or your account is limited to other campuses”: ask an owner or administrator.
  • “it was changed or removed by someone else”: a colleague changed the schedule meanwhile. Reload the page to see the latest.
  • “Check your connection and try again”: the connection dropped. Try again.
  • Anything else after the colon is the rule the change broke, in HoW’s words.
• “Not saved: …” in the How many are needed dialog. The dialog stays open with the reason; correct it and choose Save again, or Cancel.

What DCX support can do

With your permission, DCX support can open a support session on your church to look at a season’s schedule with you and see why a date, a count or an answer isn’t showing as you expect.

How this compares with Planning Center

If you’re coming from Planning Center Services:

• The grid is like the Matrix. Planning Center’s Matrix shows many plans side by side, with positions grouped by team, and can load plans from several service types at once. HoW’s grid shows one season’s dates.
• Adding people. In the Matrix you choose from the team or drag a name from one plan to another, and Planning Center can auto-schedule. In HoW you choose Add and pick one person at a time.
• Answers. Planning Center shows people as unconfirmed, confirmed or declined. HoW shows no reply, yes or no, by color and icon.
• Conflicts. Planning Center marks a blockout or another declined position at the same time with a red square, other conflicts with a yellow square, and the person’s preferred and not-preferred times with green and orange circles. HoW shows an orange dot for a blockout, and nothing else. In both, a conflict never stops you from putting someone on the schedule.
• How often. In Planning Center each person can set how often they prefer to serve, and it shows while you schedule. HoW has no such preference; instead, Who is on how often counts each person’s dates in the season and marks the busiest with Often.
• When volunteers see a date. In Planning Center, someone scheduled but not yet sent their request can’t see the plan. In HoW, they see the date in the portal as soon as you put them on it.