If you are responsible for maintaining organizations in BVCMS , please read this blog post, even if you have been using BVCMS for a long time. We want to ensure that you understand about schedules for organizations.

We just added a new checkbox  on the Organization > Settings > Attendance tab  just above the Schedule. It is labeled  Does NOT Meet Weekly.  Just as the label implies, that box is to be checked if the organization does not meet every week . However, you do not need a schedule on any organization that does not meet every week. But, if you want a schedule as a reference, you need to check Does NOT Meet Weekly. Click HERE to read about Schedules.

Two things are affected by schedules and by the new checkbox: 1) Self-Check-in,  and   2) Other Attends

Self-Checkin:

When you start up check-in, only organizations that have a schedule for that day (or a meeting has already been created)  and are flagged to allow self-check-in will display as available for check-in. Now, the system looks at one more thing. If the box Does NOT Meet Weekly  is checked for an organization AND if there is not a meeting already manually created for that day, that organization will not display for check-in.

Other Attends:

When a member of one organization is marked present in another organization (whether he attends as a member or a guest) that meets at the same time , a meeting is created for the other organization in which he is a member. This is so that the member can be given an Other Attend attendance type in the class he is not attending that day. This is a great help to the leader as it lets him know that the person was on campus, just not in their class. So, if Does NOT Meet Weekly is checked  for the organization that does not meet weekly, the only time an Other Attend is recorded is when that organization already has a meeting created.

What about recording attendance for those non-weekly organizations?

You just create a meeting manually. You can create the meeting after they meet if you are using roll sheets to take attendance. Or, if you are using self-check-in, you can create the meeting at any point before the start of the meeting.

A word regarding future meetings:

Do not create meetings for organizations that have schedules and that meet weekly. However, for those that do not meet weekly, you can create meetings as far in advance as you want. If you have groups that meet once a month, every month; then you can create those meetings for the entire year. Just remember to delete the meeting if it gets canceled and they do not actually meet.

FAQs

Q: Does every organization need a schedule?

A: No.

Q: Which organizations need a schedule? 

A: Only those that meet weekly . 

Q: What if I want to keep the schedule so I know the day and time they meet even if it isn’t weekly?

A:  That’s is what the new checkbox is for. You can keep the schedule on the organization, just check the Does NOT Meet Weekly box to indicate that it does not meet weekly.

Q: What should I do with existing organizations that do not meet weekly, but that have a schedule assigned?

A:  Remove the schedule or  Click Does NOT Meet Weekly if you feel you must leave the schedule as a reference. Click here to see how to remove a schedule.

Q: How can I make meetings show up for self-check-in if there is no schedule   or   if  Does NOT Meet  Weekly is checked?

A: Create the future meeting - selecting the date and the time. Click here to see how to create a meeting. Future meetings can be created as far in advance as you want.

Remember, if the organization meets every week, assign it a schedule and do not create future meetings. The meeting will display for check-in.

Q: Why is it important that an organization not have a schedule if it does not meet every week? Or why should I check Does NOT Meet Weekly if I choose to keep a schedule, but it does not meet weekly?

A: There are several reasons, but let me demonstrate with a couple of scenarios.

Scenario 1: Org A only meets once a month, but has a schedule of Sun 8:00 AM. If John, a member of Org A, is marked present in Org B, which also has a schedule of Sun 8:00 AM and meets every week, a meeting will be created for Org A. This happens so that we can assign John an attendance credit of Other Attend in Org A. This is very helpful if John actually attended another weekly meeting at the same time he would normally have attended his regular class, but is confusing and unnecessary if Org A was not even meeting. Checking Does NOT Meet Weekly will eliminate this problem.

Scenario 2: Suzy is enrolled in Org C, with a schedule of Wed 6:00 PM and is also enrolled in Org D, a childcare org for a special event with a schedule of Wed 6:00 PM. Org D is a one-time event several weeks out and will meet only once. When Suzy uses self-check-in to check into her normal Wed night class, not only will Org C display, but also Org D. This might be confusing to parents who see 2 options instead of the usual one, especially if only one of those is actually meeting. That issue is in addition to creating an Other Attend for her in a class that did not even meet. Removing the schedule would probably be the best thing to do in this case. Or use the new checkbox. Either one will work.

I hope this helps with your understanding of schedules, organizations, and meetings. The bottom line is this: only an organization that meets weekly should have a schedule. All other organizations should not have a schedule.  However, if you decide to keep a schedule as a reference, you must check Does NOT Meet Weekly.