This feature is available on the Pro Plan.
Why create multiple schedules?
When setting up a schedule, it's important to consider the volunteer experience and who will manage it. Essentially, a schedule is a collection of shifts or a centralized list of signup opportunities. In Timecounts, we categorize schedules at the top level on the Find Opportunities page of your hub, making it quick for volunteers to discover them.
While schedules have filters for various positions and locations, creating separate schedules for different locations, types of opportunities, or seasonal opportunities might make sense. The volunteer experience should always come first, but creating different schedules could help your organization run more smoothly if different leaders oversee separate areas.
What is a primary schedule?
When you signed up for Timecounts, you may have noticed that your schedule is labeled as the Primary Schedule. This is your default schedule. If you switch to the free plan, you will lose access to all other schedules except the primary one. You can rename your primary schedule and choose to hide it from volunteers, but please note that you cannot delete it.
Adding a new schedule.
To add a new schedule, click on the Schedules tab, then press the New Schedule button in the top right corner. A popup will appear, prompting you to name the schedule. You can edit this name later, but remember that it will be visible to volunteers on your hub, so keep it short and avoid including dates. Since schedules have an unlimited calendar, you can publish for any time frame. Once you’ve entered the name, click Save.
This will open directly to the Shifts view of your new schedule, where you can begin building out your positions.
How multiple schedules appear to volunteers.
Creating a new schedule automatically adds a new category (box) to the Find Opportunities page. You can edit this by going to Hub Editor > Opportunities. We strongly recommend uploading a photo to represent this schedule and writing a short description for volunteers. It truly makes a difference!
If you want to reorder how the boxes appear on the Find Opportunities page, click on Details at the top. In the Categories section, you’ll find a drag icon that allows you to move the category up or down. Remember to press Save at the bottom once you're done.
Hiding a schedule from volunteers.
If you’re not ready to make a schedule visible on the Find Opportunities page, you can hide a schedule that contains no published shifts. To do this, open the Hub Editor, navigate to the Details page, go to the Categories list, and turn the toggle to hide the schedule. Don’t forget to press Save at the bottom.
We don’t recommend hiding schedules that you use regularly, as this can confuse volunteers. Even if you don’t have any published shifts at the moment, Timecounts will display a message indicating that there are no available shifts. However, we understand that there are times when it may not make sense to keep the category box visible.
