Tip! Understand Your Attendance Tracking Needs

1. Regular Sunday and midweek services
   
2. Sunday school or childcare without complex check-in system requirements
   
3. Special church events and gatherings
   

Understanding these scenarios will help tailor the attendance tracking setup to best fit your church's needs.

1. Create Attendance Groups

Creating well-defined groups is the first step in efficiently managing attendance within your church. These groups help in categorizing attendees, making tracking more organized and meaningful.

1. Navigate to the Administration Menu: Access this from the dashboard to begin.
   
2. Select Manage Groups: Here, you’ll find the option to create new groups.
   
3. Add a New Group: Click on the “Add Group” button. Assign a name that reflects the group's purpose (e.g., "Sunday Service Members").
   
4. Configure Group Settings: Make adjustments to ensure each group is visible for attendance tracking. If your church also tracks absences, opt-in for absence reporting during this stage.
   
5. Add Members: Finally, include the individuals whose attendance you'll be monitoring within each group.
   

2. Configure Attendance Tracking Settings & Set Up Church Services for Attendance

Efficiently setting up your services is crucial for smooth attendance tracking, whether it’s for regular worship services, Sunday school, or special events.

1. Access the Administration Menu: Begin by navigating to this section via the dashboard.
   
2. Go to Organization Settings: Within this menu, you'll find the Attendance Tracking section.
   
3. Decide on Your Setup Method: Choose between manually setting up each service or opting for automatic service setup. The latter can significantly reduce administrative effort by auto-generating service schedules.
   
4. For Manual Setup: Select “Add New Service” in the Service Setup area. Fill in necessary details such as service time and recurrence.
   
5. For Automatic Setup: Activate automatic service creation. This involves specifying a lead time for tracking to commence before the service starts (e.g., inputting 90 minutes for a 9 a.m. service).
   

3. Configuring Automatic Service Creation (Optional)

This optional step further streamlines the attendance tracking process, especially beneficial for early service preparations.

1. Automatic Service Creation Box: Here, input how early (in minutes) you want attendance tracking to activate before services begin.
   
2. Benefit for Early Arrivals: This setup ensures that volunteers and worship team members are accounted for from the moment they arrive, offering a comprehensive view of service participation.
   

Setting up attendance tracking in Steeplemate streamlines the process of monitoring church participation, helping you to better engage with your community and manage church resources. By following these steps, you can effectively utilize this feature to support your church’s growth and operational efficiency.

Remember, Steeplemate is here to support your ministry’s success. Should you have any questions or require further assistance, our dedicated support team is always ready to help.