Onboarding guide

A detailed guide for setting up your center in Playground.

Stephanie Blitshtein avatar
Written by Stephanie Blitshtein
Updated over a week ago

Create a school

Start by creating your center HERE. Once you've entered the required information, you'll be able to login to your newly created Admin Dashboard. The Admin Dashboard is your Playground control center. Only admins at your center will have the full access to the Admin Dashboard.

We recommend bookmarking the following website to a Chrome or Safari window so you always have access to Playground: https://app.tryplayground.com/signin/.

Set up your center

Once your center is created, you'll want to go through the following steps to set up your dashboard:

Create Classrooms

Start by adding your classrooms. Note: a student can only be assigned to one classroom at a time.

Add Students

There are a few methods of adding your students to the dashboard. Select one of the options below that works best for you:

  1. If you are a brand new center and have no students enrolled yet, you can add students through an enrollment listing application

Invite Guardians

This is the most important step in setting up your dashboard! Playground is most useful when parents engage with it. Feel free to use the intro email to give parents a heads-up about the switch to Playground and then invite them to create an account. It is best to send out invitations at least a week prior to the date you plan to start checking students in and out. Feel free to reach out via Live Chat to receive a PDF of the lunchbox slips seen below. These can be helpful to let parents know their next steps.

If you plan to bill parents through Playground, we recommend adding charges prior to sending out invitations. This allows parents to see and pay their balance immediately after signing up (skip to the Billing section below).

Add Staff

Add your teachers and other admins to the dashboard. Teachers are sent an invitation to Playground immediately. Have every teacher watch the Staff Training video to make sure they are prepared to use the app.

Billing

Sign Up for Online Payments

The first step in using Playground's billing and payments functionality is signing up for online payments. This step takes about two minutes to complete. You'll know this step is finished when you see multiple tabs open up under the Billing header in your Admin Dashboard, as seen below.

Even if you do not plan to have guardians pay you online (credit card, debit card, or ACH), it is beneficial to sign up for billing in order to utilize the billing functionality, like tracking charges and offline payments (cash, checks, Venmo, etc). This also allows you to provide guardians with end-of-year tax documents.

Payment Settings

Adjust your payment settings to fit the way you charge guardians. I

Create Charges

Charge students for tuition, one-off charges, and before or after school programs.

Configure Settings

Go through your dashboard settings to make sure Playground is customized to your center.

First Day Using Playground

Prepare for the first day of check in and using the app by printing your QR code, etc.

Congratulations! Once you have completed the steps above, your center is ready to be launched! The Help Center will be a great resource for you as you begin to navigate the software. Always feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. If you have a request for a feature or feedback for the Playground team, feel free to submit it at the top of your dashboard.

Below you will find additional items you are able to set up in Playground but are not required in order to begin using the app at your center:

Paperwork

Add PDF fillable documents and file requests for parents to upload.

Enrollment

Create a listing for your center or for a offering at your school, such as summer camp. The enrollment listing will allow you to advertise availability at your center, track applications, fees, and waitlists, convert applicants to students and set up their account.

Resources to share with parents and guardians:

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