Playground can be customized for each program and the global settings on the admin dashboard can be configured to preference. This guide explains each available setting.
General
Center
Center Name
This is the name your program will display to staff and families on Playground, including all emails, notifications, and payment statements. Administrators with permissions to edit settings can change it at any time.
How to edit your program name in Playground
How to edit your program name in Playground
Next to the Center Name setting, enter your desired program name in the text field
When ready, click Save right under the text field
Reply-to Emails
System emails sent to families and staff (like invoices, overdue payment reminders, announcements, etc.) have a reply-to email that sends all family & staff responses to administrators. Playground requires at least one reply-to email on the account, with no limit to the number of reply-to emails administrators can add.
How to add, edit, or delete a reply-to email
How to add, edit, or delete a reply-to email
Add a reply-to email:
Click Edit
Click + Add email
Enter a valid email address
Click Save
Add any other email addresses
When ready, click Save
Edit a reply-to email:
Click Edit
Click ✏️ to edit an email address
Make any changes
When ready, click Save
Or if you don't want to save the changes, click Cancel
Delete a reply-to email:
Click Edit
Click 🗑️ to delete an email address
Taxpayer Identification Number
Add the program’s Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN) to ensure it appears in the top right corner of each payment statement families receive.
How to add or edit your TIN/EIN in Playground
How to add or edit your TIN/EIN in Playground
Next to the Taxpayer Identification Number setting, enter the TIN or EIN in the text field
When ready, click Save right under the text field
State
Set your program's state to access state specific licensing paperwork and reports that are pre-loaded into the account.
How to add/edit your state in Playground
How to add/edit your state in Playground
Next to the State setting, type or select your state from the dropdown
This setting will save automatically once a state is selected
Timezone
Set your program's timezone. Ensure your timezone is correct so that reports remain accurate and payout timing is not disrupted.
How to add or edit your timezone in Playground
How to add or edit your timezone in Playground
Next to the Timezone setting, select your timezone from the dropdown
This setting will save automatically once a state is selected
Immunization Tracking
Enable the immunization tracking feature in Playground to add an immunization tab on student profiles and allow administrators to pull immunization reports.
How to turn on or off immunization tracking in Playground
How to turn on or off immunization tracking in Playground
Next to the Immunization tracking setting, toggle the switch on or off
Attendance
QR Code
View, download, print, or regenerate the program's QR code for attendance. Learn more about QR code check in & out.
School PIN Code
The code used by staff to enable and disable Kiosk Mode on the mobile app. View the code by clicking on the eye to show the PIN. Learn more about having families and/or staff use a PIN code for attendance.
Wellness Check
Decide if families and staff need to complete a wellness check before checking in. If enabled, a wellness questionnaire will appear during the check-in process. Learn more about wellness checks.
Contactless Sign-in/out
For programs using the Roster on the mobile app to initiate check-ins or check-outs, this setting determines whether signature requests appear on the staff device or the family device by default.
Ratio Dashboard
Decide whether to show the classroom ratio tab.
Families Can Mark Absences
Decide if families can mark absences for their students. If enabled, families can mark a student as absent from the student's profile. Share these instructions with families on how to mark an absence from the student profile.
On My Way Queue
Enable the On My Way Queue feature to allow families to notify staff of their expected arrival times for pick-up and drop-off. This queue keeps staff informed about arrival times, ensuring efficient check-ins and check-outs for students and guardians. Learn more about how the On My Way Queue streamlines attendance.
Communication
Chat
Decide if families and staff have the ability to use the chat feature.
Family Permissions. Determine which (if any) role types families can initiate chats with
Teacher Permissions. Determine which (if any) role types teachers can initiate chats with
Calendar
Choose whether the calendar is visible to families and staff. If turned off, any scheduled events will not be visible to families and staff.
Require Post Approval
Decide whether teacher feed posts require administrator approval before being published for families. By default, post approval is not required.
Schedule Activity Posts for Check-out
Choose whether daily activity posts (excluding announcements and non-activity custom posts) are grouped into a daily overview sent to families at check-out. By default, all posts are shared immediately, subject to any necessary approvals.
Activity Notifications
Choose whether families receive notifications for each post.
Guardians
Carpools
Choose whether families can create carpools with other families. Learn more about managing carpools.
Able to Add Guardians
Choose whether families can add other guardians to the student profile. If disabled, only staff can add guardians.
Teacher Permissions
Edit Student Classrooms
Choose whether staff can change a student's classroom.
School-wide visibility
Choose whether teachers can view all students or only those in their assigned classrooms.
Guardian Contact Information Accessibility
Choose whether teachers can view guardian profile contact information in the teacher app.
Able to Clock in on Their Own Devices
Choose whether teachers can clock in or out on their own device using a QR code. If disabled, they must use their PIN code on an administrator device.
Hide Teacher Last Names From Families
Choose whether families can see teachers' last names in the feed and chat.
Track Staff Current Classroom
Choose whether staff should be prompted to select a classroom when clocking in. This is needed to track staff transitions and name to face reminders.
Lesson Plans Require Approval
Choose whether lesson plans created by teachers require administrator approval before becoming visible.
Restrict Teacher Check-in Hours
Choose to restrict teachers from clocking in more than 5 minutes before their scheduled shift time. This setting does not affect clocking out and does not apply to administrators.
Hourly Name to Face Reminders
Choose to have teachers receive hourly name to face reminders for their current classroom.
General Settings
Center Type
Select whether the program is a center or family child care program.
Language
Select the preferred language for the dashboard.
Payments
For a walkthrough on configuring billing settings, check out this guide.
Scheduling
The Scheduling tab enables administrators to configure overage policies & fees. Make sure to click Save underneath the settings on this screen to keep the changes made.
Overage Billing Type
Choose whether overage fees apply when a student remains in attendance beyond their scheduled hours or after a specific time, regardless of their schedule. If overage fees are applied after a specific time, enter the time when the overage billing rate begins.
Overtime Billing Rate
Set the billing rate for overage fees as the $ amount per minute.
Default Grace Period
Choose to add a buffer to a student's overage time where guardians aren't charged overage fees. This grace period can be overridden on a case-by-case basis for students when charging the overage fees.
Roles
Manage your team's access in Playground by assigning them permissions with roles. For a walkthrough of how to configure roles, check out this guide.
Emails
Administrators can change the default emails that go out to families for statements, overdue reminders, sign up confirmations, failed payments, and enrollment listing invitations. Each of these emails can be edited and customized with the program's unique branding, colors, logos, and content.
Statement Emails
Emails sent to families with their statement.
Overdue Reminders
Email sent to families with past due balances.
Sign Up Confirmation
Email sent to families once they make a Playground account.
Failed Payment Notification
Email sent to families if their payment fails.
Enrollment Listing Invitation
Email sent to families when invited to complete an enrollment submission.
Payroll
For programs using Playground Payroll, the Payroll settings tab will be visible.
General
Payroll Status Emails
Similar to general reply-to emails, payroll admins can add emails to receive payroll email updates, including payroll approval reminders, payroll confirmation, failed payroll funding, failed employee payments.
Edit Company Information
Able to edit company details if any data has changed.
Overtime
Weekly Overtime
Any hours tracked for an employee beyond the set weekly threshold will be marked as overtime in staff payroll reports and during payroll processing. A week is defined as 7 consecutive workdays, starting from the first day of the reporting period.
Daily Overtime
Any hours tracked for an employee beyond the set daily threshold will be marked as overtime in staff payroll reports and during payroll processing.