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For Administrators

Help topics that apply to administrators and the Administrator Dashboard

Daniel Andrews avatarAdrian Ruiz avatarStephanie Blitshtein avatar
6 authors338 articles
Submitting feedback or a feature requestHow to report an issue or submit a request on Playground admin dashboard
Event viewing options on Playground calendarCustomize view options on your calendar from the admin dashboard
Details per-student on eating postsRecord individual eating patterns for students
Add multiple student schedules for one day
Drop-in care programHow to charge students for drop-in care.
Add student schedule for one weekAssign weekly scheduling
Add student scheduleAssign daily, weekly, or recurring schedules for multiple students at once
Financial Management & Consulting application - IowaLocate and complete the Iowa state FMC form to claim your free Playground subscription
ResourcesView-only files for guardians
Merge siblings into one familyMerge separate sibling accounts into one family account
Homeroom and Current classroom viewsView all homeroom and current students in a classroom at any time
Guías en EspañolVídeos y artículos del centro de ayuda para guiarle en el uso del software.

Getting started

Admin Dashboard WalkthroughA general overview of our Admin Dashboard.
Create a new documentCreate a new fillable PDF document on the Paperwork tab
Welcome to PlaygroundBookmark this page to refer back to as you set up your Admin Dashboard.
Playground glossaryCommon Playground terminology.
Prepare for the first day of schoolFollow this guide to make sure your students, guardians, and you are prepared for the upcoming school year!
First day of schoolHelpful tips and resources for your first day!
Onboarding FAQFrequently asked questions about the transition to Playground.
Getting started with BillingSign up for Playground online payments
Introduction letter for parentsInform parents of the center's switch to the Playground app and let them know the next steps to take.
Iowa Home Child Care Onboarding
Add a centerAdd an additional location to your Playground account.
Adding events on Playground calendarHow to add an event on the admin dashboard
How to add taxpayer identification numberGenerate valid payment receipts for tax purposes
Administrator App Walkthrough Video
How to set up multiple Playground accounts for one personIf an individual is both a staff member and parent, you'll be able to link their accounts to one username and password.
Food program management FAQManage all of your student's meals and subsidies in Playground.
Procare migrationExport student data from Procare in order to migrate into Playground.
How to add a classAdd a classroom to the Admin Dashboard
Procare Staff Roster Download
Brightwheel migrationExport student data from Brightwheel in order to migrate into Playground.
Onboarding guideA detailed guide for setting up your center in Playground.
Creating a Playground schoolHow to create a new Playground school
How to set up a programExtracurricular activities can be managed as Programs through the Administrator Dashboard.
Enterprise accounts
In-Home Onboarding ResourcesResources for ensuring your future success on Playground
Sandbox migrationExport student data from Sandbox in order to migrate into Playground.
Add multiple students manually
Adding multiple studentsUpload students to Playground in bulk.
Upload multiple students via roster
Switching from a center admin to an enterprise admin
What resets in my dashboard each day?
Introduction letter for staffInform staff members of the center's switch Playground and let them know the next steps to take.
Enterprise onboarding guideHow to get started as a multi-site Admin or Owner

Settings and navigation

Managing student schedules in the Administrator dashboardCreating and managing student schedules
How to stop Google Chrome from blocking downloads in the Admin DashboardTemporarily or permanently enable your browser to download Playground files and reports.
Settings walkthroughAn overview of the Settings tab of the Playground Admin Dashboard
Email settingsEdit email templates that go out automatically in Playground
General settingsAn overview of Playground's general settings.
Customized view of the Admin DashboardAdjust the columns on the Students or Guardians tabs to display the most important and relevant information.
Whitelisting Playground on your wifiSome centers have firewalls set up -- you may need to whitelist our cloud provider
Guardian notification settingsSelect when guardians should receive notifications from your center.
Manage access and permissions of documents to teachers or parents
How to schedule postsHow to schedule announcements on the admin dashboard.
Schedule settingsEdit the view of the Schedules tab.
View student assessmentsHow to locate the assessments for each student.
Phasing out the Families tabA guide to where to find and how to use the features that have been relocated from the Families tab.
How to lock a student from getting checked inWhat it means to lock a student, how to lock & unlock students, what it looks like for teachers, and more.
Schedule templatesCreate and save custom schedules for your students and staff.
Update timezoneChange the timezone of your Playground dashboard.
Update your stateChange the state your dashboard is set to in your Playground settings.
Daily Report for activity postsSend your activity posts out at the end of the day in bulk.

Attendance and checks

Remove an absence
How to schedule a future class changeSchedule an automatic future classroom change for a student
How to schedule a future inactive dateMark a student inactive in advance of their last day at your center
Mark a classroom inactiveMark a classroom as inactive if it is not currently being used
Edit an absenceEdit a recorded student absence.
View the students enrolled in a program
Add siblingAdd a sibling to an existing student
Contactless check-in/outSend guardians a prompt to their phone to check in
Add a missing program check-inRecord a date and time of a student's program check-in from the Admin Dashboard.
Enroll students into a program
Enroll a single student into a program
Inactive studentsInactive, Dropped, Disabled, and Graduated students
Delete studentDelete a student from the Admin Dashboard.
Bulk mark students inactiveMark multiple students inactive at the same time.
Bulk mark students activeMark multiple students active at the same time.
Edit program timesCorrect a program check-in or check-out time.
Delete a program check-in
Changes dashboardThe Changes Dashboard will keep a change log of edits or changes made by guardians.
Check in on the Admin DashboardCheck students in on the Playground web version.
Print the center's QR codePrint the QR code so families can check students in and out.
QR code check in and outOpen your QR code for families to check students in and out.
Uploading CCA AttendanceLearn how to automate the uploading of CCA attendance
Add absence on websiteLog students' duration of absence
Program check-in on webCheck-in students to programs via a web browser
Signatures required for drop-off and pick-upEnable and disable the signature requirement on drop-off and pick-up for each classroom.
How to edit a wellness check
How to add a single student
Preparing for the last day of schoolFollow this guide to end the school year off strong!
How to view carpools at your center
Add a missing check-in or out for a studentHow to add a missing check in or out for a student
Add missing attendance on admin dashboardLog missing attendance for a student
Mark a student inactive
ImmunizationsTrack your students immunizations and vaccine records on the Student profile.
Viewing current classroom ratiosHow administrators can see their current classroom ratio numbers
Edit student attendance recordsEditing a student's attendance check-in/out times
How to enable, complete, and run reports on daily wellness checksEnsure your school's safety with daily health surveys for you and your staff members.
Classroom ratiosEnsure you have staff coverage for all students in a class
Regenerate your QR codeGenerate a new QR code for your center
Transition students on webTransfer students between classrooms within a single day on desktop
Classroom transition logView a student's transitions to different classrooms throughout the day.
Nap checksTrack students that are napping and receive a notification every 15 minutes to do a nap check in app.
Classroom ratios on mobileView your classroom ratios directly from the Playground mobile app.
Transition staff on webTransition your staff to different classrooms throughout the day
Add multiple schedules for a studentAssign multiple schedules and class transitions within a single day for a student.
Agregar un estudiante individual
Transfer families between centersMove a family from one site to another.
On my way queueAllow guardians to let you know how far away they are.
Set up your KinderTrack integrationSet up KinderTrack integration for state attendance reporting.

Billing

See a family's charges from the Admin DashboardView an entire family's charges from the Admin Dashboard.
Switching to Payments PlusInstructions on how migrate to Payments Plus to receive faster payouts.
Billing: Add ChargesCreate charges for your students
Send overdue reminderRemind guardians of their overdue balance by sending them an email
Calculations in amount fieldsMake percentage and flat rate calculations in amount fields.
Changing a billing plan in the middle of the year
Delete a creditRemove a credit from a student's account if it was made in error or no longer applies.
Balance adjustmentsAdjust balances within a family if one sibling is overpaid and one is overdue.
Recurring program charges through enrollment
How to bill by the day, hour, or minuteSet up daily billing based on attendance
Charge new students immediately after acceptance
Why SSN and personal information is required for StripeStripe collects your information with complete security and purpose.
Split familyHow to group guardians together and charge each group separately.
Fee ApprovalsOverage charges and program enrollment fees must be approved or waived by an admin in the Admin Dashboard.
Charging multiple students or siblings at one timeHow to charge multiple students, the same amount, at one time.
Charging a guardian's payment methodCharge the guardian's payment method on file on their behalf.
Enabling mandatory autopay for guardiansEnsuring payments are made when a guardian adds a credit/debit card/ACH for autopay
OveragesCharge guardians for checking out after the student's scheduled time.
Change a student's billing frequencyEdit whether a student should be billed on a monthly or weekly cadence.
Edit student billing frequencies in bulkChange students in your dashboard to a weekly or monthly billing cadence, in bulk.
Enterprise-level billingBilling for admins with multiple centers.
Proration for created chargesProrating created charges for students
Mark a payout as reconciledReconcile a bank payout once you've verified it has been deposited into your account.
Billing plans tabView all recurring billing plans in your Admin dashboard.
Disputed PaymentsLearn what the dispute process is like, and how to handle a disputed payment.
Semi-monthly billingCharges that are due on two different calendar dates per month.

Payments

How to refund a guardianRefund a parent or guardian for a payment they've made.
Set payout datesSet the dates you'd like Playground to initiate payments to your bank account.
CACFPUse Playground's powerful tools to provide the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) with what they need.
Subsidies FAQ
Generate a statement or invoice for familiesProduce a statement for families to see their balance and past transactions.
SubsidiesTrack and manage subsidy checks received and amounts distributed to students.
Disable autopayDisable autopay for a parent that is currently enabled.
Save as a new item on statement while making a paymentDo two actions in one by saving a new item on statement while recording a payment.
Schedule a paymentSchedule a future payment for a student.
Add a guardian's credit card to their accountAdd a guardian's credit card through the Admin Dashboard.
Accepting paymentsThe different methods of making payments in Playground.
Request autopay from guardiansSend an email to primary guardians to request they enable autopay.
PayoutsView payouts to your bank account.
Amount unpostedWhat the amount unposted means and how to adjust it on the student's Payment tab
Payment SettingsA walkthrough of the Playground Payment Settings
Adding a new parent payment card from the Administrator dashboardHow to manually add a credit or debit card to a student's record
Meal items
Record an offline expenseTrack expenses or charges made outside of Playground.
Edit an expenseUpdate an expense that was previously recorded.
View failed paymentsView all failed payments from guardians and their students.
Saved discountView, edit, and create saved discounts.
Optimize payout daysSet specific payout days in order to be paid out as soon as possible.
Guardian payment methodsHow to see the saved payment methods on student profiles
Check deposits reportRun a report to view all deposited checks into your bank account for a given date range.
Mark a check payment as depositedRecord your offline check payments, past and present, as deposited.
Payment update historyHow to view historical information about specific payments.
How to Enable ACH on StripeLearn how to enable ACH through Stripe to collect ACH payments
Autopay failureUnderstand why an autopay payment did not go through.
Processing feesAn explanation of the transaction fees that apply to payments collected by credit, debit, or ACH through Playground's Payments feature.
Payments overview for administratorsAn overview of how payments work through Playground, featuring links to additional resources and Help Center articles.
How to add or edit a discountA guide to adding or editing discounts on one-time charges or payment plans invoiced to a student balance.
How to apply a discount when creating chargesA guide to applying discounts on one-time charges or payment plans invoiced to a student balance.
How to fix an incorrect chargeA primer on three different methods to fixing an invoiced charge, and why we don't recommend deleting charges.
How to record an offline paymentA guide to recording payments that aren't processed by debit, credit, or ACH through Playground's Payments feature.
How to apply a creditA guide to applying a credit to a student balance from the Administrator Dashboard.
Edit or delete a saved charge templateManage saved item templates on the Administrator Dashboard.
How to edit a payment planA guide to editing a payment plan that has been invoiced to a student.
How to edit a one-time chargeA guide to editing a one-time charge that has been invoiced to a student.
How to create chargesUsing recurring charges allows you to automate weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly charges to your guardians.
How to create a one-time chargeThrough the administrator dashboard, create a one-time charge to add to a student's balance.
Setting up payments for your schoolVerify your business with Stripe to start collecting payments on Playground
Late fee charges for overdue paymentsCreate late fees to charge guardians for overdue payments
Add offline depositRecord bulk offline payments.
Filter transactions by statusFilter your payments by status to see which have been paid, processing, or failed.
Edit offline paymentsChange an offline payment for a student.

Documents

Edit a DocumentEdit an existing document from the Admin Dashboard
Connect a form fieldUse connecting a form field in your fillable PDF documents to auto-fill information you already have.
Preview a documentView a document as it is seen by parents
Document recipientsShare documents with a specific group of guardians
Send document to parentsSend a document to parents after creating a new fillable PDF
Complete a document on behalf of a guardian
View only documents for parentsThis is great for school calendar or parent handbook
FormsCreate a form for guardians to complete.
Download paperwork responsesDownload all paperwork, forms, fillable PDFs, or file requests in bulk to your computer.
Iowa Templated DocumentsAdd Iowa state documents to your dashboard for parents to complete.
Upload a file for a studentUpload a file for a student into the Playground dashboard.
How to add an attachment to a post on feedAdd a document, form, or file to share with parents and staff
Document settingsManage access and permissions of documents to teachers or parents.
Introduction to paperwork for administratorsA guide to Playground's Documents features
File RequestsLet families upload their own documents
How to view and download completed documentsView and download completed file uploads or documents.
Resend a document to parentsHow to resend the link to an already-created document by email
Overdue paperwork notificationsSend a notification to guardians for overdue paperwork.
Hide paperworkRemove paperwork from your and your guardian's views.
Enterprise-level paperworkManage paperwork at the enterprise-level for specific or all sites.
Paperwork expiration datesSet an expiration date on forms, documents or file requests.
Send paperwork to Playground for uploadUpload student paperwork so the Playground team can make your document fillable in your dashboard.

Enrollment

How to accept a student through the enrollment flowAccept a student via the enrollment flow in your created enrollment listings.
Board options in the enrollment funnelChoose the information you'd like to see on an applicant's card in the enrollment funnel.
Enrollment FAQFrequently asked questions about the enrollment flow
How to delete a student from the dropped column of the enrollment funnel
View a completed application
Parent-view of enrolling to a listing
Enrollment formsBuild out your application with questions a family will answer in order to apply to your center
Turn off automatic emails sent through enrollmentAutomatic emails are sent out by default as students move through the enrollment funnel. Follow the steps below to turn this off.
Center detailsAdd your center's information on an enrollment listing.
Enrollment plansCreate price points for specific schedules or groups of students for guardians to apply to.
Enrollment additional charges
Cannot accept students via enrollment
Plan groupsCreate groupings for your enrollment plans to better organize and categorize your pricing options.
Delete a plan grouping
Set up re-enrollmentHave existing families re-enroll to your center through Playground!
Set up summer camp enrollment
How to make discounts on enrollmentNavigate fees and discounts on your enrollment dashboard
How to disable a studentGraduate or drop a student on the admin dashboard
Admin only comments in PlaygroundHow to add notes for yourself about an enrollment application
Edit the plan a student enrolled inChange the original plan the guardian enrolled their student into.
Add programs/add-ons to a student's enrollment application prior to acceptanceAdd additional programs to a student's enrollment.
Add programs/add-ons to a student's enrollment application after acceptanceAdd an additional program after a student has been accepted through enrollment.
Export enrollment listing dataHow to export a report on your enrollment listing.
Programs through enrollment listingsAdd additional programs that a family can register for when applying to your center.
Edit a student's enrollmentChange the plan or program a student originally enrolled for.
Add documents to your enrollment listingSelect documents that guardians must complete prior to submitting an application to your center.
How to edit an enrollment listingEditing an enrollment listing for administrators
Create an enrollment listing for your centerA tutorial for Admins to create a listing where families can complete the application process online.
Enrollment email templates
Sharing your enrollment listing linkGiving families direct access to your center's enrollment page.
Managing the Enrollment funnelHow to manage applications once they've been submitted.
Bulk enrolling students into programsCreate a new program and bulk enroll students into the program
Conditional questions on formsAsk parents specific questions based on previous question responses.
Enrollment email settingsReceive notifications when an application is moved into different enrollment statuses.
Predictive enrollmentView utilization rates, open and filled seats, and classroom capacity for enrollment

User management

Edit a staff member's information
Customizable email settingsStatement emails, Overdue reminders, and Sign up confirmations
Starting a group chat with parents, classrooms, and programsHow to start different group chats from the admin dashboard
Guardian details pageClick on a guardian to add details
How to schedule two times in one dayHave separate times scheduled for a student within one day
Schedule absence on web
Add staff schedule for the weekAssign weekly scheduling for staff
Delete a saved account from your app
How to print a formPrinting paperwork and forms from the admin dashboard
How to remove a saved login from the Playground mobile appRemoving a login on our app
Blended familiesHow to set up guardian accounts correctly for blended families.
Customize the student profileAdd custom fields to all student profiles to store specific student data.
Delete staffDelete a teacher or admin from Playground.
Filter studentsFilter your students to see a specific group.
Active vs. inactiveThe difference between active and inactive students.
Invite guardians to Playground
Adding an existing guardian to another student's account
Switch AccountsSwitch between different views of Playground if you're signed up using one email
How to disable a staff member's accountRestrict a staff member's account without deleting it.
How to check your app version number
Guardian relationships
Add a recurring staff scheduleAdd recurring schedules for multiple staff members at once
Assign multiple students to a new classA guide to switching students from one classroom to another on the Administrator Dashboard.
Add a recurring student scheduleAdd recurring schedules for multiple students at once
How to edit a student's information from the Administrator DashboardA guide to updating a student's information as an administrator.
Assigning Teachers to Multiple ClassroomsHow to use the administrator dashboard to assign a teacher to more than one classroom
How to add parents or guardians to PlaygroundA guide to adding parents of new students and existing students to Playground through the Administrator Dashboard.
Add staff to your Playground centerInvite your teachers to join your center on Playground
Change a classroom nameQuickly change a classroom's name.
Staff RolesManage your staff's access in Playground by assigning them permissions with roles.
Email subscription managementSubscribe or unsubscribe guardians from emails
Staff custom fields on webCreate custom fields on the profiles for your staff members
Assign Staff to classrooms in bulkAssign classrooms in bulk on for staff members.
Update student profile pictures on the administrator dashboardUpdate profile pictures for your students from the admin dashboard on web
Assign tags to enterprise-level staff
Remove a tag from an enterprise-level staffDelete a tag from a staff member.