Roster Setup Guide

Admin UI Overview

Upon logging into your pickAtime account, you are directed to the Administrative User Interface (Admin UI). By default, the system opens to the Event Reports page. If you haven't already created your organization's account, click here to create an account.

The Header & Navigation Sidebar

Sidebar Navigation Menu

Continuing down the left-hand side, you will find the following management areas:

STEP ONE: Setup Event

When you first log in to pickAtime, you'll land in the Admin tool on the Event Reports page.

Steps to Create a New Event

  1. Select Events / Preview from the sidebar.
  2. Click the green Add button.
  3. Enter a name for your event — e.g., Summer Camp Registration or Swimming Lessons.
  4. Select the event type: Roster.
  5. Select the Roster Event template, or use a previous Roster-type event as your template if you've used one before.
  6. Select the appropriate time zone for your event location.
  7. (Optional) Add Date and Location — labels that help parents differentiate between multiple events on the landing page.

About the Date and Location Fields

Field Details
Date A text label, not a system-driven calendar. If your event spans multiple days, list them all here (e.g., "Oct 12–14"), or leave it blank.
Location Useful for distinguishing events across multiple campuses or facilities.

Adding Event Details

Use the Event Details box to add event-specific information you'd like to display on the scheduler or include in emails.

Anything entered here becomes available as a macro: $(E_DESCRIPTION)

You can insert this macro into your CUI Messages or Notification Setup templates to automatically pull in this text.

STEP TWO: Adjusting Event Settings

Once your event is created, the Roster Editor tab opens automatically. Here, you can set Max Roster Size to define the total number of participants allowed for your event. For further customization, go to the Settings tab.

Online Scheduler Settings (Event Scheduling)

Booking Settings

Booking Window

Booking Opens

Select the date and time you would like the scheduler to open for participants.

Booking Closes

Select the date and time the scheduler should close and no longer accept bookings.

Booking Limits:

Maximum per Event 

Sets a total limit on the number of appointments allowed for the entire event. Set to 0 for no limits.

Cancellation Policy

Customer may cancel their appointment up to XX hours/days/weeks. 

Use this setting to prevent participants from cancelling their appointments within a specific timeframe (hours, days, or weeks) before the scheduled start time. Set this value to 0 if you wish to allow cancellations up until the last minute. Conversely, a very high value effectively disables the cancellation option for participants. 

Note: Closing the scheduler only prevents new bookings; it does not stop participants from cancelling existing appointments unless this lock-out period is active.

Share Your Scheduler

Account Scheduling Link

Displays all available events on the scheduler.

If you have only one open event on the vendor account, we recommend that you use the Scheduling link for the account.

Event Scheduling Link

Displays the scheduler of the selected event with the ability to select other available events on this account.

Customize the event link

Allows you to customise the scheduling link for the selected event parameter.

Scheduling link for the category

Displays the scheduler with the list of event(s) of the selected category. 

ADVANCED SETTINGS

Online Meeting Provider 

Select the integrated video conferencing tool (Zoom, Google, MS Teams) to be used for virtual appointments. 

Student Selection 

Require parents to select their student's name from a dropdown menu. (Note: This requires student data to be imported first.) 

Notification Setup

Manages automated email communications — toggle settings for Confirmation, Cancellation, Custom, and Reminder emails.

Confirmation & Reminder Emails

Setting What it does
Send Confirmation and Cancellation Emails Activates automated confirmation/cancellation alerts
Send Follow-up Emails Activates follow-up emails, sent on date(s) you specify

Email Customization

Field What it controls
Reply-To Email Address Where participant replies are sent. If blank, replies get a generic automated response.
Subject Lines Customize the standard subject, or the Subject for combined email (used when an appointment is canceled and immediately rescheduled)
Header / Body / Footer Edit the email's text sections
Replace the Email Body with the Printable Schedule of Appointments Replaces the email body with a table of the participant's appointments

CUI Messages

Customize the exact labels and text participants see on the Customer User Interface (CUI).

Modifying Display Text

STEP THREE: Turn it on and try it out

Once your event is configured, use this step to finalize your timeline and test the registration flow from a parent's perspective.

1. Activate the Online Scheduler

To make the scheduler live for participants, define the active booking window:

  1. From Events / Preview, select your event and click Go To Event.
  2. Select Settings / Online Scheduler Settings/Booking Window .
  3. Set "Open scheduler to customers on" and "Close scheduler to customers on."

Note: Any dates you want available for booking or registration must fall within this specified start/end range.

2. Test the Customer Experience

It's highly recommended to test the system before going live, to confirm the registration flow and messages appear exactly as intended.

Option 1: Direct sidebar access Click Online Scheduler on the Admin UI sidebar — this opens the scheduler in a new tab.

Option 2: Use your Account URL

  1. Go to Global Setup / Business and locate your Account URL.
  2. Click the link, or copy it into another browser window to experience the site as a customer would.

Customize this URL: Check "Set Custom URL" and enter your preferred name (e.g., pickatime.com/YourSchoolName). The new URL will be live in approximately 5 minutes.

Previous Users of pickAtime

Setting up a new event

If you've used pickAtime before, you don't need to create a new account — simply create a new event under your existing account (e.g., "Health and Wellness 2026").

Recommended order:
  1. Create the new event first.
  2. Delete the old event afterward, if you're not reusing its data.

Creating the new event before deleting the old one preserves your settings — Online Scheduler Settings, Notification Setup, and CUI Messages — by carrying them over.

Administrator Information

At the beginning of each year you should plan to remove any old admins and add new admins.

To add an Admin

  1. Navigate to Contacts: In the Admin UI, go to the Contacts page.

  2. Add New Admin: Select the Add > Admin... button.

  3. Enter Details: Fill in the user information on the Add New Contact form.

  4. Set Access Level: In the Admin Level pull-down menu, select Appointment Viewer.

  5. Save: Click to finish.

Note: If you see a red message stating "Vendor already has a contact with this email," do not panic. Click the blue Go back button and use the Search tool to find the existing contact by name.

Assigning Specific Access

Once the contact is created or located:

  • Go to the Vendor Access tab.

  • Locate the specific Event and Teacher this person needs to monitor.

  • Click the checkbox next to the name to grant report access.

First-Time Login Instructions

You can provide these steps to the new admin to help them get started:

To remove an old Admin
  1. Navigate to Contacts: In the Admin UI, go to the Contacts page.
  2. Locate the Contact: do a search for the contact by first or last name or by email.
  3. Delete the Contact: Click on the Contact's name and click the DELETE button.

Contact Information

What happens to contact data between events

Contact information — including login credentials — is retained across events and is not deleted when you delete an event. This means:

If you'd prefer participants create fresh accounts each time (e.g., for annual conferences), you can manually clear old contact data.

How to remove all previous contact information

  1. Go to Global Setup / Contacts.
  2. Click Show Advanced Options.
  3. Click Remove All Customers.
  4. Select the access level to delete from the pull-down.
Access levels (from broadest to narrowest):
Level Who it includes
Customer access Participants
Appointment Viewer Admins who only need to see event reports
Appointment Maker Admins with Appointment Maker access
Resource Administrator Admins with access to a select group of teachers
Event Administrator Admins with access to one or more events

Important: Deleting a given level also deletes every level below it on this list. For example, deleting Resource Administrator also deletes Appointment Maker, Appointment Viewer, and Customer access (Participants).

Exceptions — what won't be deleted