Website Features and Benefits
DirectoriesThe core of the website is the directory. When parents come to your site they will be prompted to register. When they do they provide information about themselves and also information about their students. This includes names, grades, classes and homeroom teacher if it applies. As this registration process continues, your directory begins to build and it ensures an accurate directory.
There are numerous directory reports that your site comes. Many are in PDF format which makes for easy viewing and downloading. You will find family, student, classroom, grade, teacher, staff and many combinations of each. There are also search features that allow you to find anyone when you search by name or email address. Settings that also allow you include or exclude directory entries exists and anyone can easily opt out if they wish.
Shopping Cart
The shopping cart is included with the website package. Any item that involves a financial transaction between your parents and your group can be purchased from the shopping cart. Some of the more common items for sale we see each day are lunches, enrichment classes, registrations, membership, tickets to events and more.
Items for sale that can be purchased come with many optional features that can be enabled such as
- calendar format ordering
- purchasing for individual students
- setting minimum and maximum purchase quantities
- setting a sold out level
- limiting purchases to paid accounts only
- triggering email notices when certain items have been purchased
- marking items as tax deductible
- receiving all kinds of reports about purchases
Volunteering
Volunteering is also a core feature of the program and there are 3 different types of volunteering. Volunteering can be enabled for committees, it can be enabled for events and it can also be setup for class parents. Volunteer roles can also be created and time slots for those roles can also be added. These are optional features but can be very powerful.
An easy example to use is a car wash. You can enable volunteering for the event on say the 10th of the month. This will simply allow parents to volunteer for the car wash. You can take it further and set up a few roles. Let’s say you want to add roles for washers, driers and money collectors. This will then allow parents to volunteer for the car wash as a washer, a drier or a money collector. You can then go one step further and say there are time slots for each role from 10am to noon and then again from noon until 2pm. Now one person can volunteer as a drier for the car was between noon and 2pm. Someone else can then volunteer to be a drier from 10am to noon.
Parents can volunteer securely from both the website and the mobile app.
Document Archive
Every group has documents to share. The website you receive will allow you to upload all of your documents and create an archive that parents can reference at any point in time. When uploaded, documents are categorized the school year and also by the committee that issued them..
Email and Text Blast
The email and text blast are popular features of the website you receive. Both are common methods of reaching your parents to keep them up to date on happenings with your group. The blast has many features you would expect an email blast to have as well as some unique ones.
The email blast can also be scheduled. Our system looks for scheduled email blasts and sends them out every hour. If you save it on the 10th and schedule it for 3pm on the 15th, that is when it will go out.
Like documents, the email blast can also be sent as an alert. This is a great feature that we use to combat spam filters and junk folders. When an email blast is sent it will go to the mobile app and and will be received by 100% of the intended recipients. There are no filters blocks email blasts sent to the mobile app.
Your email blast can also be created in a nice decorative format like a newsletter which can be reused over and over. Simply save the format and make the desired changes the next time you want to use it.
Custom Pages
The website comes with several standard pages that you can use to quickly help you get started. You can also create your own pages that can be in the format that you like. Simply entered the details into the page template, choose the menu you would like it to appear under and it is done. Custom pages can also be used to create an email blast. You only need to build that page once and it can them be imported into a new email blast.
Custom Menus
Like custom pages, custom menus can be created as well. You can structure your website menu and its pages in the format you like. You can sort them and order them how you prefer and there is no limit to them. Though you do not want to overdo it with too many menu options and pages. Keeping it simple should be the best approach.
Advertising
Your local merchants crave for the attention of the audience you have. That is the parents of the children that go to your school. Because of the interaction that our program creates between your parents, your mobile app and your website, you have ad space that is in great demand. Ads will appear on your website, on your mobile app and in the email blast that comes with the website
Mobile App
One of the greatest features of the website we give you is how it works with the mobile app. Both the website and the app are always in sync with each other. If a parent changes their contact info on the app, it will immediately be visible on the website and vice versa. This integration between the website and app have proven to be a very effective method of keeping your parents in the loop with all of your group’s activities. With the trends of online activity clearly moving in the direction of mobile devices, you will be well prepared to conduct all of your group activity on both your website and mobile app.
Fundraising
There is plenty for you to read regarding the fundraising features of our program. PaperlessPTO has three separate fundraising features that you can employ on the website we give you as well as the mobile app that we give you. Each are proven methods of generating revenue for your group. Bells and Whistles is the most effective fundraising feature of our program. You will need to contact us to set up an online demo and learn more about it. The other methods are by reselling the mobile app to your families and the third is by selling ad space on your website and mobile app to your local merchants.
Google Calendar
Do you have a Google calendar you would like to integrate into your parent teacher website? Our program can do this for you with a few simple clicks.
Color Schemes
Proudly show your school colors on your website. The website builder of our program allows you to set primary, secondary and tertiary colors for your site. You can also upload your logos and banners to give it that look and feel that will quickly distinguish it from the reset.
Responsive
Responsive means your site will adjust according to the device that the visitor is using. If they are on a large monitor it will spread across nicely. If they are on a tablet or phone, it will adjust to the size of the device and will read in a method that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Much More
There is so much more to our program. It has features that you are looking for and also features that you have not yet realized that you need. It even has features that we have forgotten about. We know this because we often hear from customers who have a great idea to add. We begin the research and then realize that we already have the feature they want.
Watch Donations Soar
When parents tap this button on the app they can easily make a donation to your school. After making the donation, a suite of fun app features will become available to them.
Make Donations Appealing
Give Donors Something They Will Enjoy
Create a Buzz That Will Lead To More Donations
Learn More
Did You Know
Our fundraising program is
1. Educational
2. Challenging
3. Fun
4. For parents, teachers and students
5. Web and mobile enabled
6. Run by our staff
7. Going to surprise you
Find out how our Bells and Whistles Fundraising Program will raise more funds for your school than you might think. Be sure to Contact us.
When parents tap this button on the app they can easily make a donation to your school. After making the donation, a suite of fun app features will become available to them.
Make Donations Appealing
Give Donors Something They Will Enjoy
Create a Buzz That Will Lead To More Donations
Learn More
Did You Know
Our fundraising program is
1. Educational
2. Challenging
3. Fun
4. For parents, teachers and students
5. Web and mobile enabled
6. Run by our staff
7. Going to surprise you
Find out how our Bells and Whistles Fundraising Program will raise more funds for your school than you might think. Be sure to Contact us.