Sometimes during scheduled maintenance, the system must be offline for a short time. During this time you will not be able to log in so below we have outlined some best practices to enable you to continue to work even whilst the system is offline and what to do when it comes back up.
1) Subscribe to our status page here. We will always keep you informed of any maintenance on the system. Once subscribed, you will receive email alerts on any system outages, or upcoming scheduled maintenance.
2) Communicate this upcoming maintenance with your team so there are no surprises when the maintenance begins. Using a calendar invitation for this is a great reminder. This will also allow the instructors to check the system to make a record of any classes they are teaching, the start time, class type, and location.
3) Preparation for these maintenance windows is the key to success. Think about everything you use daily in the system to enable you to run a class.
Here is a list of recommendations for whilst your system is offline -
Make sure your scheduler is completely up to date. Remember that once the system is offline you will not be able to go back in and add or alter new classes so make sure everything is up to date before the maintenance start time.
Make sure your rooms are completely up to date. Especially check the room maps and max spot counts. Remember we cannot get into the system either at the time to make any changes. Go to Admin > Configuration > Rooms to check all of your room settings.
Print the sign-in sheet for each class that takes place whilst the system is offline. With this, you can keep a record of new bookings for the class as well as use this as a sign-in sheet. When the maintenance window is over you can transfer all of this information to the system.
Keep a record of any cash sales you process during the downtime. We recommend using a simple spreadsheet for this. You can add the customer's name along with the item or items they purchased and then process these once the system is back online. As a best practice, we would avoid selling contracts during this period as you need the customer present for the card transaction or to add their card for the setup of the future billing cycles.
If needed, it may be worth checking to see if you need any reports downloaded. Perhaps your finance team needs a sales report to close a month or the payroll report to submit the weekly payroll. It is always best to check with each department to avoid any disappointment.
Make a copy of the prices for items. Whilst your buy page is offline you will not be able to check package prices. You can get a screenshot like this to show the prices for various packages from Admin > Scheduling/Retail > Series/Contracts -
Remember to do the same for any products you might sell. You can find these prices in Admin > Scheduling/Retail > Products.
3) Advise your customers of what is happening. Whilst the downtime may be brief, customers may become frustrated when they are unable to book a class. We recommend adding a notice to the booking confirmation email before the maintenance window begins. To edit an email go to Admin > Configuration > System Emails then click on the edit icon to the left of the email you would like to change. Once the maintenance window is over, make sure to remove the notice.
4) The support team is here to help! Before the scheduled maintenance window feel free to reach out to a member of the team here and we would be more than happy to help in any way we can.