After you migrate your data from Time & Talent into Ministry Scheduler, discontinue using Time & Talent. Any new minister information must be entered in Ministry Scheduler.
Your starting point and path through the application vary depending upon whether you are a Time & Talent user or a first-time user of ParishSOFT applications. Throughout the Help, the headings and links "Time & Talent Users" and "First-Time Users"identify your unique path and contain specific information for you to know. To learn the application and to set up an initial schedule, follow the path defined for your particular user type only.
Clickable Flowchart Diagram of the Schedule Creation Process
If your organization is migrating to Ministry Scheduler from the Time & Talent module in the Parish Suite, your entire configuration is automatically imported into Ministry Scheduler. Corresponding data fields between the two applications (for example, Ministry Group and Event) are synchronized, and Ministry Scheduler fields are automatically populated with Time & Talent values. New fields, on the other hand, are populated with Ministry Scheduler default values.
After you migrate your data from Time & Talent into Ministry Scheduler, discontinue using Time & Talent. Any new minister information must be entered in Ministry Scheduler.
Your first step is to review the configuration data that was ported over from Time & Talent to Ministry Scheduler (that is, all of your ministry groups, ministries, and events) to make sure that it is accurate and complete. If your organization has added new ministries or discontinued others, you need to add them or delete them in Ministry Scheduler. And, if any ministries changed (for example, acquired a new name or added events) after the synchronization, you need to update Ministry Scheduler with the current information.
To get started, refer to the Clickable Flowchart of the Schedule Creation Process and follow the path to perform each of the actions given for Time & Talent Users.
If you are a first-time user of ParishSOFT applications, your first task is to create family and member records in ParishSOFT Family Directory. Depending upon the size of your organization and whether this task is done manually or by means of a data conversion, it can take a considerable amount of time to create a database of family and member records. Following are several alternatives for accomplishing this task:
To discuss any of these alternatives, contact a ParishSOFT sales representative. Go to Contacting Us for contact information.
● If you have an electronic document (for example, an Excel file or Word file) that contains the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of your families and members, you may be able to use that file as a data source, thus saving yourself time from doing extra data entry work.
● If you use other church management software that is compatible with Ministry Scheduler, it is possible that your family and member records from that application can be used as a data source, thus saving you time from doing extra data entry work.
If neither alternative works for you, you can manually create family and member records in ParishSOFT Family Directory. Refer to the My Own Church User Guide for instructions on how to do this.
After you finish creating all of your family and member records, you are ready to configure Ministry Scheduler. For first-time users, this stage of the process can also be quite time-consuming because you must specify every service group, every ministry, and every event that you want to schedule. To get started, refer to the Clickable Flowchart of the Schedule Creation Process and perform each of the actions given for first-time users.
The flowchart diagram below graphically depicts the key tasks in the schedule creation process and enables you to visualize the entire flow of the process from beginning to end. The diagram presents two paths, one for each user type: Time & Talent users and first-time users of the Ministry Scheduler application. To complete the process, follow the path given for your user type.
To use the diagram, start at the beginning and follow the directional arrows ( 
) to the shapes. The decision shapes 
contain a question. Your answer to the question (Yes or No) determines which arrow to follow. The rectangles 
contain the task or action you should take.
The task inside of the rectangle is a clickable link to another topic in the Help. Click the task to go directly to a topic that contains step-by-step instructions for completing the task. A link from the topic back to the diagram keeps you on the right path to the goal of completing an initial schedule. So, when you are done with a task, click the link <Back to schedule creation diagram> to return to the diagram.
Then, follow the arrow to the next question or task in the diagram. Continue in this manner until you reach the end and build an initial schedule. You will probably need to refine the initial schedule until it produces the expected and desired results.
Create an initial schedule by following the directional arrows and clicking the links in the rectangular shapes in the flowchart below. Perform the action then return to the flowchart to continue with the next step.
