Frequently Asked Questions

Preface

ClassLoaderPro contains dozens of features to help you manage your classes, registrations, and overall class flow. You don't to use all of the features, but please take a look at what they have to offer. This guide will cover all the basics and a few extra options. Some of the other features like Discount/Coupon codes and Gift Certificates will be covered in detail in other guides.

You can work on the configuration as you read through this guide, or read the guide first and then do the configuration, whatever works best for you.Either way don’t start actually making changes until you get to the Preferences section.

Planning and Preparing

The initial configuration will take 30 to 90 minutes depending on a lot of factors. It doesn't have to be completed in one session, but it's probably more efficient to do so.

Before you begin, you may want to gather or have ready access to the following:

• Company details - name, address, phone, email addresses, etc.
• Your PayPal email address.
• A separate email address for copies of all emails sent to customers. A separate email address is recommended for this since it could generate a lot of email.
• Your class names and descriptions, You might be able to copy and paste this from your web site.
• A list of purchase option and prices, like one seat for $80, two seats for $150, etc.
• A list of any add-on items you might want to sell with some or all of your classes.
• Company logo, 300x300px .png file. Other formats will not work at this time.

Key Concepts

While designing ClassLoaderPro, a lot of thought went into making it as easy as possible to use and maintain.There’s no getting around some initial work getting it set up for the first time, but once you have things set up the way you like, you should start to notice the time saving benefits it offers going forward.

Templates
One of the ways ClassLoaderPro saves you time is by utilizing templates.Templates allow you to create something one time and then easily copy or clone it making only minor modifications.For example, one of the main uses of templates is for setting up classes.You set up a class template one time with the class name, description, default values for prices, etc.Then you can create new classes based on the template, and most of the information is already there from there template.You may want to change a couple of things and select a class date and you’re done.ClassLoaderPro uses this template concept for automated emails and certificates as well.

Class Templates
We already discussed class templates in the previous section but this one is worth going a little deeper.Class templates are required to create a new class.It’s also important to understand that class templates are required for many of the other features and configuration options.For example, let’s say you configure a new purchase option, or a new classroom location, or maybe a new add-on.Without a template to associate them with, they are useless.

One more key concept about the relationship between class templates and classes, is when a new class is created based on a template, some of the information from the template is copied into the new class, but some of it is just referenced.For example, things like class name, description, the subtitle and URL are only not copied to the class, they are only referenced by the class.Things like classroom and range locations, instructors, add-ons, purchase options, and of course class dates and times are all stored in the individual classes.This is important to keep in mind when editing class templates, so you know how it will affect existing and future classes.For example, if you have five classes that were based on a class template, and you change the class name in the template, it will affect all five of the classes that were created with that template.But if you change the default classroom location or email template in the class template, it will NOT update the five existing classes.You would have to edit the classes manually.

Another real life example might go something like this…..
You teach one type of class called “Awesome CCW Training” and create a template with that title, description, etc.Let’s say you teach this class in two different locations (we’ll call them location1 and location2), using two different classrooms and two different ranges, but most of them are taught at location1.When you create the class template, you would probably associate location1 classroom and range with the template since that’s the one you use the most.Then when you create a class based on the template, most of the time you won’t have to change the location, but sometimes you’ll change it to location2.

So, the template isn’t to constrain you, it’s to make creating a new class as easy as possible.If all of your classes are exactly the same except the date, then adding a new class based on a template will take literally seconds since all you have to change is the date and times.

Associations
We already hinted about this, but we’ll take a deeper look at this concept as well.ClassLoaderPro allows you to add an “inventory” of things like instructors, locations, email templates, certificate templates, and add-on items or services like ammo or gun rentals, etc.In the instructor console you can add, delete, edit, and clone these of the above.Don’t get too excited, you can’t really clone an instructor.The key concept here is, once you have this “inventory” of you associate one or more of them with a class template.For example, maybe I have five add-on items but only two of them are valid for my CCW class.I would associate only those two items with the CCW class template.

A more complicated example might be the pricing/purchase options.Maybe you have a Basic CCW class and an Advanced CCW class with different pricing.In this case you would add the purchase options for both classes, then create a class template for each type of class and only associate the appropriate purchase options to each.The same would apply to locations, instructors, email and certificate templates, add-ons, and most of the other options in ClassLoaderPro.

System Administration Console Overview

NOTE: ClassLoaderPro is constantly being updated so expect some of the look and feel of this interface to change over the next few months as new features are added and menus and screens are updated.

The console is the main interface for the instructor.From here you can change your configuration, add new classes, check the status of classes, print certificates and class rosters, and much more.For this section we’ll cover most of it at a high level and dive deeper into some of the individual sections later.

Dashboard
The Dashboard is the default screen that pops up when you log on.From here you can see some basic statistics about open classes as well as some historical stats about past classes.There are two lists, pending classes, meaning classes that have already been taught, and active classes, classes to be taught.The pending classes will eventually move off this screen when the instructor archives them.Archiving is the process of adding a pass/fail grade and certificate status for each student in the class, and then moving it to an archive database.Archived classes are still viewable, they just don’t clutter up the dashboard.

Classes
Under this section there are options to view or add active classes, view archived classes, or share a class.The Sharing link provides a unique URL for each active class.These links can be shared in emails, on social media, etc.When a user clicks the link it takes them to the registration screen for that class instead of the class list.ClassLoaderPro has an option to make a class type hidden so it doesn’t show in the class list.This is for private classes.You could distribute the unique URL to the hidden class to only those people you want to have access.

Students
These menus options allow you to view, edit, delete, and add students manually.Uses may include moving a student to a different class, updating their email address or name, etc.The mailing list is a list of all students and their contact information.On a side note…. From the class lists there’s an option to export names and email addresses for all students in a given class.This is handy if you need to send a quick update to the whole group.

Reports
Allows you to export transaction details to a csv file suitable for import into MS Excel.

Gift & Discount Codes
This is where you would add, edit, delete discount/coupons and or view purchased gift certificates.We won’t get into detail on these as they are optional features and are covered in other documents.

Configuration
This is the big one and what most of this document is dedicated to.We won’t cover all of the sections in this document, just the required ones.These are somewhat in order of importance.For example, Preferences should be the first thing you configure and class templates will most likely be the last.

Action Icons
Depending on the item you are viewing there may be one or more action icons which perform distinct functions.Not all options are available for all items.

Below is a sample of these icons and their general description…


From left to right:
Archive
Class Certificates
Class Roster
Export Email List
Student List
Edit
Delete
Clone/Copy

Preferences (required)

This section has a lot of required information but once it’s done it’s done unless your information changes.ClassLoaderPro uses the information from this section in several ways so please fill this out as completely as possible.

Contact Information
Enter public and private contact information here.Public contact information will be used in stuff like email signatures that students see.Private contact information is for us to use if we need to reach you about an issue with your account.Please complete both even if they are the same.

Payment Options and Fees

This is where you enter your PayPal email address and select whether or not you want to pay the registration fee or pass it on to your students.Please make sure you have the correct email address here, PayPal payments and student registrations will fail if this email address is invalid.

Email Options
ClassLoaderPro sends a welcome email to students after they register and another reminder email the day before class.The first part of the email is like a greeting from you.This section dictates what the signature looks like in that email.It should have your name, title, phone, and email address.You can leave one or more options blank if you like, those items won’t be added to the email.

Notifications
Enter the email address where you want to receive notifications from ClassLoaderPro.Next select the notifications you would like to receive.Lastly, enter an email address to receive a copy of every email that is sent from ClassLoaderPro to your students.This is a handy feature in case a student complains that they didn’t get an email.You can check the archive email that you received and forward a copy to them.If you use this feature it is recommended to use a separate email address since this could generate a lot of mail depending on your volume of students.If you do not want to use this feature, just leave the archive email address blank.

Application
Each instructor has a class list URL that they share with potential students.This section allows you to configure some aspects of the class list page.

Show classes that are sold out – If checked it will still show a class in the list even if it’s sold out.The user cannot select the class, and it will have a red, Sold Out banner over the select button.

Show message when no classes of a type are available – ClassLoaderPro sorts the class list into sections based on class type.So all classes of the same type show in their own section.If no classes of a certain type are available, normally that whole section would not be displayed at all.If this checkbox is checked, a message will be displayed allowing the user to enter their email address to receive class schedule updates.

Numbering – ClassLoaderPro automatically generates invoice and certificate numbers.This is where you can select a 3-4 letter prefix for those numbers.Keep in mind these will be visible to the students and will be printed on the certificates.

Locations (required)

You must configure at least one location.To have a class you must have at least one classroom. Click the New button and fill out the form, then click Add.



Location Name will be visible to the end user so use something professional.Select the type, classroom or range.Each class can have one classroom and one range location.Classroom is required, but range is not, since it’s possible that the classroom and range are the same location, or maybe the class does not require range time.

Instructors (required)

Again, at least one instructor is required.

Add-Ons (optional)

You are not required to configure add-ons, but if you think it’s something you will use, you may want to do it now rather than later.

Company Logo (optional)

If you add your logo here it will be used on the class rosters, class certificates and gift certificates.Follow the instructions.It must be a png file and must be 300x300 pixels in size.

Web Background and Header (optional)

Let’s you upload images to make the registration pages on ClassLoaderPro look more like your web site.

Purchase Options (required)

During the registration process, the student is asked to select a purchase option.This section is wher you create an inventory of options for all classes.Remember, just because they exist here doesn’t mean they are automatically associated with your class.You will associate your choice of options later in the class template.Fro now, you are just creating the distinct options.Enter the name, the number of seats, the price and the tax amount for each option.This is how you can create quantity discounts, like one seat for $100 or two seats for $180.A user can register up to five students in one transaction using ClasLoaderPro, so your purchase options can use from 1-5 seats.

Gift Certificate Groups (optional)

Gift certificates are explained in more detail in other documentation.

Terms & Conditions (optional)

This option allows you to add multiple Terms & Conditions pages which can later be associated with a class type in the class template.If configured, the user will see the terms and conditions text on a page right before the final checkout screen.They are required to check a box verifying that they read the conditions before being allowed to continue.

Certificate Templates (optional)

From this screen you can add or edit your class certificate templates.Side note… ClassLoaderPro also supports exporting the certificate data so that you can use mail merge to import it into MS Word or Publisher.

Email Templates (optional)

From this screen you create email templates that ClassLoaderPro will use when sending the welcome and reminder emails to students.There’s a “what to bring” section where you can add a list of things they need to bring to class.You could have different email templates for each type of class if necessary.

Class Templates (required)

The class template is where you tie all of the other stuff together.Start by adding the class name and description information.



Then configure the default class settings.

Adding a Class

Once the class template is complete, you can select the “Active / Add” menu option under classes.At the top of the screen you should see a dropdown box that contains a list of class templates.Select a class template from the list and click the New button.



Next, make any changes to the class, add a date and change or verify the times and click Add.

Conclusion

After completing the steps above, you should now have a class scheduled and ready to accept registrations. A few things to remember as you continue modify you configuration....

• Don't delete a class if one of more students have already registered for the class. Instead, move or delete the students first, then remove the class.
• Don't delete purchase options, instructors, or any of the other options if they are already associated with a class.
• Don't delete a class template that already has classes associated with it. Doing so will break all of the classes based on that template since the class pulls certain information from the template.
• Keep in mind the relationship between classes and class templates explained above when making changes to class templates. Some changes will affect all current classes, some will only affect new classes going forward.
• Contact support@classloaderpro.com for instructions to test a user registration.
• Please check out the other articles in the ClassLoaderPro knowledge base and do not hesitate to ask for help if needed:
  http://clp.classloaderpro.com/clp/support/kb/faq.php?a=search&q=
• The best way to get help is to open a ticket here:
  http://clp.classloaderpro.com/clp/support/open.php