# Getting Started

Welcome to **HolyCRM** — the admin app your church uses to manage members, small groups,
ministries, rotas, events, attendance, giving and communication, all in one place.

This Help Center is meant to answer two kinds of questions: *"how do I do X"* when you're
just getting started, and *"why does it work this way"* when something doesn't behave the
way you expected. Use the search box above, or browse by topic in the sidebar.

## Starting your church

1. Open the signup page (**Start your church** on holycrm.app) and fill in your church's name,
   your email and your timezone (already set to your device's), then accept the terms. The
   full app is free for 30 days, no card.
2. If your email is a Google one (Gmail or Google Workspace), click **Continue with Google**
   and you're in. Otherwise, open the email we sent you, choose a password, and the app opens
   straight away. No email? Click **Didn't get the email? Send it again** (check your spam
   folder too).
3. The **Set up your church** guide opens by itself the first time, to walk you through the
   basics. You can close it and come back any time from the **Set up your church** button on
   the Dashboard's **Getting started** card — see "A typical first week" below.

## Logging in

1. Go to your church's HolyCRM login page and enter your **email and password**. If you use
   Google with that same email, you can choose **Continue with Google** instead — no password
   needed. It only works with the Google account for the email your church invited.
2. If you belong to more than one church, you'll be asked to pick which one to manage —
   you can switch churches later from inside the app without logging out again.
3. Forgot your password? Use **Forgot your password?** on the login screen. You'll get a
   reset link by email regardless of whether the address is registered, so no one can use
   that screen to check who has an account.

If you don't have a login yet, ask an admin or manager at your church to invite you — see
[Users, Roles & Permissions](#/users-roles). The invitation email's link lets you choose a
password and takes you straight into the app.

## Finding your way around

The left-hand menu is grouped by topic:

- **Overview** — the Dashboard, a snapshot of your church's activity.
- **My space** — your own screens: My serving, My teams, My availability, My Giving and your
  Profile. Volunteers and members see it right after the Dashboard; staff, near the bottom.
- **People & care** — Members, Visitors, Welcome a visitor, Small groups and Prayer Requests.
- **Sundays & serving** — Calendar, Events and registrations, Attendance, Check-in, Kids
  Check-in, Ministries and volunteer schedules ("rotas").
- **Outreach** — Announcements (by email, app notification or webhook), Email Templates, your
  Church Website, Church Links and Giving Methods (your public giving page).
- **Giving & reports** — Giving, transactions, categories, the Finance Dashboard and Reports.
- **Settings** — one page with Church Settings, Locations, Tags, Custom Fields, Import Data,
  Users, Custom User Access, Integrations, Billing and Data & Privacy.

**You may not see every item.** What's visible depends on your role (Administrator, Coordinator,
Volunteer or Member) and on any custom permission your church has set for you — see
[Users, Roles & Permissions](#/users-roles) if something you expect to see is missing. A few
modules (Rotas, Finance, Announcements, Kids Check-in and others) also depend on your church's
plan — see [Plans & Billing](#/plans-billing).

**On a phone**, a bar along the bottom of the screen takes you straight to the screens you use
most (for example the Dashboard and **My serving**), and **Menu** at its right end opens the full
menu. On lists, the button to add something new sits in the bottom-right corner, within reach of
your thumb, and list filters open with the **Filters** button next to the search box.

## The four roles, in a nutshell

| Role | Typical use |
|---|---|
| **Administrator** | Full access to everything, including Church Settings and inviting other users. |
| **Coordinator** | Day-to-day operations — members, groups, events, rotas, communications, finance — without the account-level settings an Administrator has. |
| **Volunteer** | Hands-on serving — welcome visitors, take attendance and run check-in (finding people by name only). No member directory, finance, prayer requests or reports. |
| **Member** | Self-service only — your own profile, rotas, availability and giving history. |

A church can fine-tune this further per person; your actual access can differ slightly from
the table above.

## A typical first week

1. **Set up your church** — the button on the Dashboard's **Getting started** card walks you
   through your logo, timezone, email language, currency, your main location, your first
   people and your team. Skip any step and do it later. Everything is also in
   [Church Settings & Locations](#/church-settings). The checklist under the button shows
   what's left, such as adding your own name.
2. **Bring in your people** — either add [Members](#/members) one at a time, or use
   [Import Data](#/data-import) to bring in a spreadsheet you already have.
3. **Set up Locations** if your church meets in more than one place — needed for accurate
   timezones and per-location settings.
4. **Create your Ministries and Small Groups** and add members to them.
5. **Add upcoming Events** and, if you run rotas (Sunday teams, tech, hospitality…), set up
   **Service Roles** and start filling **Rotas**.
6. **Try Check-in or Kids Check-in** before your next service so your team isn't learning it
   live.
7. **Send your first announcement** — a welcome note or an announcement — once you have a few
   members with email addresses.

## Install HolyCRM on your phone

HolyCRM works in any browser, and you can also install it on your phone, tablet or computer
so it opens from its own icon, full screen, like any other app.

- **Android** — open HolyCRM in Chrome (or Edge, or Samsung Internet) and tap **Install app**
  on the login screen or at the top of the app.
- **iPhone and iPad** — open HolyCRM, tap **Install app** on the login screen or at the top of
  the app, and follow the steps: tap **Share**, choose **Add to Home Screen**, then tap **Add**.
- **Computer** — in Chrome or Edge, **Install app** adds HolyCRM to your computer's apps.

No **Install app** button? Either HolyCRM is already installed on that device, or your browser
can't install apps — look for **Add to Home screen** or **Install** in the browser's menu instead.

The installed app updates itself: it always opens the latest version of HolyCRM.

If your church shows a QR code or shares an install link, scan it or open it on your phone:
the page shows exactly what to tap on your device.

## Getting help

This Help Center covers what each module does and why it behaves the way it does. If you're
stuck on something not covered here, check the [FAQ](#/faq) first — it's built from the
questions churches actually ask most often.

Inside the app, the **Help** button in the top-right corner opens the HolyCRM assistant, in the
language you are using. Its suggestions are the sections of the guide for the screen you are
on, and you can type any question: it answers with the matching part of this Help Center,
starting with that screen's guide, plus a link to the full guide. It only knows what's
written here; if it can't find a clear answer, it says so and shows how to reach a person.