What's New: How Parents Use Boardingware, Better Groups, Messages And More...

This year we will be posting regular updates on the improvements we're making and new features we're shipping at Boardingware.

We've just released some awesome new features and system updates that will help us lay a solid foundation to build off throughout 2015.  This year we expect to hire more engineers and customer success staff to better our entire customer experience, we're really excited to take Boardingware to the next level and as always would love to hear your feedback.

How We've Improved The Way Parents Use Boardingware

Recently we've had a lot of request from parents to be able to use a single Boardingware account to connect with children that might be attending different schools.  Some parents might have a daughter who attended a girls school and son who went to a boys boarding school.  This was turning out to be a huge pain for these parents and schools.  So we rolled up our sleeves and fixed it as fast as we could!  Now we have completely remodeled the way parents use Boardingware and in turn opened up new possibilities for how Boardingware can work across a network of schools.The parent application still works very much the way it used to, with the key difference that they can access students across various schools.  The main change happens when parents are invited to create their accounts.Before schools would have to invite parents to create an account then link them with their children from the parent or student database.  With the new system schools will have to send a unique invite for each student they want to connect to a parent or guardian.

1. Contact Invite Improvements

We've added a page specially dedicated to connecting contact with the right students.  This page displays all the contacts that are connected with each student.  To connect a parent with a student you only need to send the parent an invite by clicking the email icon.  Any parents that have already been invited or connected will be grayed out so you know exactly who still needs to be invited.

2. Sending Reminders

We've made it easy to send reminders to contacts who have yet to connect to their child.  You will know exactly when you sent the last invite and be able to customize the reminder email.  Now getting your parents and guardians up and running will be a breeze.

3. Control Permissions

Once contacts have been connected to their students, you can disconnect them at any time.  Once disconnected the contact will no longer be able to approve leave or apply for leave on behalf of that child.

Improvements To The Boardingware Native iPad App

Excited to say that our iPad app for boarding school staff has just got better.  We've improved a few key features that get used 80% of the time in the day to day usage of Boardingware.

1. New Message Board

Upon our customer feedback we decide to re imagine in app messaging between staff members.  Staff can send each other messages to alert them of any incidents and to update other staff members coming on duty.  Our new messenger allows staff to post a comment and reply to comments, allowing for collaborative and productive conversations.

2. New group page

Groups allow you to organize your Boarders for any situation.  You can create groups for year groups, dorms, girls / boys, sports teams, field trips, ect.  Now you can personalize your groups by choosing an icon, sign out a whole group at once or launch straight into a roll check.

3. Set Meal Times

Meals have been very helpful for schools that need to let their kitchen staff know how many meals to prepare.  In our latest update we have added a page where you can set the times for each of your meals.  This makes the meal tracking a lot more accurate when students schedule leave in advance.

That's it for now

We hope these updates bring you a step closer to managing your students with the ease and precision you've always dreamed of.  Our team is super excited to bring you more amazing features through out the year so watch this space for updates.  If you have any ideas or requests, please get in touch with us at support@boardingware.com[marketo-fat form="1107"]