Switching to Grouperly
Switching sounds like the hard part. It's the small part.
You don't need a committee, a migration plan, or everyone's buy-in first. Bring the spreadsheet you already have, keep your group chat, and start with your next event.
New to Grouperly? On the next page, press Sign in with Grouperly, then choose Create an account.Free forever, no credit card. See our Terms, Privacy Policy and Children's Privacy Notice.
The worries
Every reason not to switch, answered.
"I don't have time to set this up."
Start small. Bring in your roster and post your next event, and you're running. That's an evening, and the rest can wait until you feel like it.
"I'm not a computer person."
If you can send an email and open a spreadsheet, you can do this. Most of what you'll use is four words across the top. And if you get stuck, a real person answers support@grouperly.com.
"My spreadsheet is a mess."
Most are. Bring what you have. Grouperly matches your columns, keeps parents and kids together, and asks before treating two entries as the same person. Each adult needs a name and an email, and everything else is optional.
"What if something goes out by mistake?"
Bringing in your roster doesn't email anyone unless you choose to send invitations. Automatic emails start off, too. Families hear from you when you decide.
"Our families won't sign up."
They don't have to, to hear from you. Everyone on your roster gets your announcements by email from the first one, with their own link to join when they're ready. There's nothing to install.
"Everyone's used to the group chat."
Keep it. Use Grouperly for what a chat is bad at: the dates, the headcount, the money and the documents. Let the chat go back to being for chatting.
"The committee has to agree first."
It's free and takes no credit card, so nobody has to find a budget. There's a note below you can send them.
"What if we decide to leave?"
Take your things with you. Download the roster as a spreadsheet, the documents and photo albums as ZIP files, and your money records. Nothing is locked in.
Where it all goes
Your patchwork, in one place.
What you use now, and where it lives once you've switched.
| What you use now | In Grouperly |
|---|---|
| The group chat | Announcements that reach the right people, and conversations for each event, den or team |
| The roster spreadsheet | A roster with parents and kids together, brought in from that same spreadsheet |
| Venmo, cash and checks | Card payments when families RSVP, with cash and checks on the same list and tracked to the bank |
| The sign-up sheet | RSVPs for the whole family, and jobs and shifts with a list of who's short |
| The email list | Announcements by email to everyone on your roster, and a view of who each one reached |
| The shared calendar | One calendar that shows up on every family's phone |
| The shared drive | One library for your documents, with every version kept |
| The shoebox of receipts | Reimbursements with receipts and approvals, and an automatic record of your money |
| Last year's leader's notes | Yearly events that remember, and roles with their own guides and tasks for whoever comes next |
Comparing?
How it stacks up against what you use now.
An honest look at each, including when you should stay put.
Your first evening
Four steps, one evening.
This is the whole thing. No committee, no training session.
- 1
Create your group
Name it and say what kind of group it is. Packs and troops can start from a ready-made setup with their dens, roles and the big events of the year.
- 2
Bring in your roster
Upload your spreadsheet, match its columns, and check who came in. Nobody gets an email unless you tell it to send invitations.
- 3
Post your next event
The date, the place, the price and the RSVP deadline. Just one event, to start.
- 4
Send the welcome
Use the message below. Everyone on your roster gets it by email, with their own link to join.
A spreadsheet to start from
If your roster is in a dozen places, copy it into this one. Fill in what you have, delete the two example rows, and save it as a CSV file. Any spreadsheet of yours will do just as well.
Download the starter spreadsheetBring it when you're ready
None of this has to happen tonight.
Your calendar
A link or a file from the calendar you keep today, brought in once.
Your documents
Upload them to one library, with folders.
The treasurer's history
On Grouperly Plus, bring in your books from QuickBooks.
It can stay right where it is
You're not giving up anything that works.
The group chat
For the cheering and the carpool swaps.
Your bank account
Card payments are paid out to it, and nothing changes about how you bank.
Your organization's official records
Grouperly works alongside them. It doesn't replace them.
Two things better said now.
Taking cards means setting up with Stripe
Stripe is the payment company that handles card payments. It's required to know who it's paying, so it asks for your group's legal name, a bank account, and an EIN if you have one. It can also ask for one responsible person's birth date, home address and Social Security number. Have those handy, and use the group's bank account rather than your own. You don't need any of this to get started, and cash and checks work without it.
Leaders add a second sign-in step
Anyone who can see the group's money or children's details needs two-step sign-in within 14 days. To make that easy, create your account with an email and password, or with Apple. An account that only uses Google can't add a second step without our help.
What to say
The words, already written.
A welcome message for your families
Hi everyone,
We're moving our group's calendar, sign-ups, payments and announcements to Grouperly, so everything is in one place instead of scattered across texts, emails and spreadsheets.
You don't need to download anything. You'll get our announcements by email, like this one. When you're ready, use the link in this email to join: you'll be able to RSVP for each of your kids, pay for events, and add our calendar to your phone.
The group chat isn't going anywhere, but the dates and details will live in Grouperly from now on.
Thanks!
Send it as your first announcement, and everyone on your roster gets their own link to join.
A note for your committee or treasurer
Hi all,
I'd like to try moving our calendar, sign-ups, payments and announcements into one place, called Grouperly.
It's free for the whole group, with no contract and no credit card. Families don't have to install anything, and the group chat can stay.
The treasurer would get one list of who has paid, by card, cash or check. Our roster stays private to our group. And whoever takes over next year gets all of it, instead of starting from scratch.
I'd like to try it with our next event. If it doesn't work out, we can download our roster, documents and money records and go back to what we do now.
Okay with everyone?
Change anything you like. It works best coming from you.
Start with your next event.
Create your group free, bring in your roster, and send the welcome. Your families won't have to install a thing.
New to Grouperly? On the next page, press Sign in with Grouperly, then choose Create an account.Free forever, no credit card. See our Terms, Privacy Policy and Children's Privacy Notice.