This article will give step-by-step instructions on how to set up your Amenity Boss account.
For a more in-depth explanation and Q&A session, please reach out to schedule a time for training.
Settings
Log into Amenity Boss and open the Settings tab in Amenity Manager. Here you can add/delete users and add management office contact information. You can also upload an image that your residents will see when they search for your community on Amenity Pass. Upload whatever is most recognizable (i.e. a picture of the leasing office, your building, your most popular amenity, etc.).
When granting team members access, you can decide between view only and full access:
Full access - Best for anyone in the leasing office. Full access users have access to everything on Amenity Manager.
View only - Recommended for people like pool monitors, maintenance professionals, etc., or anyone who may be doing spot checks. View only will give users access to the Live View (see current passes) and the Pass Log (see all previous/current/future passes and cancel passes/credit hours back to residents).
Adding Units
Before adding your units, make sure you have your rent roll, or wherever you store your unit numbers, ready to go.
STEPS
First, go to the Units tab.
Near the bottom of the screen, click “+Add Apartments” to open the pop-up to the left. (This may vary by community between Apartments, Condos, Townhomes, etc.)
Copy and paste the unit numbers from your rent roll spreadsheet into the box. You can also manually enter them, but make sure they are one per line.
Click the “Add Apartments” button when it turns blue. It may take a few minutes to load.
Now that you have added your units, the passcodes will be automatically generated!
To manage passcodes moving forward, click the "Edit" button. You can select to change a passcode, turn over a unit (move out function), and transfer a unit.
NOTE: If you have specific numerical value passcodes that you wish to use, please reach out to [email protected]. The passcodes should be between 4-6 digits.
Adding Amenities
On the left-hand side of the screen, click “+ Add Amenity”. Enter the name and click “Continue”.
Amenity Settings
If the name of your amenity is similar to one of our stock photos, an image should automatically generate in the box. If you have your own photo that you would like to use, click “Select Photo…” and upload your photo.
Under Name you can change the name of your amenity. Under Status you can select 'Pass Required', 'Info Only', or 'Closed 24/7'. Pass Required is the setting that will require your residents to make reservations for your amenities, the most common setting. Info Only can be used on amenities like coffee bars, or amenities where you’re residents do not need to reserve before going. Closed 24/7 will close the amenity until you manually change it back to Pass Required. Later on we will review special closures, which will allow you to schedule closures to automatically close/reopen the amenity.
Alert and Info messages can also be added. These are good places to put any information you may want your residents to know before going to the amenity.
2. Pass Settings
Apartment, Passcode, and Name are always required when residents are making passes. Email and Phone Number can be made optional.
TIP: It is a good idea to require at least an email or phone number so you have a good way to get in contact with the residents if necessary.
The time per pass settings allows you to select 'flexible schedule' or 'set times'. Flexible schedule allows multiple short-term reservations throughout the day (i.e. pool, fitness center, BBQs, theater rooms, etc.). Select the min and max time that a resident can reserve the amenity. Set Times is for single-day or multi-day reservations (i.e. all-day events, clubhouse rentals, guest suites, etc.). For a more in-depth explanation for set times, please see this article: https://help.communityboss.app/en/articles/5026095-how-to-use-set-times
'In advance' allows you to select how far out residents are able to reserve.
'In progress' allows you to select whether or not a resident can reserve for a time slot that has already started.
TIP: If you reach out to [email protected] you can also request that residents must make a reservation a certain amount of time in advance.
3. General Rules & Limits / Per Unit Limits
Sharing can be set to 'anyone with a pass' or 'one apartment at a time'. For anyone with a pass, you can also set a capacity limit.
Additional rules can also be added. For example, you may want to include any other rules for your amenity that you didn’t include in the alert or info messages.
Where is says “Attach document…” you can upload any PDFs you want your residents to see before they sign up for a pass (i.e. a waiver document).
Per unit limits can be set 'by total time' or 'by group'. The 'by group' setting allows residents to share their time at the amenity with roommates and guests (if allowed). The 'by total time' setting will count everyone’s reservations separately and not allow them to share time. Daily, weekly, and monthly limits can be set as well.
You can also set custom limits for units as well (i.e. maybe a 2-bedroom gets more time at the gym each week than a studio since they have more people living in the unit). If you are interested in implementing custom limits, please let us know! We need to enable the setting for you.
4. Unit Access
Under Allow you can choose to give access to 'all units', 'single unit', or 'select units'.
For 'select units', click on the apartment to grant/revoke their access. A checkmark next to their apartment means they currently have access.
TIP: If you revoke someone’s access and block them from the amenity, I recommend sending an email to notify them that they have been blocked and potentially explain why.
TIP: If you save as a 'single unit' then choose 'select units' it will remove the checkmarks from all the units if you are looking for an easier way to grant only a few units access.
5. Open & Closed Schedule
The Open & Closed Schedule is where you will set the regular hours for your amenity. This is not where you will add long-term closures.
For ease of access, click on the day (i.e. Sun) to open/close the whole day, and click on the hour (i.e. 12 AM) to close the hour for the week. Above the table, you can also choose to edit the schedule by the hour, half-hour, and quarter of an hour.
The checkmark means it is open and the “X” means it is closed.
6. Special Closures
Under Special Closures, you can schedule closures up to a year in advance. Special Closures will automatically close and reopen your amenity. Select the starting and ending time(s) and day(s) you want to close your amenity and click “Schedule Closure” when the button turns blue.
After scheduling your closure, it should pop up under the “Schedule Closure” button. You can add multiple special closures at a time and delete them if you decide you no longer need them. To delete a special closure, click the “X” on the top-right hand corner of the box containing your closure and click “Remove Closures” when the button turns blue. Closures will automatically be removed once they are over.
TIP: If you are scheduling a special closure within your reservation window, it will not automatically delete reservations that have already been created. It will only stop future reservations from being made. Go to the Pass Log to cancel any reservations that have already been created for the time of the special closure.
7. Remove Amenity
If you need to remove the amenity, under Remove select ‘Yes, permanently remove’ and click the “Remove” button when it turns red. This amenity will be deleted and cannot be recovered. Thankfully it doesn’t take too long to add an amenity if this accidentally happens!
Remember to click "Save" at the bottom of every column! If the "Save" button turns blue then you have work that has yet to be saved.
Amenities
Now that we have added the amenity, you can go back to edit it anytime under the Amenities tab. Click the blue “Edit” button to edit the amenity.
App Preview
App Preview will show you Amenity Pass, what your residents use to create passes. This is a great way to check your amenity after adding it to make sure everything looks correct. You can also create reservations here for yourself (Office unit) or for your residents as well.
Notices
There are three different kinds of notices that can be found under the Notices tab. All can be downloaded as a PDF, printed, and translated to Spanish. On the top right-hand corner of the document, use the drop-down to change the language.
General
The first page of the General notice contains a brief introduction to Amenity Pass and a link/QR code that will lead them to your amenity pass account. The second page contains instructions on how to create a pass, how to cancel a pass, and how to create passes for multiple people.
This is a great document to share with your residents before sending out their passcodes.
2. Apartment Handouts
The Apartment Handouts are one way to notify your residents of their passcodes. These handouts can be printed and distributed to apartments to alert residents of their apartment, passcode, and a link to Amenity Pass.
If you click on “All Apartments”, you can select individual handouts as well. This can be a good document to add to a new resident's move-in packet.
3. Amenity Notices
If you did not order signs for your amenities, Amenity Notices are a good alternative. These notices can be printed out and placed near the entrance of the amenity to remind residents to create a pass before entering.
The first Amenity Notice will contain a general QR code that will bring them directly to your Amenity Pass. As you start to add amenities, specific Amenity Notices will generate. These Amenity Notices will have specific QR codes that will take them directly to creating a pass for that amenity.
Notify
Full access users have the ability to electronically notify residents of their passcodes via email and/or text.
To notify all residents at once, get a copy of your rent roll (or an excel or CSV document that contains residents' apartment numbers, emails, and phone numbers). Delete all columns that contain information other than apartment numbers, emails, and cell phone numbers. Make sure the first column contains the apartment numbers and the following (to the right) contain the pieces of contact information (one piece of contact information per box).
Once your document is ready, click “Select contact list to import…” on the top right-hand corner of the screen. Upload your document and wait for the “Send All” button to turn blue. Before sending your residents their passcodes, I recommend spot-checking a few boxes to make sure the information is uploaded correctly.
After clicking “Send All”, your residents should receive their passcodes in a few short minutes.
The resident’s contact information can also be manually entered into the box. Find their apartment number and enter their contact information into the box (one per line). Click outside of the box so that the system recognizes information has been added. Click “Send All” to notify the resident of their passcodes.
After sending passcodes, the resident’s contact information will archive and appear above the box in grey. If a resident ever forgets their passcode, you can copy and paste the information into the box and click “Send All” to re-send their passcode. Remember to click outside of the box after adding information so the system recognizes it.
This step can be a little tricky, so feel free to reach out to [email protected] if you need any help. We are happy to help edit your document and send out your passcodes!