February 2024

If your school is approaching the end of the 2nd quarter, then these functions in FastDirect might need to be addressed.  Opening up teacher input for 2nd Quarter ReportCards will require:

  • Changing input for 2nd mid-quarter report cards from ‘Allow Input’ to ‘Input Complete’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
  • Confirming the dates for 2nd quarter in ‘Grades’ then ‘Report Card Input Controls’
  • Changing input for 2nd quarter Report Cards from ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Allow Input’ in ‘Report Card Input Controls’
  • Having teachers go through the 2nd quarter report card input process
  • Closing the input process by changing ‘Allow Input’ to ‘Input Complete’

FDpay! Activate the online payment component to make your February even sweeter! Watch the video below to see just how simple it can be for everyone!

Registration! Registration is an important part of the school year and FastDirect can help make the process easier.  In FastDirect, you can track new student applications, re-registrations of returning students, as well as the charging and depositing of registration fees. Here is some of the information that is tracked in the Registration report:

  • The number of students for each grade level
  • The number of students returning in each grade level
  • The number of new student applications in each grade level
  • An estimated number of spots available in each grade level
  • A breakdown of each existing family and their re-registration status

Here are some other features involved in registration through FastDirect:

  • The ability to allow your parents to re-register their child online
  • A time-stamp for when the child was re-registered
  • Time stamps for when parents verify their parent information
  • The finance account for Registration 2024-2025
  • A report showing all families and if they have been charged their registration fees
  • A report showing all families and if they have paid their registration fees

Click here to watch the Registration video tutorial in MP4 format

Click here to watch the Registration video tutorial in Youtube

WildCards! WildCards are a good way to keep track of all the required forms and if parents have completed and submitted those forms to the office.  Here are other uses for WildCard:

  • Student immunizations
  • State testing scores
  • Protecting God’s Children

WildCard fields can be created for:

  • Students
  • Parents
  • Staff

Here are the steps to create a WildCard field:

  1. Click on the ‘Settings’ icon
  2. Click on the ‘People’ option in the left hand menu
  3. Click on the link that reads ‘Add/Change WildCards’
  4. In the drop down, select who you are creating the WildCard for: Staff, Parents or Students
  5. Type in the name of the WildCard field, such as ‘Immunizations’
  6. Click ‘Create New WildCard’

Registering students for next year often means forms and paperwork.  With the file upload function, you can add these forms to the Links page, send them as attachments or create links to them on the login screen.  Making these forms available online means you won’t be spending your time making copies and mailing them out. Additionally, by allowing your parents to upload files, you can have a paperless process!  After you have uploaded the forms and made them available online, your parents can fill the forms out and send them back to you through our secure FDmail eMessaging. Here is how to turn on file upload for your parents and ways to help get your parents started:

You can activate this feature either for parents or students or both. To do so, you’ll go to Settings and click on FDmail in the left hand navigation menu. Check mark the option to Allow Parent File Upload and click ‘Save Changes’.  To allow students, repeat these steps and check mark the option for Allow Student File Upload.  To learn more about file upload, click on your FAQ Icon (the blue question mark), click on the “Look in: All categories” drop-down menu, select File Upload/File Attachment and click “View FAQ”. To help teach you parents and/or students how to use the file upload tool, you can point them to the FAQ section under the heading of ‘File Upload/File Attachment’. HelpDesk would like to help you get your Registration processes set up in FastDirect. Please send an FDmail message or give HelpDesk a call when you are ready to get started.

If your school is approaching the 2nd trimester Report Card, then these functions in FastDirect might need to be addressed. Opening up teacher input for 2nd trimester Report Cards will require:

  • Changing input for 2nd mid-trimester reports from ‘Allow Input’ to ‘Input Complete’ in ‘Report Card Input Controls’
  • Confirming the dates for 2nd trimester in ‘Grades’ then ‘Report Card Input Controls’
  • Changing input for 2nd trimester Report Cards from ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Allow Input’ in ‘Report Card Input Controls’
  • Having teachers go through the 2nd trimester Report Card input process
  • Closing the input process by changing ‘Allow Input’ to ‘Input Complete’

FDpay! Activate the online payment component to make your February even sweeter! Watch the video below to see just how simple it can be for everyone!

Registration! Registration is an important part of the school year and FastDirect can help make the process easier.  In FastDirect, you can track new student applications, re-registrations of returning students, as well as the charging and depositing of registration fees. Here is some of the information that is tracked in the Registration report:

  • The number of students for each grade level
  • The number of students returning in each grade level
  • The number of new student applications in each grade level
  • An estimated number of spots available in each grade level
  • A breakdown of each existing family and their re-registration status

Here are some other features involved in registration through FastDirect:

  • The ability to allow your parents to re-register their child online
  • A time-stamp for when the child was re-registered
  • Time stamps for when parents verify their parent information
  • The finance account for Registration 2024-2025
  • A report showing all families and if they have been charged their registration fees
  • A report showing all families and if they have paid their registration fees

Click here to watch the Registration video tutorial in MP4 format

Click here to watch the Registration video tutorial in Youtube

WildCards! WildCards are a good way to keep track of all the required forms and if parents have completed and submitted those forms to the office.  Here are other uses for WildCard:

  • Student immunizations
  • State testing scores
  • Protecting God’s Children

WildCard fields can be created for:

  • Students
  • Parents
  • Staff

Here are the steps to create a WildCard field:

  1. Click on the ‘Settings’ icon
  2. Click on the ‘People’ option in the left hand menu
  3. Click on the link that reads ‘Add/Change WildCards’
  4. In the drop down, select who you are creating the WildCard for: Staff, Parents or Students
  5. Type in the name of the WildCard field, such as ‘Immunizations’
  6. Click ‘Create New WildCard’

Registering students for next year often means forms and paperwork.  With the file upload function, you can add these forms to the Links page, send them as attachments or create links to them on the login screen.  Making these forms available online means you won’t be spending your time making copies and mailing them out. Additionally, by allowing your parents to upload files, you can have a paperless process!  After you have uploaded the forms and made them available online, your parents can fill the forms out and send them back to you through our secure FDmail eMessaging. Here is how to turn on file upload for your parents and ways to help get your parents started:

You can activate this feature either for parents or students or both. To do so, you’ll go to Settings and click on FDmail in the left hand navigation menu. Check mark the option to Allow Parent File Upload and click ‘Save Changes’.  To allow students, repeat these steps and check mark the option for Allow Student File Upload.  To learn more about file upload, click on your FAQ Icon (the blue question mark), click on the “Look in: All categories” drop-down menu, select File Upload/File Attachment and click “View FAQ”. To help teach you parents and/or students how to use the file upload tool, you can point them to the FAQ section under the heading of ‘File Upload/File Attachment’. HelpDesk would like to help you get your Registration processes set up in FastDirect. Please send an FDmail message or give HelpDesk a call when you are ready to get started.

All present-day finance transactions can be edited and/or deleted by the original author. Furthermore, you can edit the account and the description for any previous-day transactions.  Here are the steps to deleting a present-day transaction:

  1. Go to ‘Finance’
  2. Click on the ‘Deposits and Charges Report’ button
  3. When the report filters appear at the top of your page, set the parameters you need
  4. Check mark the option for ‘Edit Mode’
  5. Click ‘View Report’
  6. For any present-day transactions you would like to delete (found near the bottom of the report) , click ‘Delete’ next to the specific transaction

Here are the steps to editing a present-day transaction:

  1. Go to ‘Finance’
  2. Click on the ‘Deposits and Charges Report’ button
  3. When the report filters appear at the top of your page, set the parameters you need
  4. Check mark the option for ‘Edit Mode’
  5. Click ‘View Report’
  6. For any present-day transactions you would like to change (found near the bottom of the report), select the field(s) you would like to change, then click ‘Change’

Here are the fields that can be edited on a present-day transaction:

  • Family
  • Description
  • Amount
  • Account

Here are the fields that can be edited on a previous-day transaction:

  • Description
  • Account

To learn more about editing a finance transaction, watch the video tutorial!

Are you responsible for logging students in/out of before/after care or daycare? Our new component Timer can be given to any staff account which will allow you to track a student’s attendance with ease!  This free feature allows you to track attendance hours for preschool, daycare, before and after school care, and more!  When combined with Finance, you are able to bill a family’s account directly with just a click! Here are some of the amazing features of this robust component:

  • One click clocking in or clocking out of students
  • Multiple rate groups, as well as multiple student groups
  • Customizable rate settings to meet your school’s unique programs
  • Bill directly to a family’s finance account
  • Exportable reports are easily retrieved and detail all previous charges and times

To find out more about Timer and how it can help transform your school’s tracking of preschool or extended care hours, contact HelpDesk to schedule an appointment! If your school already uses Timer, talk to an administrator at your school to get started with extended care tracking.

When viewing or updating your parent information in FastDirect, it is easy to overlook the field for Cell Phone Provider.  If you have a cell phone number in your parent account, you must select a cell phone provider in order for FDbroadcast or Text Notifications to work. Without a cell phone provider, these are the functions that will not be possible in FastDirect:

  • Text Notifications
  • FDbroadcast via text
  • Auto-notify via text

To view and edit your information, simply click ‘View/Edit Parent Information’ at the top of your Home page.  Your school may limit the amount of information you are able to edit.  If there is a change to your contact information and you are unable to edit it, please contact the school’s office so that they can make the necessary changes.

Note – If you change cell phone providers, this information will also need to be changed in your parent account!

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