2) Log in to your ParentSquare account: https://www.parentsquare.com/signin

3) Click on your name in the top right corner, go to "Manage Account," and look to ensure that all of your contact information is correct.

4) Click "Home" in the top left. On the left-hand side, you should see a drop-down that says "Groups." Click that. You should see your group listed. Click on your group.

This takes you to your group's wall. Think of this as like a Facebook wall. Posts go here... and everyone in the group can see them. Now, we need to add people.

5) Click the red button in the right corner that says "Manage." It will take you to a page that shows all of your settings, which should already be set up for you. If you have an assistant coach or someone else on staff that will be messaging people, add them as an Owner or Manager as you see fit.

6) Click "Save and Add People"

7) Now, you've got some options. It provides you with a QR code and link at the top of the page. All you have to do is send those in an email to the families associated with your group, and if they follow through, they will automatically be added to your group! Easy!

There are four other drop downs below that will also let you add students by picking them from the system or uploading a CSV if you need those

This is what you will use 99% of the time! This is meant for group communication, unlike direct messages, which are intended to be more 1-on-1.

• To create a post, click "Home" on the ParentSquare dashboard.
• Click on "Posts" under Communicate.
• Then click "New Post: located towards the right middle of your screen.
• Under "To" select the group/groups that you want to send the post to.
• Move to "Who should see this?" and ensure you have selected the proper groups amongst Students, Parents, or both. It will only pull from the group(s) you have selected above.
• The "Subject" is the subject line of the email.
• Your "Description" is where you input the body of the email.
• Once you're ready to go, look at the "Notification options" on the right side. You can choose to send at recipients preferred time or to send instantly, If your message is time-sensitive, pick send instantly. "Preferred time" will be defaulted to 7 p.m. for all recipients.
• If you go down to "Post Now" you click the arrow to the right to choose from Post Now, Schedule, Save Draft, or Preview. This is helpful if you want to schedule something to go out later that day or week!
• If you need students to reply to a post, after you send it, go to the right and click on "Comments" and Enable Comments. NOTE: Only the person who posted can see the comments, so it won't turn into a free-for-all!

Some additional post features:

• If you click on "Home" and then "Posts" you will see any post from any group that you are part of.
• To update a message, click on the gear in the upper right corner and click "Send Update."
• By clicking that same gear, you can also duplicate a message so you aren't starting from scratch. NOTE: The title of this message will start with "Copy Of..." Make sure to change this!
• Post Add-Ons on the left side allow you to add calendars, RSVP's, or request volunteers. You can look here for more information if you are interested in those features right now.

• Click "Home" up top, and then under the Communicate section click "Messages"
• Click "New Message"
• You will be given the option to select a Direct Message or Group Conversation
  • Direct message works like a BCC on email. It is meant for 1-on-1 conversations and is not intended for group conversation.
  • A Group Conversation is like a CC on an email. They will see everyone that is in the group and can theoretically reply to everyone in the group. We would recommend using a Post (see above) instead of a Group Conversation.
• When starting a Direct Message, pick your recipient
• Type out your message and hit Send
• One of the best features of ParentSquare is that each party is able to communicate in their preferred language. If you send someone a message in English, but they prefer Spanish, they will get it in Spanish. They can write their back in Spanish, and it will automatically translate to English for you.