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How-to Guides

Step-by-step instructions for common tasks

Getting Started

Registering for an Account

  1. Click "Register" in the navigation menu
  2. Enter your email address (must match your organisation's domain)
  3. Enter your first and last name
  4. Create a strong password (minimum 12 characters with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters)
  5. Confirm your password
  6. Click "Register"
  7. Check your email for a verification link
  8. Click the verification link to activate your account
  9. Log in with your credentials

Setting Up Terminology Preferences

  1. Log in as an organisation administrator
  2. Navigate to "Admin" → "Organisation"
  3. Scroll to the "Terminology Preferences" section
  4. Enter your preferred singular term (e.g., "person we support", "service user", "client")
  5. Enter your preferred plural term (e.g., "people we support", "service users", "clients")
  6. Click "Update Terminology"
  7. The terms will immediately apply throughout the entire system

Contract Management

Creating Your First Contract

  1. Ensure you have contract types set up (ask your organisation administrator if needed)
  2. Navigate to "Contracts" → "View Contracts" from the main menu
  3. Click "Add Contract"
  4. Fill in the required fields:
    • Title: A descriptive name for the contract
    • Contract Type: Select from your organisation's contract types
    • Local Authority: Choose the relevant local authority
    • Start Date: When the contract begins
  5. Optionally add a contract number
  6. Select the procurement route (Competitive Tender, Framework Agreement, Direct Award, etc.)
  7. Select the tender status (Pre-tender, Tender Submitted, Awarded, etc.)
  8. Select whether it's a single person or bulk contract
  9. If single person: Optionally link to a person record
  10. If bulk: Specify the number of people, staff, and hours
  11. Add payment details (method, frequency, amounts)
  12. Click "Create" to save

Editing a Contract

  1. Navigate to "Contracts" → "View Contracts"
  2. Click on the contract title to view details
  3. Click "Edit Contract"
  4. Update any fields as needed
  5. Click "Update Contract" to save changes

Updating Tender Status

  1. Open the contract you want to update
  2. Click "Edit Contract"
  3. Update the "Tender Status" field to reflect the current stage
  4. Save the changes
  5. The workflow dashboard will automatically reflect the new status

Person Management

Adding a New Person

  1. Navigate to the "People" page from the main menu
  2. Click "Add Person"
  3. Enter the person's first name and last name
  4. Optionally enter their date of birth
  5. Add at least one identifier:
    • CHI Number (Community Health Index)
    • SWIS Number (Social Work Information System)
    • National Insurance Number
    • Organisation-specific identifier
  6. Select one identifier as the primary identifier
  7. Click "Create Person"

Linking a Person to a Contract

  1. When creating or editing a contract, check "Single Person Contract"
  2. In the "Person (Optional)" dropdown, select the person
  3. This links the contract to the person record for tracking
  4. Save the contract

Viewing a Person's History

  1. Navigate to the "People" page
  2. Click "View Details" on the person you want to see
  3. View their contract history across all local authorities
  4. View their payment history by selecting a date range
  5. See all identifiers associated with the person

Rate Management

Setting Rates

  1. Navigate to "Contracts" → "Rates" from the main menu
  2. Select the contract type you want to set rates for
  3. Choose the local authority
  4. Enter the rate amount
  5. Set the effective date (when this rate becomes active)
  6. Click "Set Rate"
  7. Previous rates will be automatically archived in the rate history

Viewing Rate History

  1. Navigate to "Contracts" → "Rates"
  2. Select a contract type and local authority
  3. View the rate history table showing all past and current rates
  4. See effective dates and when rates changed

Accessing Reference Rates

  1. Navigate to "Learn" → "Local Authority Rates" or "News & Updates" → "Local Authority Rates"
  2. View current reference rates including:
    • Real Living Wage history
    • Scotland Mandated Minimum Rates
    • Homecare Association recommended rates
  3. Check local authority rate updates and positions

Monitoring Reference Rates (Administrators)

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Rate Monitoring" (available to organisation administrators and super administrators)
  2. View the monitoring dashboard which shows:
    • Overall status of all reference rates
    • Visual indicators (green = current, yellow = needs review, red = critical)
    • Summary statistics (current rates, outdated rates, missing rates)
    • Detailed status for each rate type
  3. Review any warnings or errors displayed
  4. Take action if rates need updating (e.g., add new rates, update existing ones)
  5. The system automatically checks:
    • If rates are outdated (Scotland rates >6 months, Real Living Wage >1 year)
    • If rate periods have expired
    • If effective dates are valid
    • If critical rates are missing
  6. You'll also see alerts on your dashboard if there are rate monitoring issues

Contract Types

Creating a Custom Contract Type

  1. Navigate to "Contracts" → "Contract Types"
  2. Click "Add Contract Type"
  3. Enter a name (e.g., "Sleepovers", "Support", "Waking Hours")
  4. Optionally add a description
  5. Click "Create"
  6. The new type will be available when creating contracts

Reports & Analytics

Generating a Payment Report

  1. Navigate to "Contracts" → "Reports"
  2. Select a start date and end date for your report
  3. Click "Generate Report"
  4. View summaries of:
    • Total payments by method
    • Payment frequency breakdown
    • Contracts with payments

Viewing Person Payment History

  1. Navigate to a person's detail page
  2. Select a date range for the payment history
  3. Click "View Payment History"
  4. See all payments for that person across all contracts and local authorities

Workflow Management

Using the Workflow Dashboard

  1. Navigate to "Contracts" → "Workflow Dashboard"
  2. View all contracts organised by tender status
  3. See procurement routes for each contract
  4. Identify contracts that need attention

Tender Monitoring

Setting Up Automated Tender Monitoring

  1. Navigate to "Contracts" → "Tender Monitoring" (admin only)
  2. Click "New Monitor"
  3. Configure your monitoring criteria:
    • Keywords: Enter search terms like "social care", "supported living" (comma-separated)
    • CPV Codes: Enter procurement codes like "85000000" for health and social work services
    • Local Authorities: Optionally select specific authorities to monitor
    • Notification Method: Choose email, in-app, or both
    • Email Address: Enter where to send notifications (or leave blank to use account email)
  4. Check "Active" to start monitoring immediately
  5. Click "Create Monitor"
  6. The system will automatically check for new opportunities

Setting Up Automated Checking (Cron Job)

  1. Access your server's cron configuration
  2. Add a cron job to run the monitoring script:
    • For every 6 hours: 0 */6 * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/contracts/scripts/check-tenders.php
    • For every hour: 0 * * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/contracts/scripts/check-tenders.php
    • For daily at 9 AM: 0 9 * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/contracts/scripts/check-tenders.php
  3. Replace /path/to/contracts with your actual application path
  4. Test the script manually first: php scripts/check-tenders.php

Manually Checking for Opportunities

  1. Go to "Contracts" → "Tender Monitoring"
  2. Click "Check Now" button
  3. View the results showing how many opportunities were found
  4. Check the diagnostic section if no opportunities are found

Importing Opportunities from URLs

  1. Go to "Contracts" → "Tender Opportunities"
  2. Click "Import from URL"
  3. Paste a Public Contracts Scotland tender notice URL
  4. Click "Import Opportunity"
  5. Review the extracted data in the form
  6. Make any necessary corrections
  7. Select the correct Local Authority and Contract Type
  8. Click "Save Imported Opportunity"

Audit Logging

Viewing Audit Logs

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Audit Logs" (admin only)
  2. Use filters to find specific changes:
    • Filter by entity type (contract, rate, person, payment)
    • Filter by action (create, update, delete)
    • Filter by user
    • Filter by date range
  3. Click on any log entry to see full details including old/new values
  4. Export logs if needed for compliance reporting

Configuring Approval Rules

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Approval Rules" (admin only)
  2. Click "Create Approval Rule"
  3. Configure the rule:
    • Entity Type: What type of record (contract, rate, person, etc.)
    • Action: What action requires approval (create, update, delete)
    • Field: Optional - specific field that requires approval
    • Approval Type: Choose self, manager, or role-based
    • Required Role: If role-based, select which role can approve
  4. Click "Create Rule"
  5. Rules are applied automatically when users make changes

Understanding Audit Log Information

Each audit log entry contains:

  • User: Who made the change (or "User Deleted" if user account was removed)
  • Timestamp: When the change was made
  • Entity: What was changed (e.g., Contract #123)
  • Action: What action was performed (create, update, delete)
  • Field: Which specific field changed (for updates)
  • Old/New Values: What the value was before and after
  • IP Address: Where the change was made from
  • URL: Which page the change was made on

Glossary

Suggesting a New Glossary Term

  1. Navigate to "Learn" → "Glossary"
  2. Click "Suggest a Term" button
  3. Enter the term you'd like to add
  4. Provide a clear definition
  5. Click "Submit Suggestion"
  6. Your suggestion will be reviewed by administrators
  7. You'll receive an email notification when it's approved or rejected

Searching the Glossary

  1. Navigate to "Learn" → "Glossary"
  2. Type your search term in the search box
  3. Results will filter automatically as you type
  4. Click on any term to see its definition

User Management (Organisation Administrators)

Adding a New User

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Users"
  2. Click "Add User"
  3. Enter the user's email address (must match your organisation's domain)
  4. Enter their first and last name
  5. Set their role (Staff or Organisation Admin)
  6. Click "Create User"
  7. The user will receive an email with instructions to set their password

Managing User Roles

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Users"
  2. Find the user you want to update
  3. Click "Edit" next to their name
  4. Update their role as needed
  5. Save the changes

Teams Management (Organisation Administrators)

Creating Custom Team Types

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Teams"
  2. Scroll to the "Team Types" section
  3. Click "Add Team Type"
  4. Enter a name for your team type (e.g., "Department", "Region", "Area", "Division")
  5. Optionally add a description to explain what this team type represents
  6. Set the display order (lower numbers appear first in dropdowns)
  7. Click "Create Team Type"
  8. The new team type will be available when creating teams

Creating a Team

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Teams"
  2. Scroll to the "Teams" section
  3. Click "Add Team"
  4. Enter a name for your team (e.g., "North Region", "Finance Department", "Support Team A")
  5. Select a team type from the dropdown (create team types first if needed)
  6. Optionally select a parent team if this team should be part of a hierarchy (e.g., "Team A" under "North Region")
  7. Optionally add a description
  8. Click "Create Team"
  9. The team will appear in your team list and can be assigned to contracts

Setting Up Team Hierarchy

  1. Create parent teams first (teams without a parent)
  2. Then create child teams, selecting the parent team from the dropdown
  3. Example structure:
    • Region: "North Region" (no parent)
    • Area: "Area 1" (parent: North Region)
    • Team: "Support Team A" (parent: Area 1)
  4. Team managers can access their team and all child teams
  5. Finance and senior managers can access all teams regardless of hierarchy

Assigning Staff to Teams

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Teams"
  2. Scroll to the "Assign Users to Teams" section
  3. Select a user from the dropdown (users must already exist in your organisation)
  4. Select the team to assign them to
  5. Choose their role in the team:
    • Member: Basic team membership (view access)
    • Manager: Can manage contracts assigned to their team and child teams
    • Admin: Can manage contracts assigned to their team and child teams
    • Finance: Can view and edit all contracts in the organisation
    • Senior Manager: Can view and edit all contracts in the organisation
  6. Optionally check "Set as Primary Team" if this is the user's main team
  7. Click "Assign User"
  8. Users can be assigned to multiple teams with different roles

Creating Custom Team Roles

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Teams"
  2. Scroll to the "Team Roles" section
  3. Click "Add Team Role"
  4. Enter a name for the role (e.g., "Deputy Manager", "Coordinator", "Supervisor")
  5. Enter a description explaining the role's responsibilities
  6. Select the access level:
    • Team Access: Can only access contracts in their assigned team(s) and child teams
    • Organisation Access: Can access all contracts in the organisation
  7. Click "Create Team Role"
  8. The new role will be available when assigning users to teams

Importing Teams from CSV or JSON

  1. Navigate to "Admin" → "Import Teams"
  2. Download the sample CSV template if needed
  3. Prepare your file with:
    • Team types (name, description, display_order)
    • Teams (name, team_type, parent_team, description)
    • User assignments (email, team_name, role_in_team, is_primary)
  4. Click "Choose File" and select your CSV or JSON file
  5. Click "Preview Import" to review what will be imported
  6. Review the preview carefully, checking for any errors or warnings
  7. Click "Confirm Import" to proceed
  8. The system will create team types, teams, and assign users
  9. Existing items are skipped (safe to re-run)

Assigning Contracts to Teams

  1. When creating or editing a contract, you'll see a "Team" dropdown
  2. Select the team that should manage this contract
  3. Only users with access to that team (or finance/senior managers) will be able to view and edit it
  4. Team managers can only see contracts assigned to their team or child teams
  5. Finance and senior managers can see all contracts regardless of team assignment

Tips & Best Practices

Organising Your Contracts

  • Use descriptive contract titles that include the local authority and service type
  • Keep tender statuses up to date to maintain accurate workflow visibility
  • Link single person contracts to person records for better tracking
  • Set contract end dates to enable expiry monitoring

Managing Person Records

  • Always add at least one identifier to ensure unique identification
  • Use CHI or SWIS numbers as primary identifiers when available
  • Link contracts to person records to maintain continuity of care
  • Review person payment history regularly for accuracy

Rate Management

  • Set effective dates accurately when rates change
  • Review rate history regularly to track trends
  • Reference local authority rate information when setting new rates
  • Keep rates current to ensure accurate reporting