Summary: Follow Ups allow tasks to be assigned to staff or volunteers in relation to a specific person in your database. For example, if a visitor fills out a connection card showing interest in the youth group, a Follow Up can automatically notify the youth pastor to reach out. This tool ensures people don't fall through the cracks, provides team accountability, and helps you serve your community better.
Before You Begin
Options vs. Assignments: You must first create "Follow Up Options" (the templates or categories of tasks) before you can assign them to specific people.
Permissions: A user must have a role with "Follow Ups" checked in their permissions to be displayed in the "Assigned to" list.
Defaults: When assigning a Follow Up, the default user and timeframe associated with that option will automatically appear, though you can adjust them on the fly.
Creating or Editing Follow Up Options
You can create new follow-up categories from scratch or edit existing ones to reassign owners.
Navigate to Follow Ups > Options.
Click Add New Option in the upper right.
Fill in the required fields to configure your template.
Click Create to make this an eligible option for future assignments.
Understanding the Option Fields:
Name: The title of the Follow Up (e.g., "New Attendee", "Baptism", "Youth Ministry").
Description: A brief explanation of the purpose (e.g., "Please send a 'thanks for visiting' card in the mail").
Assigned to: The default staff member or volunteer who should receive the notice and be responsible for completing the task.
Time to Complete: The default number of days before the assignment is marked "due".
Assigning a Follow Up
There are several ways to assign a Follow Up depending on where you are working in the database.
| Assignment Method | How to Do It |
|---|---|
| During Profile Creation | While adding a new person via the "People" tab, click Assign Follow Ups on the right side of the screen before clicking the final "Add Person" button. |
| From an Existing Profile | Navigate to the person's profile, click Follow Ups on the left menu, click Assign Follow Up in the upper right, select your option, and click Assign. |
| From the Follow Ups Menu | Navigate to Follow Ups, click Assign Follow Up, search for the person's name, select the option, and click Assign. |
| To Multiple People at Once | Navigate to Follow Ups, click Assign Follow Up, type the first person's name, click Add Another Person, and repeat. Select your option and click Assign. |
| To an Entire Tag | Navigate to Follow Ups, click Assign Follow Up, type the name of the Tag in the search box, select the option, and click Assign. You can remove individuals from the resulting list if needed. |
Managing Your Assignments
Once a Follow Up is assigned, you can track, edit, complete, or delete it from the main Follow Ups dashboard.
Editing or Reassigning: Navigate to Follow Ups, search for the assignment, and click the edit icon on the right. Make your changes to the due date, notes, or assignee, and click Save.
Marking Complete: Assignees can mark tasks complete by clicking the "Complete" button directly in their email notification (which allows them to add an optional note) or by checking the box next to the assignment under Follow Ups > Assigned To Me.
Deleting: Search for the specific assignment, click the delete icon on the right, and click OK to confirm.
Searching: Navigate to Follow Ups > All Assignments and use the search criteria at the top to filter by complete or incomplete status. Click the columns icon on the right to adjust which information fields are visible.
Bulk Actions: Navigate to Follow Ups > All Assignments, apply your desired filters, click the dropdown menu next to "Download as Excel", and click Show Actions. You can now email, text, export, or tag the people associated with those Follow Ups.
Follow Up Notification Settings
By default, Follow Up notifications are turned on for each user. When assigned a task, the user receives an immediate email containing the task details, due date, contact info, and a direct link to mark it complete (no login required).
Assignment Notifications: To toggle assignment alerts on or off, navigate to Follow Ups, click the bell icon in the upper right, adjust your settings, and click Save.
Weekly Summary Emails: To receive a weekly email listing all your assigned, completed, and past-due tasks, click your user profile icon in the top right corner, click Notifications, select the Follow Ups notification, and click Update.