Plan required: the structure described here works on every plan. Sites, the extra layer covered in question 7, needs Enterprise or Ultimate.

Overview

Almost every question about how to set up a Vome portal comes down to one thing: knowing which layer a piece of information belongs to.

The hierarchy is:

Organization > (optionally Sites) > Categories > Opportunities > Shifts

Read this table first. Everything below expands on it.

The one to get right is Opportunities. That is the level where access is decided.

1. What is a Category?

A Category is a folder. It groups Opportunities so your portal stays navigable, and it does nothing else.

Categories are not assignable. Nobody is ever "in" a Category. If you find yourself wanting to give someone access to a Category, what you actually want is an Opportunity.

Categories commonly represent departments, locations, programs, events, or a broad grouping such as "All Special Events".

2. How should I structure my Categories?

It depends on how your organization actually operates. Four common shapes:

For a single large event, the event name works well as the Category, with each task as an Opportunity inside it. For many small events, one "Events" Category with an Opportunity per event is simpler.

If you are not sure which shape fits, contact Vome Support. We can help you map it out.

3. What is an Opportunity?

An Opportunity is the level that controls access. Every Opportunity:

• Must sit inside a Category.
• Is assignable. People are approved for it.
• Acts as the gateway to a schedule. Someone sees a shift only if they are approved for the Opportunity that shift belongs to.

An Opportunity can be a recurring program, an ongoing need, or one specific event such as an annual fundraiser.

Attention: an Opportunity is a container, not a schedule. Putting a date in the title does not create anything bookable. You still need at least one shift before anyone can reserve a spot. This is the single most common setup mistake.

4. What is a Shift, and what does it need?

A Shift is a time-based task inside an Opportunity. Only people approved for that Opportunity can see or reserve it.

Every shift requires three things:

• A date
• A start and end time
• A maximum number of spots, which caps reservations

Optionally you can add:

• Shift title, useful for separating roles within one event.
• Shift description.
• Shift location, which defaults to the Opportunity's location and can be overridden per batch.
• Coordinators, the point of contact, who also receive notifications.
• Watchers, who receive notifications without being listed as the contact.
• Waitlist policy, deciding whether people can add themselves when a shift is full or whether that is admin-managed.
• Shift tags, for colour coding and reporting. A tag cuts across Opportunities, so you can tag shifts as "Special Events" wherever they live.
• Notification policy, custom messages sent before, during or after a shift.

5. Who can see which shift details?

You control each detail separately, and you control when it becomes visible:

• Before reservation, on the shift preview.
• After reservation, in the person's own schedule.
• Never, meaning admin-only.

The details you can control this way are the shift title, description, location, the list of other attendees (first and last name only), and those attendees' reservation statuses such as Reserved, Attendance Confirmed, Checked-In or Logged Hours.

6. How do I show a shift to only some people?

Use Advanced Reservation Restrictions together with a profile tag.

1. Assign a profile tag to the people who qualify, from the Database. For example "First Aid Certified".
2. Set that same tag as a restriction on the shift.

The shift is then visible only to someone who is approved for the Opportunity and carries the tag. Both conditions have to be true.

This pairs well with shift titles. For a gala, one Opportunity can hold shifts titled Greeter, Usher and Server, with only the ones requiring certification restricted.

7. What are Sites, and do I need them?

Sites are an extra layer available on Enterprise and Ultimate. They sit directly under your Organization and can represent a specific location such as a hospital or library, a city or region, or any administrative division that suits you.

Unlike Categories, Sites are assignable. Someone assigned to a Site gets a dedicated Sites page where they can browse and apply to the featured Opportunities linked to it.

You can connect a Site to your structure in two ways:

• Link a whole Category to a Site, which links every Opportunity inside it.
• Link individual Opportunities to a Site, leaving the rest of the Category alone.

Decide your Sites before you name your Categories. The two structures should agree with each other, or reporting gets confusing later.

8. Can I reuse shift setups instead of rebuilding them?

Yes. Use shift templates, reachable from the Manage shift templates button at the top right of the Create Shifts popup.

A template stores the core details: title, description, default time and location.

• Templates are not tied to an Opportunity, so you can apply any template anywhere.
• Applying one loads its values into the shift creation form.
• You can still change any field before generating the shifts.
• Edits you make after applying affect only that batch. They do not update the saved template.

Summary

• The hierarchy is Organization, optionally Sites, then Categories, Opportunities and Shifts.
• Categories are folders and are never assignable.
• Opportunities decide access. This is the level that matters most.
• An Opportunity with no shifts cannot be booked, whatever its title says.
• Profile tags plus reservation restrictions narrow a shift to qualified people.
• Sites are Enterprise and Ultimate, and they are assignable.

Where to go next

• How is Vome structured?
• How do Sites work on Vome?
• Still unsure how to shape your portal? Contact Vome Support.