IN BRIEF
The Camp Alias feature helps simplify camp registration by grouping multiple camp schedule blocks under a shared alias label. When enabled, customers can select an alias option (such as a half-day or weekly option) instead of selecting individual camp dates, while staff members can still enroll students at the block level when needed.
- Overview
- Accessing the Feature
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- Troubleshooting & FAQs
- Related Articles
Overview
The Camp Alias feature allows a business to “bundle” signup for different blocks (scheduled dates/times) within the same camp. This is useful when a camp schedule includes multiple blocks that should be selected together as a single registration option (for example, all morning blocks in a one-week camp, or all blocks that make up “Week 1” of a multi-week camp).
To use this feature, aliases are added to each schedule block. Blocks that share the same alias are grouped together automatically for registration selection. The alias label becomes the label customers and staff see for those grouped blocks.
Accessing the Feature
- Navigate to Camp.
- Create a new camp or open an existing camp you want to configure.
- Select the Customer Portal tab.
- Enable "Allow Parents To Choose Days".
- Enable "Display Schedule Alias in Place of Schedule Details".
Step-by-Step Instructions
Decide how aliases should group your schedule
Before building the camp schedule, decide what each alias should represent (for example, “AM (Mornings),” “PM (Afternoons),” or “Week 1,” “Week 2,” etc.). The alias' spelling and formatting must be consistent, because blocks are grouped only when the alias text matches exactly.
Scenario 1: One Week with Half Day and Full Day Options
In this case, we will provide an example where a business wishes to offer customers the option to sign up for just mornings, just afternoons or full days for a week-long camp. To start, turn on the Alias option under the Customer Portal tab.
Setting Up the Camp's Schedule
My camp is a week-long camp, where each weekday will occur only once. Therefore, I can use the Weekly Schedule (Weekdays) option to create my camp schedule. When adding the camp schedule, you will see a new "Alias" field located next to the time slot you are adding. Type in your custom label, then click "Add Time Slot" to include it in the schedule for the camp.
When you are finished adding the blocks to your schedule, you will notice that they have been sorted by alias, with each unique alias displaying in bold.
Note: The spelling of your camp alias is very important. Even accidentally adding extra spaces can create a new alias.
Setting Up the Camp Pricing
Camp pricing will still be dictated by the camp pricing schedule, which calculates a student's tuition by the number of blocks (dates/times) the student is registered for on the camp schedule. In this example, the week is 5 days long, with two blocks per day.
This means that the pricing schedule will then have to cover pricing for up to 10 blocks. The schedule for this camp has been split up so that customers can choose to sign up for 5 blocks (just mornings or just afternoons) or for 10 blocks (both mornings and afternoons). The pricing schedule will, therefore, have to have pricing for both 5 blocks and 10 blocks to work properly.
In the pricing schedule below - the first student from a family will pay $45 for 5 blocks (just mornings or just afternoons). If the student signs up for both mornings and afternoons for a total of 10 blocks, he/she will be billed $90.
While customers will be restricted to choosing either 5 or 10 blocks, staff members can still book students for individual days. Including pricing for 1-4 and 6-9 blocks in the pricing schedule will ensure that the correct pricing is included for all scenarios.
What Staff Members See When Booking a Student
When a staff member enrolls a student into a camp, they will see a schedule similar to what is seen on the camp itself. The blocks for the camp will be grouped by alias. This allows them to easily select blocks by alias, in addition to the day of week options.
What Customers See When Booking Online
When booking online, customers will see two simplified registration options, AM (Mornings) and PM (Afternoons). Since the Camp Alias feature allows grouping camp blocks together that are not necessarily in chronological order (e.g., grouping all camp blocks that meet on a specific day of the week over several weeks), Aliases will always be listed in alphabetical order.
Clicking on View Schedule will show the list of blocks that are included in each alias option.
Selecting both morning and afternoon will register the student for both sets of schedules, or for the full day offered in the schedule.
Scenario 2: Multi-Week Camps with Weekly Signup
In this case, we will provide an example where a business wishes to offer a camp that lasts several weeks, but requires customers to sign up for a minimum of one week at a time.
Setting Up the Camp's Schedule
This camp lasts 6 weeks, but since I want the first Monday and the second Monday to be grouped into two separate weeks for registration, I will need to enter each Monday separately and give it its own alias. For this reason, the camp's schedule will have to be added as a "Daily Schedule (Specific Dates)". When adding the camp schedule, you will see a new "Alias" field located next to the time slot you are adding. Type in your custom label, then click "Add Time Slot" to include it in the schedule for the camp.
Note: The spelling of your camp alias is very important. Even accidentally adding extra spaces can create a new alias.
Setting Up the Camp Pricing
Camp pricing will still be dictated by the camp pricing schedule, which calculates a student's tuition by the number of blocks (dates/times) the student is registered for on the camp schedule. In this example, the camp is 6 weeks long, with 5 blocks per week.
This means that the pricing schedule will then have to cover pricing for up to 30 blocks (6 weeks x 5 blocks). The schedule for this camp has been split up so that customers can choose to sign up for 5 blocks (one week) at a time. The pricing schedule will, therefore, have to have pricing set for every 5 blocks to calculate properly.
In the pricing schedule below - the first student from a family will pay $45 for 5 blocks (one week) and an additional $40 for each week after that.
While customers will be restricted to choosing increments of 5 blocks, staff members can still book students for individual days. Including pricing for 1-4 blocks, 6-9 blocks, etc. in the pricing schedule will ensure that the correct pricing is included for all scenarios.
What Staff Members See When Booking a Student
When a staff member enrolls a student into a camp, they will see a schedule similar to what is seen on the camp itself. The blocks for the camp will be grouped by alias. This allows them to easily select blocks by alias, in addition to the day of week options.
What Customers See When Booking Online
When booking online, customers will see simplified registration options for each week-long alias. Since the Camp Alias feature allows grouping camp blocks together that are not necessarily in chronological order (e.g., grouping all camp blocks that meet on a specific day of the week over several weeks), Aliases will always be listed in alphabetical order.
Clicking on View Schedule will show the list of blocks that are included in each alias option.
Selecting multiple weeks will register the student for all of the blocks included in each alias and price accordingly.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
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Why do I see multiple alias options that should be the same?
- Alias text must match exactly. Even extra spaces or minor spelling differences can create a new alias group. Review the alias values on each schedule block and ensure they are consistent.
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Why can staff enroll students by individual days, but customers cannot?
- Customers select registration options based on alias groupings (and are typically limited to specific block totals like five or ten). Staff enrollment screens still allow block-level selections, so pricing should include partial block totals to ensure correct tuition calculations.
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Why are alias options not shown in date order?
- Aliases are always listed in alphabetical order because they can group blocks that are not necessarily chronological (for example, grouping all blocks that meet on the same weekday across multiple weeks).