Quick Start Guide

Welcome to Lotus! This guide will walk you through the essential steps to get your school configured and ready to manage your members, classes, and payments.

This is the most important first step. Your business information will be used on receipts, forms, and for payment processing.

1. Navigate to Setup > Business Profile from the main menu.
2. Fill in your organization's details:
   • Organization Name
   • Owner's Name
   • Address, Phone, and Website
3. Set up Payment Integration: To accept digital payments, connect your Stripe account by entering your Payment Public Key and Payment Private Key.
4. Click Save Profile.

Before adding members, it's best to set up the programs and classes you offer.

1. Create Groups / Ranks:
   • Go to Setup > Groups / Ranks.
   • Click + Add Group to define the different ranks, belt levels, or programs at your school (e.g., "Beginner," "Black Belt Club," "Kids Program").
2. Create Classes:
   • Go to Setup > Classes.
   • Click + Add Class to create your weekly class schedule.
   • Define the class name, the days it's held, and the start/end times.
3. (Optional) Add Inventory:
   • If you sell gear or other items, go to Setup > Items.
   • Click + New Product to add items like uniforms, belts, or equipment to your inventory.

Now you can start adding your students to the system.

1. Navigate to Main > Members.
2. Click + Add Member.
3. Fill in the member's basic information (Name, Email, Phone) and set their Member Status (e.g., Active, Trial, Prospect).
4. Enroll them in Classes and Groups: On the member edit screen, you can assign them to the classes and rank groups you created in Step 2.
5. Click Save / Update.

You have two ways to manage payments:

1. Digital Payments (via Stripe):
   • Go to Financial > Digital Payments.
   • Here you can view payment history and manage subscriptions.
   • To take a new one-time or recurring payment, click New Payment. You can charge for inventory items or class plans directly.
2. Manual Payments:
   • Go to Financial > Manual Payments.
   • Click + New Payment to log any payments made by cash, check, or other offline methods. This helps you keep a complete financial record.

Tracking attendance is simple and helps you monitor student engagement.

1. Go to Main > Attendance.
2. Select the Class and Date from the dropdowns.
3. Click Load Member List.
4. Check the boxes for the members who attended and click Process Attendance.

That's it! With these five steps completed, your school is set up and ready to go. You can now explore other features like Reports and Emails to further streamline your school's management.

While not required for basic operation, setting up Rooms and Schedules provides powerful tools for managing your class logistics. This allows you to assign specific locations, instructors, and capacities to your classes on a recurring or one-time basis, forming the foundation for detailed attendance tracking and resource management.