Center meetings are scheduled recurring gatherings where all groups within a center come together to coordinate their collective financial activities. Meeting schedules help organize loan collections, track attendance across multiple groups, and facilitate center-wide coordination.

Understanding Center Meeting Schedules

When a meeting schedule is attached to a center, Symba Microbanking automatically:

• Calculates the next 10 upcoming meeting dates based on the frequency
• Displays the next meeting date on the center details page
• Updates meeting dates dynamically as time progresses
• Tracks meeting attendance for all groups within the center
• Automatically applies the meeting schedule to all groups in the center

The center meeting schedule takes precedence over individual group meeting schedules. Groups that are part of a center inherit the center's meeting schedule and cannot have their own independent meeting schedules.

Attaching a Meeting Schedule

You can attach a meeting schedule to an active center that doesn't already have a meeting schedule.

Prerequisites

• The center must be activated
• The center must not already have a meeting schedule attached

Steps

• Log in to Symba Microbanking with a user account that has permission to create meetings.
• Navigate to the center's detail page
• Click the button
• Select "More" → "Attach Meeting"
• Configure the meeting schedule:
  • Meeting Start Date: The date of the first meeting
  • Repeats: How often the meeting occurs (Weekly, Monthly, etc.)
  • Frequency: The interval (e.g., every 1 week, every 2 weeks)
  • Repeats On: For weekly meetings, select which day(s) of the week
• Click "Submit"

The center now has a meeting schedule attached. The next meeting date will display on the center details page and will update automatically as meetings pass. All groups within the center automatically inherit this meeting schedule.

Editing a Meeting Schedule

You can modify an existing meeting schedule to change the frequency, start date, or meeting days.

Prerequisites

• The center must have a meeting schedule attached
• You must have permission to update meetings

Steps

• Log in to Symba Microbanking with a user account that has permission to update meetings.
• Navigate to the center's detail page
• In the meeting frequency section, click the icon next to the frequency
• Modify the meeting schedule settings as needed
• Click "Submit"

Changes to the meeting schedule take effect immediately, and the next meeting date will be recalculated. All groups within the center will reflect the updated schedule.

Recording Meeting Attendance

Meeting attendance can be tracked for all groups within the center to monitor participation and compliance with meeting requirements.

Prerequisites

• The center must have a meeting schedule attached
• You must have permission to save or update attendance

Steps

• Log in to Symba Microbanking with a user account that has permission to manage meeting attendance.
• Navigate to the center's detail page
• Click the button
• Select "More" → "Attendance"
• Select the meeting date from the list of upcoming meetings
• For each group in the center, mark attendance for their members
• For each member, mark their attendance status (Present, Absent, etc.)
• Add any notes about the meeting
• Click "Submit"

Attendance records are saved and can be used for reporting and compliance purposes across all groups in the center.

Viewing Next Meeting Date

The next scheduled meeting date is always displayed on the center details page when a meeting schedule is attached:

• The "Meeting Frequency" shows how often meetings occur
• The "Next Meeting on" field displays the date of the upcoming meeting
• This date updates automatically as meetings pass, always showing the next future meeting

Symba Microbanking automatically calculates meeting dates based on the frequency and handles calendar complexities like weekends and holidays according to the configured schedule.

Center vs. Group Meetings

Important distinctions between center and group meetings:

• Center meetings take precedence: Groups within a center cannot have independent meeting schedules
• Inherited schedules: All groups in a center automatically inherit the center's meeting schedule
• Center-wide coordination: Center meetings facilitate coordination across multiple groups
• Combined attendance: Attendance tracking covers all groups within the center at once

To give a group its own independent meeting schedule, the group must not be part of a center.

Related Topics

• Creating centers
• Activating centers
• Managing group meetings
• Groups