Customizable Program Options to Help Save Time

• Before entering ministers and masses, you can customize the program to eliminate redundant data entry for shared family information and frequently entered cities and states. This also helps reduce data entry errors.
• Modify mass labels and ministry names to mirror the terminology used in your parish.
• Specify time-of-day ranges, preference management, and tailor scheduling options.
• Define and assign an attribute or class name to a group of ministers. Later, use this descriptor to schedule ministers from a specific group or to filter for a ministry type.
• Set up the screens and processes you use and access the most with the Personalized Favorites Menu.

Straightforward Mass Setup

• For each mass entry, select the type of mass.  The program window adjusts to display only the fields needed for the type of mass entered.
• The program automatically names the mass for you, but the parish scheduler can rename the mass if preferred.
• The parish scheduler can easily adjust the number of ministers required for each mass.

Simple Data Synchronization of Ministers

• Ministry Scheduler has the ability to use data you have saved in PDS Church Office™ 5.0B or later.
• Use the PDS Office Data Synchronization wizard to quickly and easily import members and their ministries from PDS Church Office, School Office, or Formation Office. Use this process on an ongoing basis to keep information up-to-date. If synchronization is not an option, you can manually enter ministers and their ministries.

Complete Options for Setting Preferences and Rules for Scheduling

• For each minister, specify days of the week, away periods, and times of day when ministers are unable to serve because of work, vacation, or other commitments. You can also suspend preferences for special masses, such as Christmas Midnight Mass.
• Schedule family members for the same mass. Family groupings may also be disabled if serving at the same mass is undesirable.
• Select an unlimited number of preferred masses at which to serve. To help avoid staffing conflicts, a minister can also specify an unlimited number of particular masses or groups of masses for which he or she should not be scheduled.

Effortless Scheduling

• If a member serves in more than one ministry, assignments will be rotated among the ministries for which the person is
  commissioned. Realizing, however, that there are times when an equitable assigning of ministers is not desired, you can indicate
  direct assignments for each minister. You can also group ministers to serve together.
• There are three types of masses in a church’s schedule: permanent masses that are celebrated the same time each weekend, daily
  masses that are celebrated during the week, and special masses such as the Easter Vigil Mass that occur at a specific time and date. Because different groups of people can be assigned to each of these masses for each minister, you can indicate the type of mass to which they are permitted to be assigned.
• For each mass in your schedule, you can assign a specific minister class type to it. By assigning ministers to a class type and a class type to each mass, you can ensure that only ministers in the same classification will receive assignments at the mass. For example, you can assign 6th grade ministers as altar servers for the same mass.
• For each minister, you can indicate the maximum number of ministries per week for which they may be scheduled. The program
  limits the number of ministries a person can perform to one per day.
• Liturgies or masses are ordered chronologically with attention to an individual minister’s time and changing mass schedules.

Publish Schedules and More

• Print the mass schedule for a specified date range and include all of the ministries or any subset of them. You can also limit the schedule to a particular type of mass.
• Design a custom report to print minister information lists.
• Print mailing labels or individual schedule labels.
• Print a list of ministers that prefer a particular mass.
• Generate reports that show who received assignments and the number of assignments received.

• Quickly locate entries in your written registers and help preserve your valuable sacramental records with the optional Sacramental Register add-on feature. The PDS Sacramental Register provides a searchable electronic database of all your sacramental records.
• Secure your vital data. LiveStor® is a remote backup program designed to protect your most valuable data files by automatically transferring them over the Internet and storing them safely in our secure servers. Backup any type of file, schedule automatic backups,
  and monitor performance online.
• Connect with your members online. PDS Connects™ is a Web-based companion to your church database, giving your members and staff  access to vital information over the Internet creating an online directory.
• Get anytime, anywhere access to all your data. PDS OnDemand™ is a flexible and secure hosted solution that enables you to use all of your PDS desktop software whenever and wherever you need to.
• Promote your facility on the Web. Reach out to the community around you and start growing your numbers with an innovative Web site.  Extend™ is an online content management solution for organizations that want to edit their Web sites quickly and easily. 
   

All PDS software solutions come with comprehensive support and training options, including:

• FREE 90-day enrollment into our Preferred Client Program, which provides unlimited telephone and email support, 24/7 access to the  Online Knowledge Base, free software upgrades, plus much more.
• Comprehensive, context-sensitive Help documents accessible with F1 Key.
• Access to a variety of training formats including self-paced online videos, customized training online or at your facility, and an annual conference.