Frequently Asked Questions
Cost and Registration
How much does CongPlan cost?
Nothing. CongPlan is free to use – and it will stay that way; all features stay free for everyone. Supporting the project is entirely voluntary, by bank transfer or PayPal. It does not unlock any extra features, advantages, or obligations. The Support CongPlan page shows how.
Who can register a congregation?
A person who is authorized to register this congregation. In the form, they confirm this and accept the current legal documents: the Terms (opens in a new tab), the Data Processing Agreement (opens in a new tab), and the Privacy Notice (opens in a new tab). Only one person does this – everyone else joins later by personal invitation.
What do I need to register?
The form asks for the country, the congregation name, and the language, plus your first name, last name, and email address. Finally, you tick a box to confirm that you are authorized to register the congregation. After that, the congregation exists and you are logged in. Set up a passkey right away: the setup assistant offers it after the first login, and full administration asks you to confirm the current session with a passkey.
Access and Login
How do publishers get access?
An administrator creates the user record and generates a personal invite link, a QR code, or a setup code for it. Those links belong to exactly one person and are not forwarded.
What if someone cannot log in?
CongPlan uses passkeys. If the passkey or the device is unavailable, an administrator creates a new invite or a new device setup link for that account.
Installation and Everyday Use
Does anyone have to install an app from an app store?
No. You can keep using CongPlan directly in the browser. On iPhone and iPad, we recommend the App Store app: passkeys use Face ID or Touch ID, iOS notifications arrive directly, and My Plan is available as a widget. On Android and on a computer, use CongPlan in the browser and install it as a PWA on the home screen if you want. None of this is required.
Does CongPlan work offline?
Data that has already loaded stays visible while the connection is briefly unavailable. Creating and changing users, assignments, tasks, public-witnessing signups, or settings needs a connection so the change can be validated and synchronised for the whole congregation.
How many languages does CongPlan support?
The personal language settings in the app show every interface language currently available. Each publisher chooses their language independently of the congregation’s default language.
Planning and Suggestions
How are assignment suggestions generated?
Suggestions can take qualifications, assignment history, availability, and current planning conflicts into account. A coordinator still reviews them before anything is saved.
Do suggestions change the schedule automatically?
No. Suggestions are drafts. They become part of the schedule only once a coordinator reviews the pending changes and saves them.
Why is someone not suggested for a program part?
Check the qualifications for that assignment, any recorded absences, the field service group context, and whether another conflict already exists.
Common Planning Tasks
How do I plan the visit of the circuit overseer?
You record the visit once as a service week, and CongPlan builds the program of the whole calendar week from it: a service talk replaces the Congregation Bible Study, the Watchtower Study is shortened and followed by a closing talk, and the meetings for field service are linked to the visit. If you correct the data later you regenerate the week; if you delete the visit, the previous program comes back. The four-step wizard is described on the Circuit Overseer Visit page.
How do I record an absence?
An absence is only a date range: you enter a start and an end date, with no reason and no note. From then on CongPlan stops suggesting you for those days, warns planners during manual assignment, and does not ask you for a hand-over at all. Who may record and see absences is explained on the Absences page.
How do I plan Our Christian Life and Ministry Meeting?
Meetings, technical assignments, Meetings for Field Service, and tasks sit in one connected view instead of separate lists. Before anything is saved, CongPlan checks the conflicts and shows the context of the person you are assigning. How that cockpit is laid out is shown on the Plan Our Christian Life and Ministry Meeting page.
How do I plan the Meetings for Field Service?
You enter conductor and location in a month grid, and CongPlan flags conflicts while you choose. Several field service groups fit into one entry, and series cover a steady rhythm. How group overseers manage only their own group is described on the Meetings for Field Service page.
How do I find cover for an assignment?
You request a hand-over in the app instead of starting a phone chain. Only members who are qualified for the assignment and not absent on that date are notified, and whoever accepts takes it over. The process and the coordinator’s view are described on the Hand-over Requests page.
How do I print the congregation schedule?
In the Print Center you choose a template: a single program, a weekly or monthly overview, field service groups, or a role overview. Then you adjust the filters and print directly or export a PDF. Which templates exist is shown on the Print Center page.
Visibility and Privacy
Who can see which user data?
Permissions decide that. Basic visibility can show names and planning context; more detailed user data requires full visibility.
Can one congregation see another congregation’s data?
No. Each congregation’s data is kept separate. Everyone sees only the data of the congregation they belong to.
Is the public schedule page the same as the calendar subscription?
No. The calendar subscription is personal and shows your own entries plus the entries of anyone you actively represent, through a private ICS address. The public schedule page is one congregation-wide QR link for the current week and the next two weeks; without a login it shows meeting times and the meeting points of the Meetings for Field Service, optionally extended with the published program, shortened assignment names, technical assignments, the conductors in the field ministry, and tasks.
Can someone use the same account in several congregations?
No. An account belongs to exactly one congregation. That keeps planning, permissions, and data visibility scoped to that congregation.
Not on CongPlan yet? Getting Started with CongPlan walks through the setup. More questions and answers are in the documentation (opens in a new tab) .