Don't have a Planning Center account? No problem. You can use CareRadius with data from any system (PushPay, Realm, Breeze, Excel, etc) by manually pasting your list.

• Step 1: Initialize Sheets

  • Make sure you have clicked the "Initialize Sheets & Tables" button in the System Setup (see above) to create the required tabs.

• Step 2: Enter Leaders

  • Open the Leaders tab.

  • Paste the Name, Email, and Address for each leader.

  • ⚠️ IMPORTANT: You must fill in the Leader ID column.

  • Best Practice: Use the ID from your source system (e.g., their PushPay ID).

  • Fallback: If you don't have a system ID, simply number them "1", "2", "3". Do not leave this blank, or the leader will be ignored.

• Step 3: Enter Members

  • Open the Members tab.

  • Paste your list of members (Name and Address) into the columns.

  • ⚠️ IMPORTANT: You must fill in the Member ID column.

  • Best Practice: We highly recommend pasting the ID exported from your other database (PushPay, Realm, etc.). This ensures you can match the data back later.

  • Fallback: If you are working from a simple list without IDs, you can auto-number the rows (1, 2, 3...). Rows with a blank Member ID will be deleted during assignment.

• Step 4: Skip to Card 3

  • You do not need to use Card 1 (PCO Integration) or Card 2 (Readiness Checker).

  • Jump straight to Card 3: Geocode Missing Addresses to turn your manual addresses into map coordinates.

This connects your Google Sheet to your Planning Center account, keeping your contact information up to date.

• Connect: Click "Connect to Planning Center" and log in with your PCO credentials. Once connected, the dot will turn Green.

• Sync:

  • Sync Members: This feature examines the members already in your sheet and updates their addresses to match those in Planning Center.

  • Sync Leaders: This ensures your leaders' home addresses are up-to-date with the entries in Planning Center.

  • Note: This does not pull in new people. To add new people, use the "Import from PCO Form" card or the "Quick Insert" menu option.

• Switching Accounts: If you need to switch to a different church account, click Disconnect, then click the "Log out of Planning Center" link that appears.

"Geocoding" is just a fancy word for finding GPS coordinates. The system needs this to calculate drive times.

• When to run: Run this immediately after adding new members or leaders, or after running a Sync.

• What happens: The system scans your sheets for blank coordinates and fills them in with the correct Latitude and Longitude using Google Maps.

Use this tool to keep your system healthy without rebuilding the entire database.

• Run Repair Tool: Scans your entire member list for three issues:

  1. Missing Data: Calculates distances for any members skipped in previous runs.

  2. Corrupted Data: Fixes any "0 mile" or error entries caused by API glitches.

  3. Expired Data: Refreshes calculations older than 30 days to account for people moving.

• Repair Log: If the tool finds duplicate entries or fixes errors, it will automatically generate a Repair Log sheet detailing exactly what was changed.

• What to do: Click Run Verification.

• Where to look: Open the "Assignment Verification" tab at the bottom of your spreadsheet.

• What it shows:

  • High Travel Time: Members driving longer than your settings allow.

  • Split Families: Families assigned to different leaders (bad!).

  • Capacity Overflow: Leaders who have too many people.

Duplicates: People listed twice.

Interactive Map Dashboard

1. Launching the Dashboard

• Open the CareRadius Sidebar.

• Scroll down to the Interactive Map card.

• Click the blue Launch Map Dashboard button.

• The map will open in a large, full-screen overlay window.

2. Filtering & Selecting Leaders The map starts blank to give you a clear canvas. To visualize your network:

• Click the Select Leaders (Multi) dropdown in the top-left control panel.

• Search: Type a name to find specific leaders quickly.

• Select: Check the box next to a leader's name.

  • 1st Leader appears in Blue.

  • 2nd Leader appears in Red.

  • 3rd Leader appears in Yellow, and so on.

• Batch Select: Use the "Select All" or "Deselect All" links to toggle the entire list.

3. Identifying Coverage Gaps To instantly spot members falling through the cracks:

• Open the Select Leaders dropdown.

• Check the very first option: ⚠️ Unassigned Members.

• Bright Red Dots will appear on the map. These are members currently not assigned to any leader.

• Pro Tip: Turn on a specific Leader AND the Unassigned Members layer simultaneously to visually check if that leader has the capacity to take them in.

4. Real-Time Assignment & Reassignment The map isn't just for viewing—it's for taking action. You can manage your ministry directly from the dashboard:

• Click Any Dot: Select a Member (Red or Green) to view their Name, Address, and Current Status.

• Assign or Move: Click the blue "Assign to Leader" (or "Reassign") button inside the info card.

• Instant Updates: Select any leader from the dropdown list and click Confirm.

  • The member's dot will instantly turn Green to show they are covered.

  • The change is automatically saved to your Google Sheet in real-time.

5. Adjusting Service Radius Every leader has a circle representing their "Service Area" (how far they are willing/able to serve).

• Use the Service Radius slider in the control panel to adjust this from 1 mile up to 50 miles.

• The circles on the map will expand or contract instantly to help you visualize realistic travel zones versus actual member locations.

6. Using the Heat Map To get a big-picture view of your member concentration:

• Click the 🔥 Show Heatmap button located in the Map Key in the bottom right corner of the screen.

• The individual member dots will disappear and be replaced by a glowing red/orange heat map showing your highest areas of density.

• Smart Filtering: The heat map respects your current filters! It will only generate heat for the members belonging to the leaders you currently have checked in the top-left panel.

• Pro Tip: Uncheck everyone except ⚠️ Unassigned Members and turn on the Heat Map to instantly see exactly where your biggest geographical needs are.

• Click Hide Heatmap to return to the standard pin view.

Leader Manager & Manual Tools

Available on: All Plans

Sometimes automation isn't enough. When you need precise control over your leadership team or need to handle a resignation gracefully, the Leader Manager card gives you the keys.

1. Leader Profile Management Select any leader from the dropdown to instantly view their current load and edit their rules:

• Max Capacity: Adjust the number of members they can realistically lead.

• Preferred Gender: Set specific targets (e.g., Men’s Group, Women’s Group, or Co-Ed).

• Campus Assignment: Lock a leader to a specific physical campus (e.g., "North").

• Batch Tools: Need to update everyone at once? Use the "Batch Tools" buttons to set a global Max Capacity or Campus for every leader in your sheet instantly.

2. Manual Assignment Overrides Need to place a specific person in a specific group?

• Select a Leader and search for a Member by name.

• Click Assign to instantly link them.

• Note: This creates a "Manual Lock." Future auto-runs will not move this member unless you explicitly clear their assignment.

3. ⚡ Leader Offboarding (Resignation Tool) Handling leadership changes used to take hours of spreadsheet work. Now it takes seconds. When a leader steps down or moves:

• Select the Source Leader (the one leaving).

• Choose a Destination:

  • Specific Leader: Transfer the entire group to a new leader (e.g., a co-leader taking over).

  • 🔄 Auto-Disperse: The system will automatically calculate the nearest available leader for each individual member of the group, respecting gender and capacity rules.

• Click Transfer: The system updates your data instantly, ensuring no member is left behind.

If you want to pull in a specific group of people without syncing your entire database, use this tool. It allows you to import people from any PCO Form (e.g., "Small Group Signup") or PCO List (e.g., "Active Volunteers").

• Choose Source: Click the toggle button at the top to switch between 📋 From Form and 📃 From List.

• Select Item: The dropdown menu will automatically update. Pick the specific Form or List you want to import.

• Import To: Choose whether these people should be added to your Members sheet or Leaders sheet.

• Action:

  • Add To List: Adds the new people to the bottom of your existing list (Safe).

  • Replace List: WARNING! This deletes everyone currently in that sheet and replaces them with the new import.

Need to add just one person quickly without running a full import?

1. Go to the CareRadius Menu at the very top of your Google Sheet under the Extensions tab.

2. Select Quick Insert (By ID).

3. Enter the person's Planning Center ID number.

   • Tip: You can find this ID at the end of the URL when viewing their profile in Planning Center.

   • Example: https://people.planningcenteronline.com/people/AC176848384

   • The ID is the number starting after AC: 176848384.

4. The system will fetch their Name, Address, Email, and Phone number and add them to your sheet instantly.

NOTE: You must first connect to Planning Center using the PCO Integration Card.

CareRadius is designed to work on one dataset at a time. If you have multiple campuses (e.g., "North" and "South") and want to run them separately but keep the data:

1. Run the process for North Campus.

2. Rename your tabs:

   • Double-click Members and rename it Members-North.

   • Double-click Leaders and rename it Leaders-North.

   • (Optional) Rename Assignment Log to Log-North.

3. Reset: Click the Initialize Sheets button in the sidebar again.

4. Result: The system sees the main tabs are missing and creates brand new, empty tabs for your South Campus run. Your North data is safe!

If your data looks messy and you want to start over completely:

1. Go to the Reset Tools card.

2. Click Clear All Assignments.

3. This wipes the "Assigned Leader" column for everyone, giving you a blank slate to re-run the engine.

If your church doesn't need small group assignments right now but wants a powerful demographic mapping tool to visualize the congregation, CareRadius handles that perfectly.

You can use the system purely as a demographic map to decide where to host regional events, target mailers, or launch your next multi-site campus:

1. Load Your Members: Sync your database from Planning Center (or copy/paste them directly into the "Members" tab).

2. Run the Geocoder: Click CareRadius > Geocode Addresses in the top menu. The map cannot read street text directly; it needs the geocoder to convert them into coordinates first.

3. Add the Church Campus: Open the CareRadius Sidebar, go to System Setup, and type in your Church Name and Address to plot it as a central anchor point.

4. Visualize the Heat: Open the Map Dashboard. Since no one is assigned to a leader, check the box for ⚠️ Unassigned Members, then click 🔥 Show Heatmap. You will instantly see a glowing map showing exactly where your congregation lives in relation to your physical campus.

• What it is: A permanent history of every assignment the engine makes.

• What to look for:

  • Method: Did the engine assign them ("AUTO") or did you do it ("MANUAL")?

  • Reason: Why were they assigned there? (e.g., "Best Fit (Prime)" or "Overflow").

• What it is: Your "Error Report."

• How to use it: Always check this tab after running assignments. If it is empty, you did a perfect job! If it has rows, look at the Recommendation column for how to fix the issue.

• What it is: A "Memory Bank" of drive times.

• Do not touch: Generally don't edit this. It prevents the system from checking Google Maps over and over for the same two people, which saves you money and makes the tool faster.

• What it is: A list of addresses Google couldn't find.

• Fix: If a member appears here, go to the Members sheet and fix their address (e.g., fix a typo in the zip code), then run Geocode Missing Addresses again.