User guide

Using this guide

Each topic on the left is a short explanation of one part of Bowlio. Select a topic to jump to it, or type in the search box. The contents list shrinks to the topics that match, and a count tells you how many are left.

Bowlio looks a little different from club to club. Some clubs do not use rink booking, leagues or text messages, so those menus simply are not there. Where that matters, the topic says "if your club uses it".

Signing in

Open the sign-in page and enter the email address your club has for you. Choose Continue. Bowlio emails you a sign-in link. Open that email on the same phone or computer and follow the link. You are in. You do not need a password for this.

Other ways to sign in

• Passkey. If you have already saved one on this device, use the passkey button. Your fingerprint, face or device unlock does the rest. No email to wait for.
• Password. Choose Sign in another way, then enter your password. Remember me for 30 days keeps you signed in on that device.
• Forgotten password. On the password form, choose Forgotten password? and enter your email. If that address can sign in, Bowlio sends a link so you can choose a new password. The page always says the same thing, whether or not it found an account, so nobody can use it to guess who is a member.

Joining for the first time

A new member does not pick their own password on a public form. Your club sends a personal sign-up link. Open it, confirm it is you, and Bowlio connects that membership to your email. After that, sign in with the email link above. You can add a password later from your profile if you want one.

Starting a club is different. On the sign-in page, Register creates a club, and Start a free trial lets a new club try Bowlio first.

Finding your way around

On a computer the menu is a sidebar down the left. On a phone, tap Menu at the top. The same groups are in both.

• Dashboard is the home page. The Bowlio logo also takes you there.
• Competitions holds Fixtures, and, if your club uses them, Leagues and Cups.
• Club is the everyday club: news, notices, the calendar, directories, rink booking and green maintenance.
• Club Management is for people who run the club: members, payments, reports, settings and messages.
• MyBowlio is yours: your tasks, your payments, your availability, notifications, this guide, and Security.
• Your name at the end of the menu is the account menu: your picture, your club, Edit Profile, and Logout. Club admins also see Manage Subscription here.

You only see the groups your role is allowed to use. A member does not see Club Management. That is expected, not a fault.

Your dashboard

After you sign in you land on the Dashboard. It greets you by name and is the place to start. What you see depends on your role: a member sees their own club life, and someone who runs the club also sees the tools for looking after it.

If Bowlio suggests saving a passkey, you can do that from here. It is optional. The email sign-in link keeps working either way.

The season

Near the top of every page, next to the word Season, is the season you are looking at. Open it to pick another year. The one marked Current is the live season.

Looking at an older season is read-only. You can check fixtures and leagues from that year, but you cannot add or change them until you come back. A banner on the page offers Return to current season when you are looking at a past one.

Fixtures and availability

If your club uses fixtures, open Competitions, then Fixtures. That is the list of matches: who you are playing, when, and where.

To say whether you can play, open MyBowlio, then My Availability. Mark the dates you can and cannot play so the person picking the team can see it. You only see this if your club uses fixtures.

News, notices and the calendar

These live under Club.

• Club News is the club's news page. Read it there; people who run the club can add a story.
• Member Notices are shorter announcements for everyone in the club. Only someone running the club can send one.
• Club Calendar is the diary of what is on.

Finding people and clubs

Club Directory, under Club, lists clubs. Member Directory lists the people in your own club, if your role includes it.

Telephone numbers and email addresses are not all on show. Use the eye icon beside a member to reveal their contact details when you need them, and hide them again when you are done. That keeps the directory useful without leaving everyone's details on the screen.

Booking a rink

If your club uses rink booking, open Club, then Book a rink. The calendar shows what is already taken. Pick a free slot to reserve a rink.

Not every member can book. If you cannot see Book a rink, ask whoever runs the club. The match secretary can book even when ordinary members cannot.

Your own pages

Open MyBowlio. What you see depends on your role.

• My Tasks is work the club has asked you to do, such as a green job. Open a task to see what is needed and to mark it done.
• My Payments is what you owe the club and what you have already paid.
• My Availability is where you say which fixtures you can play. See Fixtures and availability.
• Notifications is where you choose how Bowlio reaches you, and where you can read alerts you have been sent.
• User guide is this page.
• Security is where you manage passkeys. See Your account and security.

Your account and security

Open the menu item with your name on it.

• Edit Profile is your name, email and password. This is where you can set a password if you have only been using the email sign-in link. Members and club staff each have their own profile page, but you always reach it from here.
• Your picture shows next to your name. If you have not added one, Bowlio shows your initials instead.
• Logout signs you out of this device.

Security, under MyBowlio, is for passkeys. A passkey lets you sign in with the unlock you already use on your phone or computer. You can add one for each device you trust, and remove one if you lose the device. You can still sign in by email if you have no passkey.

Looking after members

People who run the club open Club Management, then Member Management. This is the club's list of members.

Along the top you can open Login Management, copy a Sign-up link to send to someone who is not on Bowlio yet, or Add Member.

Each person has a Manage button. Open it and every action is named, with a small icon beside the words:

• Enable login lets that person sign in, and emails them a sign-in link. Bowlio needs an email address on their record first. If there is none, the menu says Email required for login.
• Email a password reset link sends them a link to choose a new password. Their old password keeps working until they use the link. This only appears once they already have a password.
• Disable login stops them signing in. It does not remove them from the club.
• Change membership type is for club admins. It sets the type of membership, which is also what their fee is based on.
• Record payment notes money they have paid. See Payments and reports.
• Edit member changes their details.
• Download this member's data saves a copy of the personal information the club holds about them.
• Erase personal data removes their personal information. Bowlio asks you to confirm before it does this. Use it when the club no longer has a reason to keep those details.

The eye icon in the contact column shows or hides that person's phone and email on this list. It is separate from Manage.

Payments and reports

Under Club Management:

• Payments is the club's money in from members. Record a payment against a member from here, or from their Manage menu. Members see only their own amounts under My Payments.
• Reports brings together figures the club asks for, such as fixtures and payments. Where a page offers it, you can download the list. Excel and PDF downloads appear on the pages that need them; other lists can still be saved as a spreadsheet.

Running fixtures, leagues and cups

This is for the people who organise play, if your club uses these.

• Fixtures is where matches are added, teams are chosen and results are entered.
• Leagues groups fixtures into a league table.
• Cups is for knockout competitions.

All three are under Competitions. Remember the season switcher: you can only change the current season. Switch back to it before you add a match.

Green maintenance

People who look after the green open Club, then Green Maintenance. That is the full list of jobs: what needs doing, who it is assigned to, and whether it is done.

A member who has been given a job does not need this page. Their jobs appear under MyBowlio, then My Tasks.

Messages to members

Under Club Management, Communications Hub is where the club sends email to members.

Conversations is there only if your club uses text messages. It is the inbox for texts members send back, so a conversation stays in one place instead of on someone's personal phone. If you cannot see it, the club has not switched text messages on.

Club settings

Club Settings, under Club Management, is the club's own details.

Club admins also see:

• Membership Pricing, where each membership type and its fee is set. Changing someone's type is done from their Manage menu, not here.
• Import Data, for bringing in an existing member list or other club records from a spreadsheet, rather than typing every row by hand.

Your club's Bowlio subscription

Bowlio itself is paid for by the club, separately from members' fees. A club admin opens their name in the menu, then Manage Subscription, to see the plan and to pay or renew.

If the subscription has ended, most of the club's pages are locked and a message explains that. The admin can still open Manage Subscription to put it right. Everyone can still open User guide and Security, and everyone can still log out.

If a menu item is missing

Two ordinary reasons:

• Your role does not include it. Members do not see Club Management. Only some people can book a rink, change a membership type, or send a notice. Ask a club admin if you need a role changed.
• The club has not switched that part on. Fixtures, leagues, cups, rink booking and text messages can each be off. The menu leaves them out rather than showing a page you cannot use.

The System menu is different again. It is only for the people who run Bowlio itself, not for a club. Club staff never see it.

Getting help

Start with the search box at the top of this page. Most "how do I…" questions match a topic.

If you are stuck on something this guide does not cover, or something looks wrong, email support@bowlio.co.uk. Say which club you are in and what you were trying to do. A short description of what you expected, and what happened instead, is usually enough.