Help & How-To

Creating a booking

1. Go to Home. Use the aircraft buttons at the top of the page to select the aircraft you want to book.
2. Click any date on the calendar. The day detail panel will open below the calendar.
3. Click the green New Booking button in the top-right of the day panel.
4. In the booking dialog, click on the timeline bar to set your start time, or use the Start Time and End Time dropdowns directly.
5. If the booking runs past midnight, set the End Date field.
6. Optionally select an Instructor, enter a Destination (e.g. YSBK), and add Notes.
7. If your group has custom booking attributes defined (e.g. Hobbs Out, Flight Purpose), fill them in. Required attributes must be completed before the booking can be saved.
8. Click Book. The calendar refreshes and your booking appears immediately.

Editing a booking

1. On the Home page, click the date the booking is on to open the day detail panel.
2. Click the booking in the day panel — an Edit button appears on the booking strip.
3. The booking dialog opens pre-filled with the existing details. Update the time, destination, notes or instructor as needed.
4. Click Save Changes.

Cancelling a booking

You can cancel from the Home calendar or from My Bookings:

1. Choose one of the two paths above:
   • From Home: click the date to open the day panel, click the booking in the panel, then click the Cancel button that appears on the booking strip.
   • From My Bookings: find the booking in the list, open the Actions dropdown on its row, and choose Cancel Booking.
2. Select a reason from the dropdown (e.g. Weather, Booked in Error).
3. Click Cancel Booking to confirm.

1. Go to My Bookings and find the booking you want to move. Only future bookings can be moved.
2. Open the Actions dropdown on the booking row and choose Change Aircraft.
3. A dialog appears listing all aircraft available to you. Select the new aircraft from the dropdown.
4. Click Change Aircraft to confirm. The booking moves immediately.

ABS provides calendar feeds in standard .ics format that you can subscribe to from Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, or any calendar app that supports calendar subscriptions. There are two available feeds.

1. Personal feed —your bookings only

Go to Profile, stay on the Profile tab and find the Bookings Calendar row. Click Copy iCal Link —the feed URL is copied to your clipboard. Paste it into your calendar app as a new calendar subscription.

2. Single aircraft feed — all bookings for one aircraft

On the Home page, click an aircraft button to select it. The aircraft detail card appears on the left. Click the calendar icon at the bottom of the card — the feed URL for that aircraft is copied to your clipboard. Subscribe to it in your calendar app to see all bookings for that aircraft.

Booking attributes are custom fields that appear in the booking dialog when a pilot creates or edits a booking — for example Hobbs Out, Landings, or Flight Purpose. Define them once and they apply to all bookings in your group.

Creating a booking attribute

1. Go to Profile and click the Group Settings tab on the left.
2. Scroll down to the Manage Custom Booking Attributes section.
3. In the Add Attribute form at the bottom, enter a Name (e.g. Hobbs Out).
4. Choose a Type:
   • Text — free text.
   • Number — whole number.
   • Decimal — number with decimal places.
   • Date — date only.
   • Date & Time — date and time.
   • Document — file upload.
5. Tick Required if the field must be filled in before a booking can be saved.
6. Click Add. The attribute immediately appears in the booking dialog for all users.

Managing existing booking attributes

The Manage Custom Booking Attributes table lists all defined attributes. From here you can:

• Rename — click the attribute name (it is underlined) to edit it inline. Press Enter or click away to save.
• Toggle Required — tick or untick the Required checkbox on the row. The change saves immediately.
• Delete — click the Delete button on the row. This permanently removes the attribute definition and all stored values from every booking. This cannot be undone.

Every booking has a type. There are two built-in system types — Normal (the default) and, for background/administrative use, Maintenance and Blackout — plus any custom types your group creates (e.g. Check Flight, Charter). A booking's type is shown as a coloured tag on the calendar and controls who can create it and whether it can be scheduled over other bookings.

Creating a custom booking type

1. Go to Profile and click the Group Settings tab on the left.
2. Scroll down to the Manage Booking Types section. It lists Normal, Maintenance and Blackout (marked system) followed by any custom types already created for your group.
3. In the Add Custom Type form at the bottom, enter a Name and pick a Colour — this colour is used for the booking's tag and calendar border.
4. Tick Allow Overlap if bookings of this type should be able to be scheduled over existing bookings (see below for exactly what this does).
5. Click Add. The new type immediately appears in the table and becomes available wherever bookings are created.

Assigning permissions

Each row in the Manage Booking Types table has Pilot, Instructor and Group Admin checkbox columns. Ticking a box lets that role create a booking of that type; unticking it hides the type from that role when they create a booking. Changes save immediately — there is no separate save step.

How Allow Overlap works

Normally ABS blocks any new booking that overlaps an existing booking on the same aircraft, regardless of type. Allow Overlap changes this only for bookings of that type:

• If the type of the booking you're creating has Allow Overlap ticked, that check is skipped entirely — it can be placed over any existing booking on the aircraft, no matter what type that existing booking is.
• If the type of the booking you're creating does not have Allow Overlap ticked, it still cannot be placed over any existing booking — including one of an Allow Overlap type such as Maintenance or Blackout.

In practice this is why Maintenance and Blackout ship with Allow Overlap already ticked: a maintenance period can be scheduled straight over existing bookings on that aircraft (so it's visible to everyone), but once it exists, no one can then book a Normal flight that overlaps it.

1. Start a new booking as normal from Home (select an aircraft, click a date, click New Booking).
2. If you have access to more than one booking type, a Booking Type dropdown appears in the booking dialog. Choose the type you want (e.g. Maintenance).
3. Fill in the rest of the booking as usual and click Book.

On the calendar, non-Normal bookings show with the type's colour and display their type name in the booking details panel, so Maintenance and Blackout periods (and any custom types) are easy to tell apart from regular bookings at a glance.

Step 1 —Add the aircraft

1. Click Aircraft in the navigation bar.
2. Click the Add Aircraft button.
3. Fill in the details —Registration is required. Manufacturer, Model, Seats, Engines, and Home Base are optional but recommended.
4. Click Save. The aircraft is created immediately.

Step 2 — Assign pilots to the aircraft

1. On the Aircraft page, find the aircraft in the list. On the right side of each row there is a Manage dropdown button.
2. Click Manage › Manage Users.
3. A dialog lists all members in your group. Tick the checkbox next to each pilot who should have access to this aircraft.
4. Click Save. Those users can now see the aircraft on their Home calendar and make bookings.

Alternatively, you can manage aircraft access user-by-user from Profile › Group Members — click a member, then adjust the Aircraft Access checkboxes in their edit dialog.

1. Click Aircraft in the navigation bar.
2. Click anywhere on an aircraft row — a chevron on the right of each row indicates it can be expanded. The row expands to show additional information including the Document List.
3. Click any document name in the list to download or open it.

Adding a document

1. Click Aircraft in the navigation bar and click the aircraft row to expand it.
2. In the Document List section, click Add New Document.
3. In the dialog that appears, enter a Document Name to describe the file (e.g. “POH” or “Weight & Balance”).
4. Drag a file into the drop zone, or click the drop zone to browse for a file.
5. Click Upload/Update. The document will appear in the list immediately.

Editing or replacing a document

1. In the Document List, click the pencil icon on the document row.
2. Update the Document Name or drop in a replacement file.
3. Click Upload/Update to save your changes.

Deleting a document

1. Open the document's edit dialog using the pencil icon.
2. Click the red Delete File button. The document is permanently removed.

1. Click Profile in the navigation bar, then select the Group Members tab on the left.
2. Click the Add Member button.
3. Fill in the member's details:
   • First Name —required.
   • Username —required, used for login.
   • Password —set an initial password the user can change later.
   • Email —required, used for notifications.
   • Phone —optional.
   • Role —Pilot, Instructor, or Group Admin.
4. If your group has custom attributes defined, they will also appear in the dialog and can be filled in at creation time.
5. Click Add Member. The user is created and will appear in the Group Members list immediately.

There are two ways to manage aircraft access —from the user side or from the aircraft side. Both achieve the same result.

Option A —from the user (Profile)

1. Go to Profile › Group Members and click the member's name to open their edit dialog.
2. Scroll to the Aircraft Access section. Each aircraft in your group is listed with a checkbox.
3. Tick or untick aircraft to grant or remove access.
4. Click Save Changes.

Option B — from the aircraft (Aircraft page)

1. Go to Aircraft and find the aircraft in the list.
2. Click the Manage dropdown on the right side of the row and choose Manage Users.
3. Tick or untick the users who should have access to that aircraft.
4. Click Save.

User attributes are custom fields that appear on every member’s profile — for example Medical Expiry, Licence Number, or ASIC Number. Define them once and they apply to all members.

Creating a user attribute

1. Go to Profile and click the Group Settings tab on the left.
2. Scroll down to the Manage Custom User Attributes section.
3. In the Add Attribute form at the bottom, enter a Name (e.g. Medical Expiry).
4. Choose a Type:
   • Text — free text, e.g. licence number.
   • Number — whole number.
   • Decimal — number with decimal places.
   • Date — date only, shown in red when the date has passed.
   • Date & Time — date and time.
   • Document — file upload.
5. Choose what Users can do with their own value:
   • Edit — the member can view and update their own value.
   • View only — the member can see their value but not change it.
   • Hidden — the attribute is invisible to members; admin-only.
6. Tick Required if a value must be present on the member’s profile.
7. Click Add. The attribute immediately appears on every member’s profile.

Managing existing user attributes

The Manage Custom User Attributes table lists all defined attributes. From here you can:

• Rename — click the attribute name (it is underlined) to edit it inline. Press Enter or click away to save.
• Change user permission — click the Users can value to get a dropdown. Switch between Edit, View only, and Hidden.
• Toggle Required — tick or untick the Required checkbox on the row. The change saves immediately.
• Delete — click the Delete button on the row. This permanently removes the attribute definition and all stored values for every member. This cannot be undone.

Attributes are custom fields defined for your group (e.g. Medical Expiry, Licence Number, ASIC). Admins can view and edit attribute values for any member.

1. Go to Profile › Group Members and click the member’s name.
2. Scroll to the Custom Attributes section in their edit dialog.
3. Update the values as needed and click Save Changes.

On your own Profile page, the Pilot Data card shows all attributes your group has defined. If an attribute allows user editing, click its value badge — it becomes an inline input. Press Enter or click away to save.

Your profile fields —Username, First Name, Last Name, Email, and Phone —are edited inline directly on the Profile page.

1. Click Profile in the navigation bar. You will land on the Profile tab.
2. Click the pencil icon (✎) next to any field you want to change. The field switches to an editable input.
3. Type the new value and click Save, or click Cancel to discard the change. A “Saved” confirmation appears briefly when successful.

1. Go to Profile and click the Group Members tab on the left.
2. Click the member’s name in the list to open their edit dialog.
3. Update any of the following as needed:
   • Name, Username, Email, Phone —contact and login details.
   • Role —Pilot, Instructor, or Group Admin.
   • Active —toggle off to suspend the user. They cannot log in while suspended, but their booking history is preserved.
   • Aircraft Access —tick or untick aircraft to grant or remove access.
   • Custom Attributes —update any group-defined fields such as medical expiry or licence number.
4. Click Save Changes. Changes take effect immediately.

The View as control in the top header lets admins temporarily browse the system through another user’s eyes —useful for checking what a pilot can see, troubleshooting access issues, or confirming that aircraft and bookings appear correctly for a specific member.

1. In the header bar, find the View as dropdown. It lists all members in your group.
2. Select the member you want to view as and click Go.
3. A banner appears below the header confirming who you are acting as: Acting as: [Name]. The system now shows data exactly as that user would see it —their aircraft access, their bookings, their profile.
4. To return to your own view, click the × Stop link in the banner, or select — myself — from the dropdown and click Go.

1. Go to Profile and click the Group Settings tab on the left.
2. Find the Account Timezone row and select your timezone from the dropdown.
3. Click Save. The setting takes effect immediately.

Group attributes are custom fields that appear on every member's profile —for example Medical Expiry, Licence Number, or ASIC Number. Define them once and they apply to all members.

1. Go to Profile and click the Group Settings tab on the left.
2. Scroll down to the Add Attribute section at the bottom of the page.
3. Enter a Name (e.g. Medical Expiry).
4. Choose a Type:
   • Text —free text, e.g. licence number.
   • Number —numeric value.
   • Date —date only, shown in red when the date has passed.
   • Date & Time —date and time.
5. Choose what Users can do with their own value —Edit, View only, or Hidden (admin-only).
6. Click Add. The attribute immediately appears on every member's profile.

The Manage Custom Attributes table on the Group Settings tab lists all defined attributes. From here you can:

• Rename —click the attribute name (it is underlined) to edit it inline. Press Enter to save.
• Change user permission —click the Users can value to get a dropdown. Change between Edit, View only, and Hidden.
• Delete —click the Delete button on the row. This permanently removes the attribute definition and all stored values for every member. This cannot be undone.

ABS can send automatic email notifications when bookings are added, edited, or cancelled. You control who receives each type of notification from the Group Settings tab.

Notification recipients

The Email Notifications table lets you choose who is emailed for each of three events — Booking Added, Booking Edited, and Booking Cancelled. Pick one option per row:

• Pilot Only — only the pilot who made (or owns) the booking receives the email.
• Pilot & Admin — the pilot and all group admins receive the email.
• Everyone — every active member of the group receives the email.

The setting for each event type is independent, so you can for example send cancellations to everyone while keeping new-booking emails to pilot only.

External emails

External emails are additional addresses that receive every booking notification, regardless of the recipient setting above. They are useful for:

• A shared club mailbox that the committee monitors (e.g. bookings@yourclub.org).
• A personal assistant or operations coordinator who needs visibility of all activity.
• Any address that is not a registered ABS member but still needs to be kept in the loop.

To enable and manage external emails:

1. On the Group Settings tab, find the External Emails row and turn the toggle to Enabled.
2. An Email List section appears below. Type an address in the input field and click Add.
3. Repeat for each address you want to include. Each address is saved immediately and appears in the list.
4. To remove an address, click the red Remove button next to it.

The Group Members tab is the central place for managing your group's users. The table shows all members with their name, role, last login, and any custom attribute values. Click any column header to sort.

Click a member's name to open their edit dialog, where you can:

• Update their details —name, username, email, phone.
• Change their role —Pilot, Instructor, or Group Admin.
• Suspend or reactivate —toggle the Active switch. A suspended user cannot log in but their booking history is preserved.
• Manage aircraft access —tick or untick aircraft in the Aircraft Access section.
• Edit custom attributes —update any attribute values in the Custom Attributes section.

Changes take effect immediately when you click Save Changes.

Use the View as selector in the top header to temporarily browse the system as a specific user —useful for checking what a pilot can and cannot see.