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Operations — post-enable runbook

You just had Operations turned on. Operations bundles compliance, elections, dues / billing, retention surveys, service hours, and PNM recruitment — they all flip on together with the single Operations license. Use the next half hour to get the most-used pieces wired up.

For background on what each surface does, see the Operations module reference.

Prerequisites​

Before Operations is useful, confirm:

  • An active org admin is in place to author the program.
  • Email delivery is configured at the platform level so reminders, notices, and overdue alerts actually leave the building.
  • Storage is configured for the org, since compliance submissions can carry file attachments.

If billing is on your day-one list, also have your payment-processor credentials handy (Stripe is the supported gateway today).

Who can enable it​

Only a platform admin can flip the Operations toggle for your org. Org admins request the change through their platform admin. Once enabled, org admins, regional admins, and chapter officers see their respective surfaces.

What gets auto-created​

Enabling Operations does not create any records on its own — the toggle simply unhides the sidebar entries and lets requests through. Per-org settings rows (such as dues settings) are created the first time you open the relevant settings page and save.

What appears in the sidebar​

A new Operations group shows up for everyone with access. Inside it:

  • PNMs (org tier: Overview, Periods, Name Approvals, PNM Settings)
  • Compliance
  • Elections
  • Billing
  • Surveys
  • Service Hours

Retention analytics live under Analytics → Retention, not a separate Operations sidebar entry — see the Retain runbook for the full history of that move. Regional admins see a much smaller Operations group limited to Compliance and Elections — no Billing, Surveys, or Service Hours at that tier.

First 30 minutes — required steps​

  1. Open Org → Settings → Dues & Billing. Pick a billing cadence (per semester or per term) and save. This creates the dues settings record.
  2. In the same panel, open the Payment Processor section. Enter your Stripe secret key, publishable key, and webhook secret. Save. The status badge flips to Active once the credentials validate.
  3. Open Org → Compliance. Create your first requirement (name, due date, who it applies to). Without at least one requirement, chapters see an empty page.
  4. Open Org → Settings → Service Hours. Set a default hours-per-semester requirement and add at least one category (e.g. "Philanthropy," "Community Service," "Campus Involvement") so members have something to pick from when logging hours. Without at least one category, the category field is simply hidden on the log-hours form — categories are optional, not blocking, but members benefit from having them.
  5. Open Org → Elections and confirm the page loads. If you plan to run an election in the next few weeks, draft it now so officers can see what is coming.
  6. Open Org → Settings → Logging and confirm audit logging is enabled. Compliance reviews and election votes are sensitive — you want the trail.

First 30 minutes — recommended next steps​

  • Pick a semester model in Compliance → Semesters so submissions land in the right reporting window.
  • Add a couple of compliance requirement templates in Settings. Templates let chapters spin up the same set of requirements every term.
  • Send a one-line bulletin from the dashboard letting chapters know dues and compliance are now live.

What happens if you disable​

Turning Operations off hides the entire Operations group from sidebars and returns 403 on the related endpoints. Data is preserved — invoices, ballots, compliance submissions, survey responses, and PNM applications all stay in the database. Re-enabling restores access immediately.

Recruitment is the one piece with a public face, so disabling Operations is visible outside your org too: /apply/<org-slug> stops serving the form and shows a "Recruitment isn't currently open" page instead, as do the email-verification and reference-letter links. If you are turning Operations off mid-cycle, tell your applicants first.

Common gotchas​

  • No payment processor means no charges. You can list dues amounts without Stripe, but chapters cannot pay until the processor is verified.
  • Compliance with no requirements looks broken. Members and officers see a blank page until you author at least one requirement.
  • Election due dates are timezone-sensitive. Pick your org's primary timezone in Settings before scheduling close times.
  • Retention surveys need active members. A brand new org with no memberships will show empty analytics until members are added.
  • Entries over 8 hours get flagged automatically. This isn't a hard block — it's a signal to officers reviewing the queue that a single-day entry is unusually large. Flagged entries can still be approved; the "Skip flagged entries" bulk-approve option exists specifically so officers don't accidentally rubber-stamp them in bulk.

Where to go deeper​

Last verified against v0.65.23 (2026-07-05). Service Hours (backlog #29) shipped v0.63.42; retention moved to the Analytics "Retention" tab, v0.65.0.