Offline Mode Allows Volunteer Time Tracking Without Wifi or Cellular Connection | Track It Forward

Offline Mode Allows Volunteer Time Tracking Without Wifi or Cellular Connection

Last updated by Kasey Murphy on 07/20/2020

As an extended feature to the mobile app, Track It Forward now allows you to enable Offline Mode! As soon as a volunteer loses wifi connection and cellular service, offline mode will automatically turn on! This wifi-free volunteer software optioin is great for volunteer programs who want their volunteers to log their hours from anywhere, send an offline GPS location, or simply need a volunteer management software that works offline in case of lost connection.

Is Offline Mode For You? 

If you run a volunteer program where volunteers may go off the grid or may lose reception while volunteering, or you just don’t want to have to worry about a solid wi-fi connection- Offline Mode with Track It Forward is for you! Offline Mode allows volunteers to log their volunteer hours and use the mobile hour tracking app without wi-fi. Offline Mode is a time tracking software for volunteers that holds all the information and hours logged without a wifi connection. This means you can no longer hear the excuse, “I couldn’t log my volunteer hours because I didn’t have any service.” 

Parks & Recreation systems, Trail Crews, Volunteer Camps- any volunteer program that may require a volunteer to log their hours in a situation where there is no wifi, data reception, or cell service - offline mode is for you. Or, people who may have spotty connection, don’t want to worry about a wi-fi connection or losing data when service is lost, Offline Mode is beneficial for you as well.

One of the best parts about Offline Mode is that it fits into our mobile volunteer hour logging software perfectly. Volunteers log their hours just the same as the mobile app with a connection, and admins see their hours virtually the same way once they have been synced. In our volunteer time tracking mobile app, you have the option to ask your volunteer to submit a GPS location or phone number as an advanced verification setting to approve hours. So, if you would like to approve hours as they come in from your volunteers with GPS or photo proof- this can still be done when the cellular service connection is lost! The mobile app in offline mode enables offline GPS. It truly is the perfect volunteer time tracking app offline! 

How Track It Forward's Offline Mode Can Be Beneficial For Your Volunteer Program - 1. you never have to worry about connection issues. If your volunteer program includes a multitude of activities where people may need to log hours within the activity, this can be hard to do with no service. Or, if your volunteers just have bad connection when they want to log hours, Offline Mode makes it possible! Wifi is not needed at your activities, which can be a huge weight off your shoulders. 2. Logged Volunteer Hours Will Never Get Lost, Oftentimes, when using a mobile app and connection runs out, hours that were in the process of being logged disappear. The volunteer has to start over again and it can be frustrating. With Offline Mode, this doesnt happen! Hours logged are stored into the Track It Forward app, and don't go anywhere until you want them to! 3. Volunteers Can Log Their Hours Instantly, Wherever, whenever! If a volunteer is off the grid doing their volunteer work, they can log their hours. If a volunteer is in an area with no wifi and has no data on their phone, they can log their hours. Limit the chance of your volunteers forgetting to log hours when they get home, by allowing them to log them offline, instantly, wherever! 4. Offline GPS and Photo Upload Emphasizes Activity, If a volunteer is reporting issues or needs to show they were in a specific spot while logging their hours, you may want them to upload a GPS location or photo. This can also be in a place where there is no connection. Offline Mode with Track It Forward offers GPS and photo upload, without a wifi connection in the hour log!

How it Works

Once a volunteer enters an area where there is no wifi, cell service, or data reception the Track It Forward mobile app will automatically go into offline mode. This can be noted with a red bar on the top of the screen that states the volunteer organization and (Offline). 

1. Volunteers go to log hours in their dashboard

Volunteers simply open their app and a red bar at the top of the page will say “Offline”. In their dashboard, they will see where they can log hours. An admin can change and customize the questions that are asked and the information that is required when a volunteer logs their hours. This will show up in both regular and offline mode for a volunteer to track their hours. 

If you have advanced verifications placed, volunteers will be instructed to post a photo or add an offline GPS location.

Volunteer administrators can configure advanced verifications to be placed within Track It Forward hour logging. In offline mode, volunteers can still submit the verifications. Whether it be a photo taken or a GPS location, it is available when the app is in offline mode, logging hours in Offline Mode is virtually the same as the mobile app. 

2. Offline Mode saves their hour log without any wi-fi access

In the backend of the mobile app, logged hours are saved until synced by the volunteer! They won’t go anywhere, just stay right in the Track It Forward software cloud while the device is offline. This helps fix any problems that may occur when logging hours and the signal is lost, even just for a split second. Ordinarily, this may result in the information or data being lost, but with Offline Mode it is saved in the app. 

Offline Mode with Track It Forward mobile app shows red line up top that says offline, hours logged in a timesheet can be synced.

3. Hours logged offline are placed into a Pending Queue

When an hour is successfully logged by a volunteer, it gets placed into a pending queue. This is the page where all hours logged offline will be held until synced. It is recommended that volunteers sync the hours as often as possible. The volunteer administrator will not see these hours until they are synced. The hours are held in the pending queue for as long as necessary, but they are not available to the volunteer coordinator, admins, or in the system for report access until synced.

4. When the volunteer has service, they simply press “Sync Pending Hours” 

Once the volunteer has service, all they do is press the sync button in their pending queue. This will be on their dashboard and is very easy to find. Just one push of a button and their offline hours are logged into the system, or sent to the administrator to approve. But, the work on behalf of the volunteer is done here! 

5. The logged hours operate as normal within Track It Forward software

Now, the hours are in the Track It Forward system as normal. If you require approval for hours to be logged with our advanced verification feature, the hours will move into the approval queue. If you do not have an approval process set up, then the hours will be automatically logged!