Parcels

The Parcels module records every letter or package that arrives at the physical space for a member. It's the front desk notebook and WhatsApp group inside Memberfy: the team registers in seconds (who it's for, what it is, a photo, where it was kept), the member is notified by email, and the parcel is closed when it's picked up, with the date and who picked it up.

Each Parcels space is one physical location. A coworking with two houses creates two spaces, each with its own queue and history.

#What it's for

#How it works

#What the parcel keeps

Each parcel has the recipient (a person or a company that is a member of the community and has access to the space), the kind (Letter, Package or Other, with a short description), the sender, the carrier and the tracking code (all optional), a note, up to 5 photos, the place (locker, shelf or front desk) and, if the space uses it, the locker's pickup code.

It goes through four statuses:

Closing a parcel deletes nothing: the record, the photos and the reason stay in the history. Every time is read in the time zone of the community's country.

#The space settings

When creating the space, and later in Configure space (the Manage parcels bar), the screen asks for:

The screen also shows the notice "This module stores photos and the sender's name for each parcel. Let your community members know."

#Who does what

The team, in this module, is the owner, the admin, the moderator and finance.

Who gets into the space follows the rule of any space (visibility, plan and group). A parcel can only be registered for someone who has access to the space.

The locker code is read only by the recipient, in My parcels and in the email. No team screen shows it: the team only sees that there is a code, and can set it again, but never read it. It stops working when the parcel is picked up, returned or discarded.

#What the team sees

The space opens with two tabs: Queue and My parcels.

• The Manage parcels bar shows how many are waiting for pickup and how many are stalled, and the Receive a parcel button.
• The Queue lists the parcels with a thumbnail photo, recipient, kind, sender, place and how long ago it arrived ("Arrived today", "Arrived 2 days ago"). The filters are Pending, Stalled, Picked up, Returned, Discarded and All, plus the kind and a search by name, sender or tracking.
• The Stalled for N days badge marks a parcel that has waited longer than the space's deadline (3 days, if the space doesn't set another).
• The No e-mail notice badge appears when the recipient couldn't be notified (no valid email or already out of the community). The parcel is registered all the same, and the screen shows Former member when that's the case.
• The detail shows the photos, the history (received on, registered by, email notice, how it was picked up) and the actions.

#What the member sees

In My parcels (the space's tab, and the page with that name):

• Pending: one card per parcel, with the space name, the photo, the kind, "From {sender}", how long ago it arrived, "Pick up at: {place}" (or "Pick up at the front desk") and the pickup code, hidden behind the Show button. If team confirmation is off, the I picked it up button closes the parcel; if it's on, the screen says the pickup is confirmed by the team, at the front desk.
• History: pickups ("Picked up on … by …"), returns and discards.

The member sees only their own. With no parcels, the screen says "Nothing for you right now".

#Step by step

#Create the space

Role: owner or admin.

1. In Add Space, open the Coworking tab and choose the Parcels module.
2. In Where parcels are kept, choose At the front desk or In a locker or on a shelf. With a locker, decide whether there will be a Locker pickup code.
3. Leave Photo in the notice e-mail on or turn it off; turn on Require team confirmation if only the team should mark the pickup.
4. Set the visibility and create the space. For another location, create another space.

To change it later, use Configure space in the Manage parcels bar.

#Receive a parcel

Role: team.

1. Tap Receive a parcel.
2. In Recipient, type the start of the name (at least 3 letters). Only people and companies with access to the space appear.
3. Choose the Kind. For Other, describe it (for example, "wine box").
4. If you want, fill in Sender, Carrier, Tracking code and Note ("fragile", "heavy").
5. Add up to 5 Photos, with Take a photo or Choose from gallery (JPG, PNG or WebP).
6. If the space uses a locker, fill in Place (locker); empty means "at the front desk". With a code, fill in Pickup code (4 to 12 characters).
7. Tap Save, or Save and receive another to clear the form and keep going.

The member receives the email shortly after (see Email to the member).

Duplicate warning: if there's already a parcel of the same kind, for the same person and with the same tracking code in the last 24 hours, the screen asks "Register another anyway?". Tapping Save twice doesn't create two parcels.

#Edit a parcel and handle photos

Role: team.

1. Open the parcel and tap Edit.
2. Fix what was typed wrong and tap Save. The recipient can't change: to change it, delete the record and register again.
3. For the locker code, fill in New pickup code; empty keeps the current one. There's no way to read the code already set.
4. For photos, use Add photo, Replace photo and Remove photo. Removing asks for confirmation and deletes the photo and its file for good; the parcel stays registered.

A parcel that's already closed can only be corrected by an owner or admin, and never the code.

#Mark the pickup

Role: team.

1. Open the parcel and tap Mark pickup.
2. In Who picked it up, choose The recipient (with the name of the person who came, optional) or Someone else (the name is required).
3. Tap Confirm pickup. The locker code stops working.

Two people marking at the same time close the parcel only once.

#Return to sender

Role: team.

In Return to sender, enter the Reason (for example, "returned to sender", "refused") and tap Return. The parcel becomes Returned.

#Discard, reopen and delete

Role: owner or admin.

• Discard parcel: for one that nobody picked up. Requires the Reason; it becomes Discarded.
• Reopen parcel: undoes a pickup, return or discard made by mistake. Requires the Reason and the parcel goes back to Waiting for pickup. The previous code is already gone: set another under Edit, if needed.
• Delete record: only for a parcel registered by mistake (for the wrong person). It leaves the lists and the photos are deleted; who deleted it and why stay in the activity log. To close a parcel for real, use pickup, return or discard.

#Pick up your own parcel

Role: any member, if the space doesn't require team confirmation.

1. Open My parcels.
2. On the parcel, see the place and, with the Show button, the locker code.
3. After collecting it, tap I picked it up and Yes, I picked it up. The pickup is recorded as confirmed by the member.

#Email to the member

When the parcel is registered, the recipient receives an email through the email queue, never during registration:

• the subject doesn't say what arrived;
• the body carries the kind, the sender (if any), where to pick it up, the locker code (if any) and the time, in the community's time zone;
• with Photo in the notice e-mail on, a thumbnail of the photo, in a link that's valid for 72 hours (the full photo stays in the app, behind a login);
• the button to open My parcels.

If the recipient has already left the community or doesn't have a valid email, nothing is sent and the queue shows No e-mail notice.

The locker code goes in the email, so it stays in the member's inbox. If that's a risk for your community, leave the code off.

#Data and privacy

This module stores personal data, and the community is the data controller: it decides what to record.

• Parcel photo: may show a name, address or the contents. It's kept in private storage, opened only by a signed, short-lived link, and only the space's team and the recipient see it.
• Sender, carrier, tracking and note: data about the member and, incidentally, about third parties.
• Name of who picked it up: stored when the pickup is made by someone else.
• Locker code: a short-lived credential. Only the recipient reads it and it's deleted when the parcel is closed. In the activity logs it shows hidden.
• Nothing is deleted. Photos and records stay with the community. Let your members know, as the notice in the settings reminds you.

Coming soon In the works: the email reminder for a stalled parcel. It already exists as a space setting, but doesn't run yet.

#Examples

Coworking with a front desk. The space uses At the front desk. The moderator registers the package with two photos and the sender; the resident receives the email with the thumbnail and comes by to collect it; the front desk taps Mark pickup.

Rooms with lockers. The space uses In a locker or on a shelf with a code. The team writes "Locker 12" and the code; the member sees both in My parcels, opens the locker and taps I picked it up.

A house that wants control. With Require team confirmation on, the member sees the parcel, but only the front desk closes the pickup.

#Common errors and how to fix them

#Frequently asked questions

Does the member see the locker code if the team set it? Yes, only they do: in My parcels and in the email. The team never reads it.

Can I register a parcel for a company? Yes, when the company is a member of the community and has access to the space.

Can I register a parcel for someone who isn't in the community? No. The recipient must be a member with access to the space.

Does the Attendance kiosk guest receive parcels? No. Parcels are for members; the kiosk is for the guest.

Does the module charge for keeping parcels? No.

#Through the assistant

The assistant registers and looks up parcels, handles photos, marks the pickup, returns, discards, reopens and deletes, and the member asks "do I have a parcel?". See Tools · Parcels and the Parcels recipes.

#In the API

With X-CommunityId in the header: GET /api/parcels/spaces/{spaceId}/overview, GET .../members?q= (recipient search), POST and GET .../parcels, GET, PATCH and DELETE /api/parcels/parcels/{parcelId}, POST, PUT and DELETE .../photos, POST .../pickup, .../return, .../discard and .../reopen, GET /api/parcels/me/parcels (the member's own). The full reference, generated from the API, appears in the API reference when Parcels reaches communities.

#Related

• Modules
• Attendance
• Roles and permissions
• Visibility and access
• Activity logs
• Create and organize spaces