Preparing a temporary paper attendance list

Prepare a temporary paper attendance list by taking a snapshot of the expected dogs and the in-building dogs at the moment the screen becomes unavailable, then writing them onto a single sheet with the date and time at the top. The sheet must be usable by someone who was not at the desk when it was written.

What goes on the sheet

At the top: date, time written, and the name of the person who wrote it. Below that, one line per dog with these fields:

• Dog name
• Owner surname
• Group or area
• Check-in time
• Tick box for present
• Space for a pickup time

A sample line:

Biscuit — Patel — small group — in 08:10 — [ ] present — out: ____

Writing it under pressure

Write the expected list first, then walk the groups and tick. Do not try to write both at once. If the screen is already down, use the last printed or handwritten list you have and note where it came from.

Handing it over

Tell the next person what the sheet covers and what it does not. If any dog was checked in after the sheet was written, add them by hand at the bottom with a note.

When the outage is long

Start a fresh sheet each morning rather than adding to yesterday's. Keep the old sheets together in one folder so the history is not scattered.

Consider a Wednesday morning when the desk screen went blank at 08:05. The manager wrote a sheet from the previous day's expected list, walked the groups at 09:00, and ticked seven dogs. Two dogs arrived later and were added by hand. The visible change: the desk could still tell who was in the building at any point that day, and the sheet carried the time it was written so the gap was clear.

Related: Dog Daycare Manager features.