You know the problem: You meet with a few people regularly, e.g. to play soccer, poker night... and try to organise with emails or messages who is coming to the next meeting.
Here is unspontan.com (German for: 'not spontaneous'), your one-stop site to arrange all this! It works like this:

• You register. You can use any (even non-existing) email address.
• You add at least one date, and (if needed) time and location info.
• You add other users for your group and inform them.
• They log on and give feedback.
• You can add some information about your 'group', e.g. 'This is our weekly poker night...'.

Try it, it's simple and free! Your group is up and running in less than 5 minutes! See the screenshot below as an example (our demo site). By the way, some screenshots have been changed meanwhile, but this has not been updated here in the FAQ - anyway you will understand the screens...

Caution: You only need to register if you want to create your own group and have not yet received any credentials from your group administrator! If you want to join an existing group, the group administrator of that group will give you access credentials.

If you want to create your own group and have no access data yet, just click the "Register"-Button on the home page. You will be led to a screen where you need to enter some data:

• Your group name: This is the name of the new group you will start, e.g. 'My Poker group' or 'Friends of Football' or similar.
• Your name: This can be any name - it will be used to show your feedback to other members of the group. So it should be at least your first name, your nickname or similar.
• Your email address: This will be the username for your login, so it has to be unique. It doesn't need to be your real email address - however, when you state a non-existing email address, you cannot reset your password in case you forget it.
• Your password: Choose a password that you can easily remember, but which is somewhat secure. There are no restrictions on the password, but obviously passwords such as 'test' or 'password' are not the best ones.

All of this data can be changed later, so just try it out with some random data. Once you have registered, you have automatically your first group. You are also automatically the administrator of this group. Continue with 'How do I create a date?'.

Once your are logged in (either after registration, or someone gave you username and password), you will see the main feedback screen. This screen contains several sections:

• The top section with a dark background. This contains:
  • The name of the group. Click on it (or swipe sideways) to change it, in case you are member in several groups.
  • The menu button at the top left. Click on it to see other functions.
  • The help button at the top right. Click on it to see a short help.
  • The next date: You will always only see the next upcoming date, until that date is reached. Click on it to see a list of upcoming dates. In that list, click on the date to create a calendar entry for your agenda, or click on the location (if given) to pinpoint the location on a map.
  • The number of positive feedback so far. If a minimum number of required attendees (i.e. positive feedback) was given by the administrator when he created the date, the number will be surrounded by a red or green circle (red in case the minimum number is not reached yet; green otherwise). When the circle is full, the maximum number of allowed participants is reached.
• The received feedback for this date so far. A photo will be surrounded in green for positive, in red for negative feedback. A user may have a small icon connected to him (as assigned to him by an administrator); this is then displayed on the right side. Administrators are marked with a small crown icon . When a user has given a comment for this date, it will be displayed underneath his name. You can only add such a comment for yourself; click on your own photo once you gave feedback.
  You can sort the sequence of feedback display with a small link on the top left. Below the feedback list, you see the total numbers of feedback, and a link which will open an email in your email program which is targeted to all users who gave feedback for that date. You can edit the email before sending it.
• Buttons to give feedback. Give your feedback here - can you join on that date? Feedback is only possible for the next (upcoming date), until that date is reached. Feedback may not be possible if the date is full (i.e. maximum number of participants is reached), frozen or canceled, or if you are a guest user.
• Comments: See all comments here, and add your own comment. These comments are different from the date-related comment mentioned above; these comments will always be visible. Your own comments will have your name displayed in bold. Contained URLs in comments will be turned into clickable links.
• Some organisational data: Your name, role, group name, group status, user id and group ID is displayed underneath. Here you can also upgrade your group.
  Below that, you have some links for imprint and data security information, a possibility to donate, and some social media buttons.

If you are an administrator, see the next questions. As a standard user, you can see some statistics (only for Pro groups), maintain your own data, share the group information or create your own group.

You need our App for Push Messages, which so far is only available for Android. If you need push messages in iOS, you may want to look at the Pushover App which supports a conversion of emails to push messages.
Push messages are restricted to Pro Groups.

This is only possible for administrators. When logged in, click on the menu button , then on 'Dates'. You will see a list of existing dates in the future (may be empty), and a button which leads to a new screen with some entry fields for a new date. You can enter the following data:

• The actual date. Should be in form yyyy.mm.dd, but normally your browser should give you a date selector or calendar to choose from. The date is mandatory.
• The time. It's optional.
• The location. This is optional, but if you enter it, clicking on it on the feedback page will open Google Maps to show the location. So it's a good idea to give a valid address. Time and location are saved in cookies so you don't have to enter them each time you add a date.
• Minimum and maximum number of people. These are optional. With these values you can restrict the feedback. If you state a minimum number, the feedback counter on the feedback page will be red until enough positive feedback was received (i.e. people have confirmed attendance). If you state a maximum number, no feedback is possible anymore if that maximum number of positive feedback is reached. Thus you can, for example, define that only a limited number of people can join your event.
• Comment: optional. If you state something here, this will fly in as a ticker on the feedback page. Use it with caution, i.e. only for important messages.
• Repetition: You can repeat this date weekly for a given number of times.
• Special date: If you mark a date as "special", users can access that date even if it is not the nearest date (via a special hint on the main screen), and give feedback. Use it for team dinners or similar. Special dates are coloured differently and are not counted in the payment fee calculation. You can define several special dates, but only the next (nearest) special date will be shown on the main screen.

Note that feedback is only possible for the next (nearest) date (for normal dates), so you don't have to create dates too far in advance. However, when creating dates, you can create a sequence of dates right away.
You can update dates, cancel it (then it will be clearly displayed as canceled, so people know the event will not take place), freeze it (it will still be displayed, but feedback is impossible anymore) or delete it altogether.

In the Group settings (menu entry 'Group') you can define the what3words-address. This is a mechanism to assign a unique 3 word code for any 3x3 meter location on Earth - much more precise than an address. Use it to state the exact location of your event.
Search for your location on the what3words-website and copy the displayed three words (e.g. 'wallet.still.proud') without the preceding slashed into the respective field.
For each date this what3words address will be defaulted, but can be overridden.
You website visitors will see this address when clicking on the date, and can click on it to see an exact map.

This is only possible for administrators. Once you have created your group and are logged in, you need to add users to your group. Click on the menu button , then on 'Users'. You will see a list of all registered users in your group (except yourself). Click on the 'Add a user' button and fill out the data on the next screen. Similar to your own registration, you need to enter a name, password and email address - all of which can be anything. Note that you state the password for a user - he can change it later himself.
You can assign one of three roles to the user:

• administrator - he will be a user like yourself, so he can add and maintain dates, users, group information etc, up to deleting the group! We recommend that each group has at least two administrators.
• standard - he can give feedback and add comments, but not maintain dates or users. His menu will be restricted accordingly.
• guest - he can only add comments, but not even give feedback.

Once you added the user, you have to tell him. This is easiest done by clicking on the 'Mail'-link in the user list, which will open an email in your email program. You can edit the text before sending it.
The user can immediately login with his email address and password, and then give feedback or comment.

This is only possible for administrators. Users can be updated anytime (by an administrator). Click on the 'Update' - link in the user list. Here you can also set a 'User attribute', which is a small icon that is displayed on the feedback screen, visible for all registered users of the group. Use it to display if a user has done something special or similar - several icons are available.
In the userlist, administrators are marked with a small crown icon .
You can change a user's role (administrator, standard or guest) by clicking on the first link in the second row; normally this is 'Guest', but the link changes according to a user's current role. Click on this link repeatedly to cycle though the roles. Additionally you can deactivate a user (so he can still login, but cannot give feedback or add comments), or delete him altogether.
Note that the displayed user image has been uploaded by the user himself; you cannot change it for him. Click on it to see his last login time.

When you add a user, it may happen that his email address exists already, meaning that he registered himself already to unspontan.com (or an administrator of another group did that for him). In that case the password that you define for him will be ignored, and he will only be assigned to your group. The next time he logs in to unspontan.com (with his email address and old password), he will be able to switch to your group and give feedback / add comments.

If the user had his password confirmed (see 'How can I maintain my own data'), he can request a password reset. If he didn't, bad luck. You can try to set the password for him, which only works if he is not registered in other groups as well. Or you can completely delete him and add him again, with a new password. If you cannot even delete him, because he is also a member of other groups, please contact us.

Guest users (role: Guest) cannot give feedback themselves. They can only follow what's happening in your group.
You can also use Guest Users if you want to list a single non-registered person for a one time event, e.g. if someone brings a friend. Then create any user with role "Guest" in the user administration (e.g. call him "Guest User"; email and password can be anything) and give feedback for him by clicking on the small arrows icon next to the user name in the user's list - this will cycle through the possible feedback options for this user. The user will then show up in the list of participants as if he had given feedback. You can then click on the user's icon to add a comment, e.g. the real guest's name.
To remove the guest user's attendance, change his feedback in the user list again. This concept also works for several guest users.
You need administrator rights for this.

As an administrator, you can set up automatic reminder emails for your group. In the 'Group' menu you can configure the 'Reminder emails'. Decide whether date reminders should be sent by email, and if so, when.
The 'First lead time' indicates when the first reminder for a date should be sent. If you set the 'second lead time' to 'none', there will only be one first email per date - otherwise a second email will be sent shortly before the date. You need to set the correct timezone to have emails sent on time.
Emails are only sent to users who have a confirmed email address (you set this yourself under 'My data'). If emails don't arrive, ask users to check their spam folder. The emails are sent from 'reminder@unspontan.com' or 'info@unspontan.com'.

Click on the menu button , then on the 'Down' arrow, then on 'My data'. Change your own data here. There are several important actions:

• Confirm your email address: This will send a confirmation email to the address you stated which contains a link you need to click. Once you have done that, your email is confirmed and you can reset your password by email in case you forget it. If you do NOT confirm your email, you cannot reset your password, and you cannot receive notification mails - other than that, everything else works just the same.
• Set an email notification 'Notify me...': If you set this to 'Yes (all events)', you will receive an email in case someone gives feedback in this group, or adds a comment. Setting it to 'Yes (new dates)', you will only receive automatic reminder emails for upcoming dates (if the group administrator has configured this). Thus you are informed automatically about what happens in this group. Receiving such emails will work (and is availably) only if you had your email address confirmed.
• Set a push notification: If you set this to 'Yes', you will receive a push message in case someone gives feedback in this group, or adds a comment. Thus you are informed automatically about what happens in this group. This will work only if you have the App installed, and only in Pro-groups. Look in the 'Basics'-section for more details.
• Upload a photo of yourself: This photo (or cartoon image, or whatever) will be displayed together with your feedback. Choose a portrait mode photo, or even better, a square photo. The photo will be sized to a resolution of 150x150 pixels. You can also choose a standard image.

If you had your email address confirmed previously, just request a new password with the 'I forgot my password' link. If you didn't, you could ask your administrator to delete yourself and add you again. This will not work if you are member of several groups, or if you are the only administrator of your group. Then please send us an email. We strongly recommend to confirm your email address.

Nothing stops you from running several groups. Just click on the menu button , then on the 'Down' arrow, then on 'Create group'. State a group name, and now you have created another group. Again you need to add dates and users.
Switch between groups by clicking on the group name, either in the menu or at the bottom. On the feedback screen, you can also swipe from one group to the next (swipe left to right in the area with the dark background color).

We request as little data as possible from you, and even that data (e.g. name, email address) can be anything and don't have to be your true name or email address. We do store some data in cookies. For a full data privacy statement, click here.

You can manage payments to the group here, e.g. of participating users. This frees you from tracking incoming payments in a separate Excel sheet, on paper or elsewhere. Note that unspontan.com does not provide a payment gateway to accept payments directly; you still need to collect payments via a separate bank account, Paypal account, in cash or any other way. Accepting payments directly in unspontan.com would require an integration to Stripe or a similar provider, which would incur additional costs.

Some generic information first:
There are four places in the website which relate to payments:

• In the "Group" menu (only accessible for administrators): As an administrator, switch the payment functionality on or off for your current group. If it's switched off, users will not see any functionality related to payments.
  If payments are switched on, you can decide on the "payment mode", which defines how often a user has to pay: per date, monthly, etc... You can also define the individual fees/prices; you can state a Paypal name if you have one (this is an easy and free way to receive money online; click on the info icon on that screen); you can state your bank account information (if that's a European IBAN, the website will offer to display a QR code which can be read by many banking mobile Apps, e.g. Girocode Apps).
  
  
  You should state your payment modalities and rules in the "group info" clearly.
  
  
• In the "Users" menu there is an additional "Payments" link to a detail screen of the payment settings and payment history of this user. This screen displays the current balance of this user, calculated from the amounts he paid (which you entered here; these can also be negative if needed) and (in case of 'per date' calculation) the fees that are summed up.
  All calculations are based on a 'baseline': This is the starting point of the user's balance. We assume that you switch on payments on a running group, maybe with some people already having paid money etc. Define a baseline as the 'clean slate', i.e. a given balance so far tracked elsewhere: "The user has a balance of xxx as of date yyy". You can set a baseline anytime; always the latest baseline is taken in consideration of balance calculation; previous baselines are still displayed, but irrelevant.
  You can also override the group settings here for fees and payment mode for this specific user, e.g. because he is a student who has to pay different fees, or similar.
  
  
  
  
  
• In the "My data" menu a user can see his current balance, last payment data and a few more fields. The balance is calculated from the last baseline plus received payments, minus 'the number of participations' times 'fees per date' (in case 'fees per date' is the chosen payment mode. Participation at "special" events is not counted.).
  
  
• The "Payments" menu (only accessible for administrators) shows an overview of the current account state (balance) of the group. It displays the outgoing and incoming payments on group level, which you can enter here. Add a payment here when you paid something on group level (e.g. paying the rent for something) or you received some money on group level (e.g. a donation). Receiving money from your users should be done in the user's section. Also do not forget to set a baseline for the entire group, e.g. 0 when you just started with payments on this group.
  This screen also gives a quick and easy way to enter payments for multiple users at once. This is effectively only a short-hand version of the individual user's payments screen. The background colour of the amount displays if the balance is negative or positive; the background colour of the name indicates how much time has passed since the user made his last payment.
  
  
  
  

Everybody can use unspontan.com for free. However, there are some restrictions which are lifted only in the Pro version:

• The maximum number of users is much higher in the Pro version (100), compared to only 20 in the free version.
• You cannot deactivate users in the free version.
• You cannot see the statistics in the free version.
• Payment management is limited in the free version.
• Push messages are available by using a separate App.

Besides more functionality, you do support us (and the maintenance of this site) by going Pro. Click on the 'Upgrade' link at the bottom of each screen to upgrade.

About the price of a beer: 5 EUR per year, including tax.

Once you decide to upgrade, click on the respective link on the Upgrade screen to send us a mail. We will provide you with further details. In general, we accept payments via Paypal, Bitcoin or standard bank transfer.

Click on the 'Donate' link at the bottom of each screen. This will show options how you can donate some money. We surely appreciate this! You can also help by translating this site into another language -please contact us in this case.