Running a uniform shop

A second-hand uniform shop runs all year, so set it up as an ongoing activity rather than an event. Parents then find it on your PTA's public page under All year round, with a link from your events and your Ways to support us page.

1. Make it an ongoing activity

Click + New event, choose Ongoing activity at the top of the page, and call it something parents will recognise, like Second-hand uniform shop. There are no dates to set. See Ongoing activities for what else an activity can do: a team, tasks, a chat and a rota for the shop's helpers.

Use the description to tell parents how the shop works: what you stock, how they pay, and how and when they collect, for example from the school office on a Friday. It's the first thing they read on the shop's page.

2. Put it on your public page

On the activity's Settings tab, under Public page, tick Show this on our public page and click Save public page settings. The shop gets its own page and a card under All year round on your PTA's public page, and every event page and your Ways to support us page link to it. See its public page shows it to you as a parent sees it.

That works before you list anything for sale, and on every plan: parents can read how the shop works and get in touch the way your description says.

3. Sell the uniform online

On the full plan, with Stripe connected (see Selling tickets and merchandise), parents can pay online too. Click Shop in the menu, then New product, choose Merchandise, and pick your uniform shop under Linked event. Its items are then sold on the shop's own page.

• One item per garment, a question for the size. A "Jumper" with a choice of sizes under Questions for buyers keeps the page short. Make the question required so nobody forgets to choose.
• Pre-loved, priced by the buyer. Tick Let buyers choose how much to pay and the price becomes the least they can pay, so a family can give what they can.
• Only a few in stock? Set Capacity to how many you have. The item shows how many are left and stops selling at none.
• Add a photo so parents can see the colour and the badge.

An activity that sells something is on your public page whether or not the box is ticked. To take it down, archive its items.

4. Getting the uniform to parents

Every order is listed under Orders on the Shop page, with the sizes chosen. The parent's confirmation lists what they bought, and your description says how they collect it. The item's page shows every paid order with its answers, and downloads as Excel or CSV for packing the bags.

Helpers for the shop

Need parents to sort donations or run a stall? Set up a rota on the activity's Rota tab, then tick Show the volunteer sign-up on the public page in its Settings. The sign-up appears on the shop's card, and parents pick a slot without an account. See Volunteer rotas.