Help & Support

Getting Started

• When you first open Cadence, you'll see a quick feature tour highlighting key features like the dashboard, calendar, cost tracking, and weekly summaries.
• After the tour, you'll start a free 14-day trial before setting up your household.
• If you're reinstalling or setting up a new device, Cadence will recognize your subscription and automatically look for your data in iCloud. If found, you'll pick up right where you left off.
• During setup, you'll enter your name and choose a household name (e.g. "Smith Family").
• A progress bar at the top shows how far along you are in the setup.
• You are automatically added as an adult in the household so you can assign activities to yourself right away.
• Add your first child and their first activity to get up and running — or tap "Skip for now" to explore the app first.

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Dashboard (Home)

• The home screen greets you by name based on the time of day (good morning, afternoon, or evening).
• Today's scheduled activities are shown below the day strip.
• Activities happening right now display a "NOW" badge so you can see what's in progress at a glance.
• When an activity is shared by multiple people, all names appear on one card with colored dots — and each name is colored in that person's assigned color so you can scan grouped cards faster.
• A red flag appears on cards that have day-specific details (alternate pickup, alternate dropoff, or a day note). Tap the flag to expand the card inline and see those details without leaving the dashboard. Tap again to collapse. The flag label adapts: "Alternate" if it's pickup/dropoff only, "Note" if it's a day note only, or "Details" when both are set.
• Swipe through the day strip at the top to view other days. Month labels appear on the 1st of each month.
• Tap an activity card to see full details or edit it.
• Tap the X button on a card to skip that activity for the day. For grouped activities, you can choose which people are skipping with a multi-select checklist. Skipped activities are also removed from your device calendar.
• Registration reminder banners appear when a deadline is approaching. Tap the link to go directly to the registration page.

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Calendar

• Switch between Week, Month, and Year views using the picker at the top.
• Filter by child or adult using the colored chips below the picker. All adults, including you, appear as filter options.
• Colored dots under each date show who has activities that day.
• Tap any date to see a detailed breakdown of that day's activities.
• The year view shows a timeline of all activities by person.

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Activities

• All activities are grouped by the child or adult they belong to.
• Tap the + button to add a new activity. Select one or more people to assign the activity to. Multi-person activities appear as a single card with all names listed.
• Toggle "Registration Reminder Only" to save a camp or class you're considering without filling out the full schedule. Only name, location, reminder date, link, email, and notes are required.
• Toggle it off at any time to convert the registration reminder into a fully scheduled activity.
• Toggle "All Day" for events that don't have a specific start and end time.
• Each activity has a schedule (days, time, frequency), location, start/end dates, and optional notes.
• Frequency options: daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or monthly by specific day (e.g. 1st Monday).
• You can assign an optional color to each activity for easy identification.
• Add an optional cost with a frequency (per session, monthly, per season, annually, or one-time). Tap the $ button at the top of the Activities tab to see the by-year cost summary.
• Tap an activity to view its details. You can edit, archive, or delete it from the detail screen. Swiping a row in the Activities list also reveals Archive and Delete actions.
• Add a registration reminder with a date, email, link, and notes.

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Archive (New in 1.1)

• Why archive? When an activity ends — a soccer season finishes, a class wraps up — archiving retires it without losing your data. The activity disappears from your active dashboard, the calendar, notifications, and the Apple Watch, but its cost history stays available in the by-year Cost Summary.
• How to archive: Swipe a card in the Activities list to reveal the Archive action, then tap Archive. Or accept the end-of-activity prompt the next time you open Cadence (see below).
• Where archived activities live: A collapsible Archived section appears at the bottom of the Activities list whenever you have archived activities. Tap to expand and see them.
• Unarchiving: Swipe an activity in the Archived section to reveal Unarchive. Tap it. The activity returns to your active list, the calendar, and the watch; its notifications reschedule automatically.
• End-of-activity prompt: When you open Cadence and an activity's end date has passed, a sheet titled "These activities ended." appears. Tap Archive next to each activity to archive it, or Archive All to do them all at once. Tap Not now to dismiss — Cadence won't auto-prompt for those again, but you can still archive them later via the swipe action. Registration reminders never show up in this prompt.
• Archive vs. Delete: Archive is reversible and keeps your data. Delete is permanent and now requires confirmation. They're distinct actions in the swipe menu and on the activity detail screen.

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Cost Tracking

• Tap the $ button at the top of the Activities tab to open the Cost Summary.
• Year picker at the top — pick the year you want to see. The picker includes every year your data spans, plus the current year, so you can review past spending or plan ahead.
• Each owner (child or adult) gets a section showing every activity that contributed to that year, with its real contribution to that year, and the rate underneath for reference (e.g. "$10.00/mo").
• Each section has a subtotal for that owner; a grand total appears at the bottom.
• Archived activities are included in the cost view — the year picker scopes the math, so past years still reflect what was actually spent.
• How frequencies are counted toward a year: Monthly is prorated by calendar months. Per session is counted by actual session days in that year. Per season is counted once, in the year the season started. Annually is counted once for each year the activity's range overlaps. One-time is counted once, in the year the activity started.
• Tap the share button (top-left of the Cost Summary) to export the year's breakdown as text — share via Files, AirDrop, Messages, email, or any share extension.

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Documents

• Upload documents and link them to specific activities. Supports PDFs, images, spreadsheets, and more.
• Great for storing registration forms, medical forms, waivers, and schedules.
• Tap a document to preview it full-screen.
• Select multiple documents to share or delete them in bulk.

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Managing Your Household

• Go to Settings → Manage Household to add or remove family members.
• You are automatically listed as an adult with a "You" label. Your account cannot be deleted from this screen.
• Additional adults can be added and removed. Adults can be assigned to activities just like children.
• Each child and adult has a color for easy visual identification. Tap the palette icon to change it.
• You can edit the household name at any time from Manage Household.

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Calendar Sync

• Enable calendar sync in Settings to add all activities to your device's calendar.
• A "Cadence" calendar is created automatically.
• Events update when you add, edit, delete, skip, or archive activities. Skipping or archiving removes the events automatically; unarchiving brings them back.
• For activities to appear on your other Apple devices' calendars, enable iCloud Calendars in Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Calendars on each device.
• Share via iCloud Calendar sharing so other family members can see the schedule.
• Disabling sync removes the Cadence calendar from your device.

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Notifications

• Activity Alerts: Get notified before activities start (2 hours, 4 hours, 1 day, or 1 week before). All-day activities do not trigger time-based alerts.
• Skipped and archived activities are automatically excluded from reminders and overlap alerts — no unnecessary notifications.
• Notifications refresh automatically when you create, edit, delete, archive, or unarchive activities — no app restart needed.
• Registration Reminders: Get reminded when it's time to register for upcoming activities.
• Overlap Alerts: Get notified when two activities for the same person overlap. Choose daily, weekly, or monthly checks. Skipped and archived activities do not count as overlaps.
• Weekly Summary: Get a weekly reminder to share the upcoming week's schedule as a PDF. Choose your preferred day and time. Skipped and archived activities are excluded from the summary.
• Use "Share Now" to generate and share the PDF immediately.

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iPad

• Cadence adapts automatically to iPad with a sidebar navigation instead of the tab bar.
• All features work the same — just with more room to see your schedule.

Activity Board Mode

• Tap the TV icon on the Home screen to launch a full-screen family activity board.
• Board mode shows each family member's schedule in side-by-side columns with a live clock and "Next Up" banner.
• Board mode keeps the screen awake — perfect for a wall-mounted iPad in the kitchen or entryway.
• Tap the X in the top-right corner to exit board mode.

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Apple Watch

• The Cadence watch app shows today's activities right on your wrist.
• Use the person picker at the top to filter by family member, or tap the house icon to see everyone's activities.
• Activities display the same color coding, time, location, and "NOW" badge as the phone app.
• Swipe left on an activity and tap Skip to mark it as skipped. Skipped activities appear in a separate section below.
• Swipe left on a skipped activity and tap Restore to bring it back.
• Archived activities do not appear on the watch. Unarchiving on the phone brings them back to the watch automatically.
• Changes sync instantly between your watch and phone.
• Add the Cadence complication to your watch face to see your next activity at a glance with a countdown timer.
• Activity notifications from the phone are automatically mirrored to your watch.

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Subscription

• When you first open Cadence, a feature tour introduces the app's key features, followed by the subscription screen.
• Cadence offers a 14-day free trial so you can fully experience the app before committing.
• Choose between monthly ($6.99/mo) or annual ($59.99/yr) plans. The annual plan saves over 28%.
• Your subscription gives you unlimited activities, full household management, notifications, calendar sync, documents, and more.
• Manage or cancel your subscription anytime in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions on your device.
• Tap Restore Purchases on the subscription screen if you've already subscribed on another device.

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iCloud Sync

• Cadence automatically syncs your data across all your devices via iCloud.
• Make sure you're signed into the same Apple ID on each device.
• Enable iCloud Drive in Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → iCloud Drive.
• Make sure Cadence is toggled on under Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Apps Using iCloud.
• When you install Cadence on a new device, your subscription transfers automatically (same Apple ID). After the Feature Tour and Get Started, Cadence checks iCloud for your existing household and brings everything down — no sign-in form required.
• If iCloud sync hasn't finished bringing your data down, you can also tap "Restore from Backup" to import a backup file you've saved.

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Accessibility

• Cadence supports VoiceOver throughout the app. All interactive elements have descriptive labels.
• Text scales with your preferred Dynamic Type size. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Text.
• Animations respect the Reduce Motion setting. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Reduce Motion.
• Color pickers announce color names (e.g. "Teal", "Coral") for VoiceOver users.
• Full Keyboard Access is supported on iPad.
• The dashboard's tap-to-expand flag announces both label ("Alternate" / "Note" / "Details") and expansion state via VoiceOver.

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Download My Data

• Export all your family's data — activities, children, household info, documents, archive status, and more — as a single backup file.
• Tap "Export My Data" to generate the file, then save it to Files, AirDrop it, or email it to yourself.
• Use "Restore from Backup" to import data from a previous export. Existing records are not duplicated. Backups made before 1.1 (without archive status) restore as not-archived.
• Useful for transferring data to a new device or keeping a personal backup of everything you've entered.

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Settings

• Profile: View and edit your name and profile photo.
• Manage Subscription: Opens Apple's subscription management screen to change plans or cancel.
• Appearance: Switch between light, dark, or system color scheme.
• Calendar Sync: Toggle syncing activities to your device calendar.
• Manage Household: Add or remove adults and children.
• Recently Skipped: View activities skipped in the last 30 days. Swipe to restore them.
• Download My Data: Export or restore all your family's information.
• Privacy Policy: Read how Cadence handles your data.
• Help & Support: This user guide, plus app version info.
• Sign Out: Returns to the welcome screen. Your data is preserved and available when you sign back in.

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