How group exchanges work
A group exchange records time for several people at once, such as a workshop or a work day.
A group exchange records one activity with several people in it. Use one for a workshop, a group work day or a class. Any member can set one up, including you.
Group exchanges only work when your community uses both group exchanges and groups.
The basic rule
One hour of time is one time credit. People giving time earn credits. People receiving time pay them.
Who takes part
Everyone in a group exchange is on one of two sides:
- Giving time: gives time and earns credits
- Receiving time: receives time and pays credits
The five kinds
When you create it, you choose what kind of group exchange it is. The form explains each kind and gives an example.
- Workshop or class: Someone runs a session for a group. The person running it earns the hours they put in. Everyone who attends pays the hours they attended. Any hours left over go to the community's time fund.
- A team helping someone: Several people give their time to one person. Each helper earns the hours they spent, and the person helped pays for all of it.
- Share equally: Set one total. Everyone giving time earns an equal share of it, and everyone receiving time pays an equal share.
- Share by amount of effort: Like sharing equally, but you mark who did more. Someone marked 2 gets twice the share of someone marked 1.
- Type each person's hours: You enter exactly what each person earns or pays. The total earned must equal the total paid.
Before anyone creates the exchange, the page shows What everyone will earn or pay, one line for each person.
The steps
- The organiser creates it. It starts as a Draft.
- The organiser presses Start Exchange. Everyone is asked to confirm.
- Each participant signs in and presses Confirm My Hours.
- When everyone has confirmed, the organiser presses Complete Exchange.
On completion, all balances move at the same moment. If any part fails, for example someone receiving time does not have enough time credits, nothing moves at all.
Changes
Some changes clear everyone's confirmations, so everyone must confirm again:
- changing the total hours
- changing the kind of group exchange
- adding or removing a participant
Changing only the title or description does not clear confirmations.
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