Overview

Dashboard

The dashboard is an overview page that can be edited and compiled individually. In the dashboard there is the possibility to create a general dashboard (system dashboard), which can only be edited by the administrators (or the defined group of people). In addition to the system dashboard, each user can also create one or more dashboards of their own. To individualize the dashboard, widgets can be added. Besides adding widgets, you can change their color and position, as well as edit each individual widget - via the pencil in the upper right corner. You can find more detailed information about this in our video tutorials.

If several dashboards are created, or are used, they can be selected in the left menu. In the menu you can also see which dashboard you are currently in.

Tasks

In addition to "classic" event planning CrewBrain also offers the option of creating tasks. These tasks can be created both job-independently and job-dependently. The last area can be found in the main menu. Here you can create new tasks, book working hours for the tasks and set tasks to completed. To keep an overview, tasks lists can be created and shared with other users.

Tasks that have already been created can be edited at a later time. Depending on access rights, you can also distribute tasks to employees. Similar to jobs, you can also create subtasks for tasks.

Calendar

The calendar is the heart of the software and always provides you with exactly the overview you need thanks to a wide variety of views and filters. In each view, you will find four icons in the top right-hand corner that allow you to create a new calendar entry, search for an entry, print out the calendar or download it. In each view, you can select the desired date at the top right. Depending on the view, you can select the year, the month, the calendar week or the day. By selecting forwards or backwards under 'Today', you can move through the years, months, weeks or days, again depending on the view. Filters can be set in each view, making your display even clearer.

Jobs / Events

Jobs and events are identical. Which term is used depends on your settings. The term 'job' is always used in the following. When jobs are created (in the calendar at the top right via the plus button or by clicking on a specific date), they are initially solo jobs for which a date and time must always be specified. If you create a sub-job, the previous solo job automatically becomes the main job. Together with projects, up to three levels can be created.

Example:

Project (the tour of an international artist)

Main job (the stops on the tour: Hamburg, Munich, etc.)

Subjob (the individual shifts at the stations: set-up, event, dismantling)

You can request, set someone on available or directly book employees in a job. If an employee has a fixed booking, their working time can be recorded manually or using a time clock.

In each job, you can create tasks, write comments and/or upload documents, create invoice inserts, enter travel expenses, view statistics and much more. You can plan and manage your jobs using the corresponding icons.

Also take a look at our video-tutorials.

My Jobs

All employees can get a quick overview of their upcoming jobs here. As an administrator, you can view the jobs of all employees and subcontractors and print them out as a list for employees if required. If you move the mouse pointer over one of the jobs, its information is displayed on the right. If you click on a job, its complete screen opens. Depending on your user rights, you can then edit the job. Click on the printer symbol to print out a tabular view of all jobs in PDF format or download the data in CSV or XLXS format. The date of the displayed jobs can also be set manually at the top right.

My Account

All personal information is entered under my account. (These are only visible to authorized employees and are relevant for quick arrangements). In addition to the classic personal data, further data can be entered in this area. For example, time-off can be created and submitted here, calendar subscriptions can be stored or password settings can be made.

Base data

You can enter employees, freelancers, subcontractors, vehicles, clients and locations in the base data. This allows you to create a data pool that you can access at any time when creating projects and jobs. Depending on their user rights, employees, freelancers or subcontractors can enter their own data. This means that your data pool quickly builds up by itself. If you have already saved your employees' data in an Excel file, you can upload it in the employee base data via a button at the top right.

Statement and Time recording

CrewBrain supports different variants for employee statements and time recording. These variants relate to the employee's employment relationship. Freelancers are billed according to hours and flat rates, while a flexitime account is kept for permanent employees, mini-jobbers and working students, i.e. for all those who are bound to your company by a contract. If this is stored in the base data, monthly statements can be created on this basis and times can be recorded (manually or by time clock).

To ensure that the historical time account is still displayed correctly after a conversion, e.g. from an employee to a freelancer, the type of employee is stored at the time of the period. After converting an employee or freelancer, a new period must therefore be created so that the time account is calculated correctly.

Menu item "Notifications"

In the Notification Center, which is available in both the app and the desktop version, you have access to the notifications that have been sent to the user by email or push notification. This makes it possible to view the information from the notifications at a later date.

Time clock

The time clock is only displayed if a statement period has been configured for the user under Base data > Statement, Time recording and vacation periods.

Time recording via time clock can be recorded via the "Time clock" menu item, in the app or web app or via a central time clock (e.g. on a tablet). Under Base data > Statement, time recording and vacation periods > Time recording, you can specify for each employee which time clock they can use to record their time. The time clock can be used to record times for projects, main jobs, sub-jobs, tasks and independent times.

See here how to configure the time clock.

Vehicles

In addition to personnel, vehicles can also be scheduled in jobs. To do this, create the vehicles in the Base data. Categories can also be created for your vehicles under Administration > Vehicles > Categories. The vehicles stored in the Base data can be assigned to these categories and used for planning in the same way as employee categories. In this way, it is possible to record the vehicle requirements in a job in advance. The vehicles in question can later be scheduled in the job in the same way as employees. If the number of seats in the vehicle has been entered in the Base data, you can select a driver and, if necessary, passengers. You can also manage vehicles at different branches and create inspections and maintenance as well as "time-off periods" if the vehicle is in the repair shop, for example.

Traveling expenses

Travel expense reports can be created here. You can also see an overview of all your travel expense reports, which can be printed or downloaded.

As an administrator, you can see the expense reports of all employees and their status - approved or paid. You can also display an overview for each individual employee, which can be printed or downloaded.

Driver's log

Journey distances are recorded via the time clock as part of working time recording. To do this, the additional function “Travel distance” must be activated for at least one time category under Administration > Statement & time recording > Time categories. Go to the time clock and enter the time category with the above-mentioned additional function. If you now click on “Come”, you will automatically be taken to the logbook, select a vehicle and enter the start mileage. When you clock out, you will be asked for the end mileage. The journeys are automatically stored under My Account > Logbook and in the Base data for the respective vehicle.

Administration

You can make individual configurations for all areas in the administration.

Among other things, you can change or add designations, types or categories according to your needs, create individual fields with additional data or define which data should be transferred to jobs or sub-jobs.

Statistics

Get a visualized overview of projects, jobs, employees, vehicles, personnel costs and working hours.

Logging

Changes to Base data, jobs, tasks and many other objects are logged here. The logging provides a clear overview of all relevant information, any changes and, above all, who created this information and when. This allows you to see which changes were made when and by whom. The logging can be found in each area (tasks, jobs, Base data, etc.) (usually at the bottom left in a view).

Smartphone app

There is both a WebApp and an App for CrewBrain.

You can get the WebApp by entering your own domain.crewbrain.com in the browser of your cell phone. You can then add this to your home screen. The WebApp is not available in the Play or App Store.

However, you can find the app for Android in the Google Play Store and for iOS in the App Store. You will also receive push notifications via this app.

The smartphone apps are primarily intended for employees who use them to record their times and receive an overview of their jobs, tasks, travel expense reports and - depending on the statement type - their hours or wages. Of course, employees can also record travel expenses, tasks, time off and much more themselves. Employees can also register for jobs themselves and manage their own account.

The functions for administrators and schedulers, i.e. creating jobs and projects, scheduling employees and managing Base data are of course also possible there.

API

An open API interface is required for the exchange of data between different systems. CrewBrain already has an extensive and well-documented API(https://www.crewbrain.com/de/api-referenz). In addition, we have created a version 2 of the API, which also maps the OpenAPI specifications, for example, and is therefore very easy to use.

Activate API

Version 2 is automatically active in all accounts parallel to the current API. The new API is currently still under development, which is why the available endpoints are still somewhat limited. The API will be gradually expanded and optimized in future versions.

API documentation

The documentation is written as an OpenAPI specification and can be read directly in the API from your account. Simply replace “demo” in the following link with your account subdomain: https://demo.crewbrain.com/api/v2/

Switching to the new API

You can switch to the new API for your integration at any time. However, as the API is currently still under construction, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that general changes will have to be made and that the structure will therefore change slightly.

Support for the current API

The current API interface will continue to be supported in the future and there are currently no plans to end this support. It is therefore not absolutely necessary to switch to the new API.