Why can't I claim a substitution request?

There are a few possible reasons: you posted the request yourself (you cannot be your own substitute), you already submitted a claim offer, the request is no longer active (it may be claimed, completed, or cancelled), or you don't have the claim permission enabled. Check with your admin in Substitution Settings.

Why can't I edit my substitution request?

Sub requests can only be edited while they are still unclaimed. If someone has already claimed your shift or submitted an offer, the request is locked from editing. Contact your manager if you need to make a change.

I don't see the Substitution Board in my dashboard. Why?

You may not have been granted access yet. Ask your studio manager or admin to grant you the 'View Substitution Board' permission in Substitution Settings. If your studio hasn't activated the board yet, managers can set it up by going to Dashboard > Substitutions > Get Your Team Started.

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Substitution Management

Manage staff substitutions easily

Set up approval criteria and permissions for managers

Track your top subbing staff members

Stop worrying about staff no-shows

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Staff Substitution Management

Transcript

0:00 Hey, what's up? I'm Chris, and here's a quick demo of our Substitution Management Board. So the goal here is to help put substitution management on autopilot for you and for your team.0:12 So you'll have a nice board here where you can track, uhm, all of your substitution management. Substitutions over time, unclaimed substitutions, pending claims if you have permissions set up and you want to approve substitutions before they're taken by an instructor, and then some more history here.0:27 From a settings standpoint, you are able to set up your substitution board how you'd like it, like some businesses like to require a manager approval, some don't necessarily mind about manager approvals, just want someone to be able to grab the substitution.0:42 Uhm, you can set up notifications as well, how you want all of those details to work. So, you can streamline this part of your business, and this will all be mobile optimized, so people if they have SMS alerts turned on, or they have push notifications or email alerts turned on, when a substitution request1:03 goes out, Bye. Everyone who is eligible will receive a notification, and then they can go ahead and either try to grab it, uhm, request to take it, or however you want that to work.1:14 You'll have an easy way for people to communicate as well, with history, on each specific substitution. That is coming up, and posting a substitution is super easy.1:25 You can choose which date, you can choose which classes that you want to request, or you can just have a manual request go out for a specific upcoming class.1:36 So that's the option to assign a substitute. If maybe it happens offline and someone says, I'll take it, you can go ahead and add that person in too.1:44 So, uh, once this happens, the class will automatically be updated with the new instructor. Then you have the option to go ahead and notify those registrants that, uh, there is a sub for the class and make sure everybody is on the same page.1:56 So a quick bit about our substitution board. Feel free to reach out if you want a more in depth demo and hopefully we can all connect soon.2:03 Thanks.

Manage staff and instructor substitution requests in an easy-to-use dashboard

Ditch the disorganized group chats and easily stay up-to-date on class substitutions

Set up your substitution permissions

Allow staff or managers to post sub requests

Set up auto-approval on substitutions or queue up requests to manually approve

Why Zipper Substitution Management Software?

Keep your staff substitution management centralized in one place

Centralize substitutions

-Keep substitution requests in one place
-Track substitution history
-Get analytics on substitutions, staff acceptance and more

Set substitution permissions

-Set up manual review or auto-approvals on substitutions
-Personalize permissions for each staff member

Stop worrying about instructor no-shows

-See high priority sub requests on the board
-Set up substitution reminders for instructors
-Have peace of mind your classes won't have a staff no-show

Substitution Management FAQs

Help Center

What is Zipper's Substitution Board?

The Substitution Board is a built-in tool that helps fitness studios manage class coverage without the chaos of group texts or emails. Instructors can post a sub request when they can't teach, other staff members can offer to take the shift, and managers can approve coverage - all in one place.

Why use a substitution board instead of a group chat?

Group chats are hard to track, easy to miss, and create no record of what happened. The Substitution Board gives your team a dedicated space where every request is visible, claims are tracked, and approvals are documented - so nothing falls through the cracks.

How do I set up the Substitution Board for my team?

Managers and admins can activate the board in just a few steps:Go to Dashboard > Substitutions
-Click "Get Your Team Started"
-Customize your invitation message
-Send invites to your team

Who can access the Substitution Board?

Access is role-based. Staff can view the board, post sub requests, and claim open shifts. Managers and admins get all staff permissions plus the ability to review and approve claim requests. You can customize permissions for each team member in Substitution Settings.

How do I post a substitution request?

From the Substitution Board, click "Post Sub Request," choose from your schedule or enter details manually, add your class name, date, location, and any notes, then click Post. Your request is immediately visible to all team members with board access.

Can I link a sub request to a class on my calendar?

Yes - and we recommend it. When you link a sub request to a calendar event, the system automatically updates the instructor on that event when coverage is approved. This keeps your calendar accurate and notifies enrolled students of the change.

Can I edit or delete a sub request after posting it?

You can edit or delete a request as long as it hasn't been claimed yet. Once a shift is claimed or completed, it can no longer be edited.

How do I claim an open substitution request?

There are two ways, depending on how your studio is set up. With Direct Claim, click "Claim" and the request is immediately marked as covered. With Offer to Claim, click "Offer to Claim" and your offer is submitted for a manager to review and approve.

Can more than one person offer to cover the same shift?

Yes. Multiple staff members can submit an offer on the same request. A manager then reviews all offers and approves the best fit. Everyone who offered receives a notification with the outcome.

Can I withdraw my claim offer?

Yes - if your situation changes, you can withdraw your offer before it is approved or declined.

What happens if I need to unclaim a shift I already took?

The original requester, the person who claimed the shift, or an org admin can unclaim a substitution. This returns the request to an "available" state so other team members can pick it up.

How does the manager approval process work?

When a staff member submits a claim request, it enters a pending state. Managers can review all offers, approve the preferred one, add notes, and choose whether to notify enrolled students of the instructor change - all in one step.

Can I notify enrolled students when an instructor is substituted?

Yes. During the approval step, managers can choose to notify students registered in that class and include a custom note explaining the change.

What notifications does the Substitution Board send?

The system sends automatic notifications for every key event: new sub requests, shifts claimed, offers submitted, claims approved or declined, comments added, and shifts unclaimed.

Does the system send reminders for unclaimed shifts?

Yes. Zipper automatically sends urgent reminders to all available staff when a substitution request is still unclaimed and the class is coming up within 3 days.

Can my team leave comments on sub requests?

Yes. Every substitution request has a comment thread where team members can ask questions, share notes, or coordinate logistics. All participants receive a notification when a new comment is added.

Can instructors react to substitution posts?

Yes. Staff can react to posts with emoji reactions, and reaction counts are visible to the team.

Can I swap an instructor on a class without using the substitution board?

Yes. Admins and managers can directly reassign an instructor on any calendar event without creating a substitution request. Go to the event on your calendar and update the provider assignment directly.

Can I manage substitutions for recurring class series?

Yes. Zipper supports timeslot-based substitutions for recurring event series, allowing you to add or remove a substitute for a specific occurrence without affecting the rest of the series.

Is there a history of instructor changes for each class?

Yes. Every event maintains a substitution history log that records who initiated the change, the original and substitute instructors, any notes, and the timestamp.

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