Teachers and small schools
A teacher or a small school shares lessons and keeps parents informed.
PTAs and school parent groups
Parents sign up to help at the fair, buy disco tickets and hear the news. The treasurer's books keep up with each payment.
The committee works in one Magpie team. Parents use the forms, the shop, the board and the newsletter you publish.
Get started free
This combination of six Magpie areas fits a PTA or a school parent group.
- Forms
- Forms takes volunteer sign-ups, and payments for tickets.
- Calendar
- Calendar lists coffee mornings, meetings and the fair, with RSVPs.
- Newsletter
- Newsletter keeps parents up to date.
- Message Boards
- Message Boards gives parents a board for questions and ideas.
- Store
- Store sells second-hand uniform, to collect at school.
- Accounting
- Accounting keeps the treasurer's books, with payments posted automatically.
Parents sign up to help, and pay for tickets, on forms.
Forms builds a volunteer sign-up for the fair, with the stalls and times people can help. Every sign-up comes into one list.
A paid form takes the price of a disco or quiz night ticket by card. Each form has one price, and you close it when the hall is full.
Every coffee morning, meeting and fair is on one calendar.
Calendar holds the year's events, from the AGM to the summer fair. An event can be on your public calendar and take RSVPs up to a capacity.
You see every reply, with the parent's email address. A meeting can be for the committee only.
Parents hear about every event in one newsletter.
Newsletter keeps the parents' mailing list, with double opt-in on its sign-up page. A list can be brought in from a CSV file.
You write each issue, send yourself a test and schedule it. Each issue's page counts the copies delivered.
Parents ask questions and share ideas on a board.
Message Boards gives the group a public board, which anyone can read. Parents who sign in can post, reply and vote.
Votes bring the popular ideas up, such as a new stall at the fair. The committee can keep a private board of its own.
Second-hand uniform sells online, and parents collect it at school.
Store is the group's online shop, for second-hand uniform and the school calendar. A sweatshirt can have a size option, each size with its own stock.
Parents pay by card and collect their order. Magpie adds no fee to shop sales.
The treasurer's books keep up with every ticket and sale.
Accounting keeps the group's books. Form payments, shop sales and invoice payments are posted automatically.
Bank statements can be imported and reconciled. The profit and loss compares each quarter with the one before.
Five more areas cover minutes, receipts, the float, posters and posts.
- Documents
- Documents holds minutes and the AGM papers, shared by link.
- Expenses
- Expenses records receipts, and what is owed back to volunteers.
- Spreadsheets
- Spreadsheets counts the fair's float and each stall's takings.
- QR Codes
- QR Codes puts the sign-up form or the shop on a poster at the school gate.
- Social Media
- Social Media posts each event to Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn.
The summer fair goes from a sign-up to the money counted.
The stalls
Parents sign up to run a stall for an hour.
The appeal
The newsletter asks for prizes and cakes.
The wristbands
Ride wristbands sell on a paid form.
The day
The fair is on your public calendar.
The takings
The treasurer posts the cash, and the books show the year.
Setting up takes four steps.
Start the newsletter
You bring in the parents' list you have. Help: Manage and import newsletter subscribers.
Build the first sign-up
You list the stalls and times. Help: Build, publish, and share a form.
Connect Stripe
Parents can then pay by card. Help: Connect Stripe to receive money.
Set up the books
You enter the bank balance you start from. Help: Keep books with Accounting.
Plans
The committee fits the Team plan, with each committee member a member. Parents are not added to it.
Magpie's fee on a paid Form is 1% of each payment. Shop sales carry no Magpie fee. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. Prices are on the Pricing page.
Other groups around a school or a neighbourhood have pages of their own.
Clubs, meetups and community groups
A community group lists events, signs up volunteers and talks on a board.
Small nonprofits and charities
A nonprofit takes monthly support and runs its programmes.
Questions PTAs and parent groups ask
Can parents sign up to help at the fair?
Yes. A sign-up form lists the stalls and times, and parents tick the ones they can do. Every sign-up comes into one list you can export.
Can parents pay for tickets online?
Yes. A paid form takes the ticket price by card, through Stripe, into the group's account. Each form has one price, so a family ticket has its own form.
Can we sell second-hand uniform?
Yes. Each item can have a size option, with its own stock. Parents pay online and collect their order at school.
Can parents RSVP to a coffee morning?
Yes. The event's page takes Going or Not going. A capacity stops RSVPs when the room is full.
Can we email every parent?
Yes. Newsletter sends each issue to everyone on the list. Parents sign up on its page, and you can bring in the list you already have.
Can parents talk to each other?
Yes. Anyone can read a public board. Parents who sign in can post and reply. Votes bring the popular ideas to the top.
Can volunteers claim back what they spent?
Yes. An expense can be marked reimbursable and grouped on a report for approval. You record when it was paid back.
Can the treasurer keep the books?
Yes. Accounting keeps them, with form payments and shop sales posted automatically. Bank statements can be imported and reconciled.
Set up your parent group in Magpie.
Create a Magpie account and make a team for the committee.