Session limits control how many upcoming sessions a volunteer can be rostered on at once, and how many sessions an applicant has to choose before they can continue. They're useful when demand outstrips the roster and you want to spread opportunities fairly, or when you need a baseline commitment from everyone who signs up.
All three settings live under Admin Console > Operations > Availability. They apply organisation-wide, and are off by default.
Limit Upcoming Sessions
Turn on Limit Upcoming Sessions and set a Maximum Sessions value between 1 and 500.
A volunteer will not be rostered onto more than that many upcoming sessions at any one time. The count includes every session they hold from today onwards, across all of their activities. Past sessions don't count, so the allowance frees up naturally as sessions pass.
The limit applies wherever sessions are taken up automatically:
Volunteers selecting dates and sessions for an event activity
Volunteers adding themselves to a roster from their activity list
Applicant holds being converted to rosters when an applicant is approved
Volunteers can still indicate availability for as many sessions as they like. The limit only governs how many they are actually rostered on.
If a volunteer tries to take on more than their allowance, the extra sessions are skipped and they're told how many couldn't be added.
Please note: the limit doesn't apply when a manager rosters someone. Managers can always roster a volunteer beyond the cap where it's warranted.
Allow Backup Sessions
Once a maximum is set, you can also turn on Allow Backup Sessions.
With it on, volunteers can keep selecting sessions past the limit. Everything up to the limit is rostered as normal; anything beyond it is saved as availability only and shown with a Backup badge. If someone drops out, a manager can see who is available and roster a backup into the spot.
With it off, the picker stops at the limit - sessions beyond it are greyed out and can't be selected.
Require Minimum Sessions
Turn on Require Minimum Sessions and set a value between 1 and 500. Applicants can't confirm their event session selection until they've chosen at least that many, and the picker tells them how many more they still need.
This applies to applicants only, during the application. It doesn't affect volunteers who are already active, and it doesn't force anyone to keep a minimum number of sessions afterwards.
What volunteers see
When either limit is on, the session picker changes to make the rules obvious:
A banner at the top says how many sessions can be selected, or how many more are still needed
Each selection is numbered in the order it was made, so it's clear which sessions fall inside the limit
Selections past the limit are badged Backup when backup sessions are allowed
The Confirm button stays disabled until the minimum is met
When to use
A popular event where a handful of volunteers would otherwise take every shift - set a maximum and allow backup sessions so the enthusiasm still gets captured
An intake where you need everyone to commit to a few shifts to make training worthwhile - set a minimum
A small team with plenty of shifts to go around - leave both off
Related guides
Activities - Event Mode - how volunteers and applicants select dates and sessions
How to Roster - building and publishing rosters
Indicating Your Availability - the volunteer's side of availability