FAMILYACCT
Help center

Everything has a guide.

Start here whenever you’re unsure what to do next.

Responding to an invitation

  1. Open the private event link shared by the host.
  2. Select RSVP now.
  3. Enter your name, email, response, party size, and any dietary notes.
  4. FamilyAcct emails a private edit link. Keep it if you might change your response.

You do not need an account to RSVP or claim a potluck item.

Creating and managing events

  1. Select Create an event and register with any valid email address.
  2. Open the verification email before creating an event.
  3. Add the event date, location, theme, food type, host message, and RSVP deadline.
  4. Keep it as a draft while preparing it; choose Published when ready.
  5. Add potluck categories and requested items from the event dashboard.
  6. Copy the private link, or enter up to 25 recipients at a time under Email invitations. Use one address per line; names may be entered as Name <email@example.com>.

The dashboard shows headcount, responses, dietary notes, and contributions. Guests can update their own entries from emailed private links.

Birthdays and anniversaries

The public home page shows upcoming birthday initials and month/day only—never names, birth years, or ages. Signed-in members can open Family dates for the month calendar, search by name, and add birthdays or anniversaries. Include the year when known; the signed-in calendar calculates the age or anniversary year.

Administrators can select Manage dates to filter and remove multiple selected records, remove all Outlook imports, or remove all MyHeritage imports. Download a backup before a mass removal.

Importing Outlook and MyHeritage dates

Outlook

  1. Export the calendar containing birthdays and anniversaries as an .ics file.
  2. As an administrator, open Family dates → Import.
  3. Choose Outlook calendar and upload the file.

Events should include “birthday” or “anniversary” in their titles. Outlook recurrence start years are not birth years, so FamilyAcct ignores them. To calculate an age, include the actual year in the title—for example, Alex Hornsby Birthday 1992. If an older import shows incorrect ages, use Repair Outlook ages on the Import page.

MyHeritage

  1. Export the family tree as a GEDCOM .ged file.
  2. Select MyHeritage GEDCOM on the import page.
  3. Upload it. Birth dates with a complete month and day are imported.

Files are processed during the request and are not stored afterward.

Gmail outgoing email

  1. Create the dedicated Gmail or Google Workspace sender account.
  2. Enable 2-Step Verification for it.
  3. Create a Google App Password.
  4. Enter the Gmail address and App Password during installation.
  5. After signing in as administrator, open Admin → Email & system and send a test.

Never enter the mailbox’s normal Google password into FamilyAcct.

Administration

The Admin area controls site naming, registration, family-date privacy, user roles, account suspension, Gmail settings, mail testing, imports, and system diagnostics. Everyday administration does not require database access.

Inviting family from Google Workspace

  1. In Google Admin, download the user list as CSV.
  2. Open Admin → Import & invite users.
  3. Upload the CSV and review the checkboxes. Service accounts are not selected automatically.
  4. Send the welcome messages. Each selected person receives a private seven-day link for choosing a password.

The CSV is not stored by FamilyAcct. Re-importing it is safe: active accounts are skipped, while pending accounts receive a fresh setup link.

Installing updates

  1. Back up the site files and database through your hosting panel.
  2. Upload the files from the new web ready package, preserving storage/config.php and storage/installed.lock.
  3. Sign in as an administrator and open update.php.
  4. Select Run updates. FamilyAcct applies required database changes itself.

Never import SQL manually unless a recovery guide specifically directs you to.

Privacy and safety

  • Event links are private, unguessable links, but anyone who receives one can open it.
  • Do not post family-date lists publicly unless everyone involved agrees.
  • Use an administrator password unique to this site.
  • Keep the installer locked and never share the contents of storage/config.php.
  • Remove or suspend accounts that should no longer have access.

Troubleshooting

No verification email

Check Spam and Promotions, then ask an administrator to use Admin → Email & system → Send test email. Verify the Gmail address has 2-Step Verification and the saved credential is an App Password.

Database connection error

Confirm the database password in install.php during initial setup. After installation, your host may need to restore access if the database password changes.

Uploads fail

Use files smaller than 5 MB and verify that PHP file uploads are enabled in Admin → Email & system.

Ages look wrong

Edit the family date and confirm the four-digit birth or marriage year.