CoolFocus keeps several related ideas separate on purpose. When one piece is missing, Home or My Schedule can look empty even though appointments exist elsewhere on the calendar.
This article explains how the pieces fit together and what to check first.
User account - your sign-in identity and permissions (Settings → Security → Users, admins only)
People record - the person in CoolFocus (name, contact info, roles) in Serve, Care, Giving, and other modules
Volunteer involvement - tracking someone as a volunteer (hours, onboarding) under Serve → Volunteers
Position - a scheduling qualification such as Nurse, Counselor, or Advocate (Serve → Positions and Scheduler → Scheduler Settings → Positions)
Staff assignment - a specific person named on one appointment in the Scheduler calendar
A team member usually needs all of the following for scheduling views to work as expected:
A user account they can sign in with
That account linked to a People record
At least one position they are qualified for (when appointments use positions)
Staff assignments on appointments (for My Schedule)
User account (login)
↓ linked to
People record
↓ qualified for
Position(s)
↓ required by
Appointments on the calendar
↓ optionally named on
Staff assignment (specific person on that appointment)
Volunteer involvement is separate from scheduling. Someone can be a volunteer in Serve without being a scheduler staff member, and a staff member can also be tracked as a volunteer. Positions are assigned to People records, not directly to user accounts.
Every staff user should have a linked People record. Without that link:
My Schedule on the calendar is not available
Home → Today's Appointments cannot match you to position-based appointments
An administrator links the account from Settings → Security → Users when editing the user. On the user's profile, use the Linked Person field to search for and select the person, volunteer, or staff record to connect. Once linked, the field shows a View [name] link that opens that person's record directly. If nothing is linked, the field shows No person linked.
If you see a message that your account is not linked to a People record, ask an administrator to complete that step before troubleshooting positions or assignments.
These two views sound similar but use different rules: My Schedule matches on direct staff assignment, while Home → Today's Appointments matches on position (a "position pool"), not on who is specifically assigned.
My Schedule is a toggle on the Scheduler → Calendar tab. When it is on, the calendar shows only appointments where you are explicitly assigned as staff on that appointment.
Use My Schedule when you want your personal assignment list across the week or month.
If your account is not linked to a People record, the calendar shows "My Schedule is not available" with a note that Home's Today's Appointments card uses position matching instead, and a link to this article.
If My Schedule is on and linked but no assignments exist in the current view, the calendar shows "No staff assignments in this view", pointing you to Home → Today's Appointments for the position-based list. This does not mean you have no work: check the full calendar with My Schedule off, or confirm assignments on today's appointments.
Home shows a Today's Appointments card for the current day only. It lists appointments that match positions you are qualified for today, based on your linked People record. This is position-pool matching, not the same as My Schedule's direct staff assignment.
Use Home for a quick "what is on my plate today?" view when appointments are staffed by position.
The card now shows one of three distinct empty states, depending on what is missing:
"Link your account first" - your login is not linked to a People record yet. Ask an administrator to link your user to a People record.
"No positions on your profile" - you are linked to a People record, but no scheduler positions are assigned. Add positions on your volunteer or team member profile to see matching appointments here.
"Your day is open" - you are linked and have positions, but no appointments today need one of your positions. Remember this list matches by position, not staff assignment - use My Schedule on the calendar to see appointments where you are assigned.
Each of these empty states includes a Learn more in Help link that opens this article.
Positions describe what role an appointment needs (for example, Sonographer or Intake Advocate). People who can fill that role are added as qualified team members on the position record.
For background on coverage hours, required vs optional positions, and the Staff tab on the calendar, see Staff Positions and Work Schedules.
Volunteer involvement tracks service, hours, and volunteer onboarding in Serve → Volunteers. It is not required for My Schedule or Home → Today's Appointments.
Staff / scheduler setup covers booking clients and staffing the calendar through Serve → Positions and the Scheduler. It is required for those views: you need a linked People record, qualified positions (for Home), and staff assignments (for My Schedule).
The same person can be both a volunteer and a staff member. Setting up volunteer records alone does not connect a login to the scheduler.
My Schedule is not available
Likely cause: user account not linked to a People record
What to do: ask an admin to link the account under Settings → Security → Users using the Linked Person field
My Schedule is on but shows "No staff assignments in this view"
Likely cause: no appointments have you assigned as staff in the current view
What to do: check the full calendar with My Schedule off, confirm assignments on today's appointments, or check Home → Today's Appointments for position-matched appointments instead
Home → Today's Appointments shows "Link your account first"
Likely cause: user account not linked to a People record
What to do: ask an administrator to link the account
Home → Today's Appointments shows "No positions on your profile"
Likely cause: linked, but no active position qualifications
What to do: add positions on the person's profile under Serve → Positions
Home → Today's Appointments shows "Your day is open"
Likely cause: linked with positions, but no matching appointments today
What to do: confirm today's appointment position requirements, or check My Schedule if you expect a direct assignment
I see appointments on the team calendar but not on Home
Likely cause: Home only shows position-matched appointments for today; the team view shows broader coverage
What to do: use My Schedule if you are assigned, or review position qualifications
When onboarding a new team member:
Invite or create their user account
Link the account to their People record using the Linked Person field on their user profile (create the People record first if needed)
Add position qualifications if they will appear on the schedule
Confirm work schedules and location hours if they take bookings
Assign them on appointments when a specific person is required
Keeping the login-to-People link current prevents the empty-state confusion that shows up in support as "I can sign in but my schedule is blank."