Crew and customers

A charter business runs on a small number of people doing many jobs. The crew register lists captains, deckhands, stewards, drivers and office staff, each with a role title, an active marker and a link to their user account. The same person can be the crew lead on a charter, the driver on a guest transfer and the person who verified a trip document. Keeping one record per person means a captain’s charters and transfers can be read together.

The party directory holds everyone you do business with. Customers book charters and transfers. Carriers move guests or goods on your behalf. Providers supply the operation, such as provisioning stores or marinas. Each party has a name, a type and an email address, and the same customer record is used on every charter booking and every trip.

• One person, one record. A captain who also drives the marina shuttle keeps a single record, used as crew lead on charters and as driver on trips.
• Linked user account. Each person record points to a user account, so a driver who signs in sees the transfers assigned to them.
• Party type sets the role. Customers appear on bookings and trips. Carriers and providers stay in the directory with their contact email so the office reaches the right firm.

Agree a short list of role titles, such as Captain, Deckhand, Steward and Driver, and use it consistently so the crew list can be filtered. Agree one wording for the active marker, such as Yes and No. Decide who adds and retires crew records; Admin keeps them, while coordinators and dispatchers choose from them. Agree how to handle a firm that is both a customer and a provider: one party record with the type that matches most of its work. Remove duplicate customers before import, matching on email.

A freelance captain joins for the summer season. Admin creates the person record with the role title Captain, marks her active and links her user account. The Charter Coordinator names her as crew lead on two August charters. The Dispatch Operator also assigns her as driver on a short marina transfer during a quiet week. When she signs in, the transfer appears on her own list.

At the end of the season Admin changes her active marker to No. Coordinators stop choosing her for new charters, while her completed charters and her transfer still show her name. If she returns next year, Admin sets her active again on the same record, so her history stays in one place.

Rehearse a duplicate customer during setup. Import the same family twice with different spellings and check that the team merges them before any booking is confirmed.

• People Directory — Crew, captains and staff with role title, active marker and linked user account, used when naming a crew lead or driver.
• Party Directory — Customers, carriers and providers with their type and email, used when opening a booking or a trip.

• Charter request to completion: Name the customer and crew lead on each charter.
• Transfer request to departure: Assign the driver and customer on each trip.

Review roles and permissions before inviting crew.