CaliDiary turns a volunteer rota into an online sign-up on your own WordPress website. Each shift has a set number of places; volunteers choose the shifts they can do, with no payment step, get a reminder the day before, and can cancel from their email so you know in time. New volunteers can be held as requests until a coordinator has checked them.
Northfield Volunteer CentreBook an appointment
Live demoCheck and confirm
Demo only: a made-up business. Nothing is sent or stored.
Made-up businesses, real CaliDiary features. Each example names the features that do the work.
Northfield Volunteer Centre (a made-up centre) runs a community café that needs six volunteers on each morning and afternoon shift. Each shift is a group session with 6 places and one place per booking. Volunteers pick the shifts they can do; a full shift stops taking sign-ups, and the coordinator can see at a glance which shifts still need people.
Before someone's first shift, they book an induction session. The centre chooses I'll confirm each booking myself for inductions, so the coordinator can check the answers on the form (availability, interests, any support needs) before accepting.
Every volunteer gets an email reminder the day before their shift, with a link to view or cancel. When someone cancels, their place goes back on the rota for another volunteer to take, and the coordinator is emailed.
A food project with a warehouse and two distribution points sets each one up as a location (up to 3 on Solo, more on Pro). Volunteers choose where they want to help first, then see only that site's shifts.
One person, one customer, a set length.
AvailableAppointments several people can book at the same time.
AvailableThe time is held until you accept or decline.
AvailableNo price, no payment step.
AvailableAn example to adapt: change the names, lengths and prices to your own.
| Service | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Morning shift6 places | 3 h | Free |
| Afternoon shift6 places | 3 h | Free |
| Event steward12 places | 4 h | Free |
| New volunteer inductionRequests you approve | 60 min | Free |
Several people book the same appointment time, up to the limit you set.
Not every booking needs a price: free, pay later, bank transfer or card, chosen per service.
Automatic confirmations and reminders, so customers turn up or cancel in good time.
Hold the time and decide yourself whether to accept or decline each booking.
Download bookings and customers as spreadsheets; a Reports screen on paid plans.
Every visit, answer and private note for each customer, in one place.
The free plan has no booking limit and covers up to five services, so a rota with a few kinds of shift at one site works without paying anything. Solo removes the service limit and adds up to 3 locations, yes / no and choice questions. Pro suits organisations where several coordinators each run their own shifts.
Volunteering costs the volunteer nothing, and the booking form shouldn't suggest otherwise. In CaliDiary a shift with no price books straight through: pick a shift, give your details, done. No basket, no checkout, no "£0.00 to pay". More in free and paid bookings.
Each shift has places, and CaliDiary counts them inside the same database lock that prevents double bookings. When two volunteers try to take the last place at once, the first gets it and the second is told straight away and shown the shifts that still need people. See group sessions and places.
Emergency contacts, support needs and phone numbers are personal data. CaliDiary stores them in your own WordPress database, never on CaliDiary's servers. Private notes on a volunteer's profile are for coordinators only. When a volunteer asks what you hold, or asks to be removed, WordPress's own export and erase tools include CaliDiary's data.
Volunteers come from every age group and background. The booking form is built and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA, so it works with a keyboard, a screen reader or large text, on a phone or a library computer. See accessible booking.
On Solo and Pro, a full shift keeps a waiting list and offers freed places by email. On Pro, shift leads sign in on your own website to see their shifts without WordPress dashboard access. Text reminders are on the roadmap. See every feature and its plan on the features page.
Free advice appointments and call-backs, with sensitive details kept on your own site.
Free collection slots, checked referrals and volunteer shifts.
Room and hall hire, group sessions, repair cafés and club events.
Ticket types, QR tickets and check-in at the door, for free and paid events.
More in community, charities and volunteering All industries
Start on the free plan, with no booking limit. Upgrade only when you need to.
