Any officer
Ask Penny a question, or have Penny prepare a change
Penny is the AI assistant in PTO HQ. Ask about your own books or how to do something, and have Penny prepare a change that you check and confirm.
When you are done
You have an answer read from your own books, or a change in PTO HQ that you checked and confirmed.
Ask a question
Click Ask Penny at the top of any page.
Type the question and press Enter.
"Which volunteer shifts still need people?" and "Which form do I use to count the cash box?" both work. Penny reads only what your role can see.
Have Penny prepare a change
Ask for the change in your own words.
For example: "Record the $45 Costco receipt from yesterday for staff appreciation, general fund."
Read the card under Penny's reply.
It names what will change: for a payment, the amount, the date, the account, the category and the fund; for a message to the families, the subject, how many families, and the whole text.
Click Confirm, or Cancel.
Nothing changes until you click Confirm. A card that ends "This cannot be undone." or "This cannot be unsent." deletes something or emails the families. The audit log records the change as yours, followed by (via AI chat).
| Ask Penny to | Your role needs |
|---|---|
| Record, change or delete a transaction, or record a transfer | Money: Record and edit |
| Put bank lines in the register, accept a match, record a transfer, leave a line out, or sync a bank | Money: Record and edit |
| Add, close or reopen an account, or add or change a category or fund | Money: Record and edit |
| Approve, refuse or pay a reimbursement, or replace the reimbursement link | Treasurer or president |
| Open a reconciliation, tick its lines, lock it, or discard it | Money: Record and edit |
| Attest a reconciliation, or record a statement review | Reconciling: Review a statement |
| Reopen a locked month, or disconnect a bank | Board: Invite and change roles |
| Open, count or deposit a cash count | Money: Record and edit |
| Change the budget, a teacher's allocation, dues prices, memberships, remittances or committees | Money: Record and edit |
| Record a vendor's W-9, or that two board members are related | Board: Invite and change roles |
| Add, change or remove an adult in the directory | Directory: View only, and Money: Record and edit |
| Add or cancel an event | Events: Manage, and Money: Record and edit |
| Sign someone up for an event | Events: Sign up for events, and Money: Record and edit |
| Add volunteer shifts and sign people up | Volunteers: Sign up only, and Money: Record and edit |
| Log volunteer hours | Volunteers: Sign up and log hours, and Money: Record and edit |
| Record a background check | Volunteers: Manage, and Money: Record and edit |
| Email the families | Website: Edit the site, and Money: Record and edit |
| Add, change or delete minutes and documents | Records: Manage |
| Add, reopen or remove a filing deadline | Money: Record and edit |
| Change the June handoff: tasks, outside accounts and event notes | Board: Invite and change roles |
| Change website pages and announcements, or take the site down | Website: Edit the site |
| Make or change a poster code | Board: Invite and change roles |
| Invite, change or remove a board member, change what a role can do, or change the PTO's details | Board: Invite and change roles |
| Report a problem to PTO HQ | Any role |
Do these yourself, on their own pages
- Add or change students, on Students.
- Connect a bank or card reader, on Banks & import.
- Upload a receipt, a document, a picture or a bank file.
- Subscribe or change your plan, on Billing.
Start a new conversation
Click New chat at the top of the panel.
A change you did not confirm is never made.
How to check it worked
- A change you confirmed shows Recorded, Changed or Added on its card.
- It appears in the Audit log under your name, followed by (via AI chat).
If it did not work
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Penny says "I had trouble looking that up. Want me to try again?" | Penny tried twice and could not reach your books either time. | Click Try again. |
| Penny says "I still can't look that up." with an Open Help button. | Penny has now failed four times on this question. PTO HQ has already recorded each failure. | Click Open Help and send us the question. Nothing you asked Penny to change has been saved. |
| "Too many messages." followed by how many minutes to wait. | You sent more than 30 messages in 10 minutes. | Wait the minutes shown, then ask again. |
| Penny says "I've made too many lookups for you in the last 10 minutes." followed by how many minutes to wait. | Penny sent PTO HQ more than 1,800 requests for you in 10 minutes. That happens when she repeats a step over and over. | Wait the minutes shown, then ask again. |
| "That change is no longer waiting. It was already confirmed or canceled, or it expired after ten minutes." | You clicked Confirm twice, or more than ten minutes after Penny prepared the change. | Ask Penny to prepare it again. |
| "Your role cannot make that change." | Your role does not allow it, or the board changed what your role can do after Penny prepared it. | Ask the treasurer or president. See the guide on changing what a role can do. |
| Penny says something is not in your books when you know it is. | Penny reads only what your role can see. | Ask an officer whose role can see it, or ask the board to change your role. |