---
title: "Best Practices: Using Procare Desktop with Engagement"
slug: "best-practices-using-procare-desktop-with-engagement"
updated: 2024-09-19T18:28:39Z
published: 2024-09-19T18:28:39Z
canonical: "www.procaresupport.com/best-practices-using-procare-desktop-with-engagement"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.procaresupport.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Best Practices: Using Procare Desktop with Engagement

## Using Procare Desktop with Engagement

What are the best practices for using Procare Desktop with Engagement functionality? What are the do’s/don’ts and considerations for what to do in which system? Since all data does not sync, this is a guide as to where you want to keep certain items.

## Best Practice by Topic:

**Immunizations**

- Continue to use immunizations within Procare Desktop.

## Allergies/Tracking

- In Procare Desktop they are set up as a Child Tracking items. They do not sync.
- Engagement uses a general field for allergies on the Child Profile entered as text, not a tracking item). Engagement doesn’t produce a report of all children who have a specific allergy, like all kids w/dairy. Tags could be used, but not ideal because of mistyping the same allergy many ways.
- If teachers need to know the allergies: Choose either recording them in Engagement and having an allergy icon on Engagement mobile devices, or using Procare Desktop and giving teachers a printed allergy report by classroom.
- If you want both, you would need to double enter the data in both systems.

## Tags in Engagement are used for:

- Schedule info: M, W, F vs. Full time, part time. These do not provide scheduling for Roll Call and Check-In like Desktop does.
- Before, After School, a specific activity.
- Bus routes. AM Bus, PM Bus, Lincoln School, Westside Elementary, etc.
- Anything you want to use for filtering, especially for daily activities or room transfers.

## Child Check In

- You may use QR codes, Geo Fencing, or Check In from the Procare child care mobile app.
- If you use the door controller: Use [Web Apps](https://procaresupport.com/using-procare-web-apps/) or [Receptionist](https://procaresupport.com/receptionist-check-in/) in Procare Desktop.
- Rounding in Procare Desktop: Set the minute interval to “none” on Procare Desktop if using Engagement for attendance.
- Procare Desktop’s “[deny entry](https://procaresupport.com/deny-entry-block-check-in-prevent-check-in/)” feature is not supported in Engagement.
- Procare Desktop [max hours](https://www.procaresupport.com/procare-desktop/docs/configuration-1#where-do-i-set-the-max-hours-per-day-time-card-rounding-etc) should be set to default of 16. If it is set lower, say to 8… then auto sign out from Engagement won’t succeed.
- Timecard edits will not sync. Each will retain the original time recorded for that day.
- Authorized pickup people must be added as ‘payers’ in Procare Desktop to use the Engagement website. This gives that person more access than desired (account info).
- Schedule exceptions in Procare Desktop, such as “absent” days, do not sync with Engagement’s absent day notation.

## Split Families

- All emergency contacts are blended together in Engagement.
- If you are seeing issues with this, contact support.

## Staff sign-in

- Doesn’t sync either direction.
- Use Procare Desktop If you are issuing paychecks from Procare Desktop.
- Use Engagement if you only need timecard data, or are using Gusto’s integration for payroll.
- Use Engagement if you need the live room ratios (Procare Desktop has live display of numbers in Dashboard).

## Employee Data

- Vacation, sick, PTO are tracked in Procare Desktop. If using Gusto for payroll, this could be tracked in Gusto.
- Schedules are tracked in Procare Desktop.

## Procare users

- All “active” [Procare users](/procare-desktop/docs/procare-users) in Procare Desktop sync to Engagement. System supervisors are automatically designated as administrators in Engagement and automatically invited to download the child care mobile app.