System Setup and Overview

The FVTMS is designed as a computer application and your cell phone can't serve as a substitute because it can't provide access to the full system on a tiny screen format. Therefore, you will need a computer system.

Note!!! This system uses your web browser to store your information on one computer. You should plan to use the same browser each time to access your data. Although it can be used in a second browser, the user will need to BACKUP his/her data and RESTORE that data in the second browser. Moving to a second computer requires that the user RESTORE the same data on the new system followed by BACKUP/RESTORE when returning tot he original system. Be careful not to detete this stored data when using the "CLEAR BROWSING DATA" menu option. If you must clear your browsing data, simply BACKUP your FVTMS data and restore it after using the CLEAR BROWSING DATA command.

System Access & Login

Register during 1st time use:

1. 🔵 Google Sign-In (Recommended): Click the Register tab and "Sign in with Google" button on the Register screen. Use your existing Google/Gmail account — no new account needed. Your session is remembered so you won't need to sign in every time.
2. ✉️ Email / Password: Click the "Email / Password" tab, then "Register" to create a local account with your name, email, and a password (minimum 6 characters).

The first person to log in becomes the permanent Administrator (★) for that computer — with access to all menus and the Administrator Panel.

It is possible to change how the system accesses your Email-based account by changing your password used during logging into the system. It is not advised in that such actions would result in yet another password to remember. To change your password, click your User Name → Change Password.

For AI-powered features (Script Analyst, Scene Synopsis Generator, Dialogue Coach, Character Developer, Costume Concept Generator, etc.), you will need a free Groq API key from console.groq.com. Enter it in User Name→ Licenses Users menu.

Registering Your Company in the System

The first step in making this system functional is to select "System Setup and Control from the Administrative menu. Provide your organization's name, your name, address, phone number, and email. Go to System in the menu and select Company Address. Be sure to save the information and close the window. Now the fun can begin.

☁️ Firebase Cloud Sync Setup

Firebase Setup — Step by Step

Step 1 — Create a Firebase Project

1. Go to console.firebase.google.com
2. Sign in with your Google account (the same one you use for ChurchCDE login)
3. Click "Add project" or "Create a project"
4. Enter a project name (e.g., "FirstChurch-CDE" or your church name)
5. You can disable Google Analytics — ChurchCDE does not use it
6. Click "Create project" and wait for it to finish (about 30 seconds)

Step 2 — Create a Firestore Database

1. In the left sidebar, click Build → Firestore Database
2. Click "Create database"
3. Leave the database name as (default) — no name needed
4. Choose a database location nearest to your church (e.g., us-east1 for US churches)
5. Click "Enable"
6. Once created, click the Rules tab and replace all existing text with the rules shown in Step 4 below, then click Publish
7. Important: Firebase will show a warning saying your rules are "public" — this is expected. Simply click "Publish anyway" to confirm. Your data is protected by the fact that your Firebase credentials (API Key, Project ID, App ID) are kept private.

Step 3 — Register ChurchCDE as a Web App

1. In Firebase Console, click the ⚙️ gear icon (Project Settings) in the left sidebar
2. Scroll down to "Your apps"
3. Click the </> Web icon to add a web app
4. Enter an app nickname (e.g., "ChurchCDE")
5. Do NOT check "Also set up Firebase Hosting" — this is not needed
6. Click "Register app"
7. You will see a configuration block like this:

const firebaseConfig = {
  apiKey: "AIzaSyXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
  authDomain: "your-project.firebaseapp.com",
  projectId: "your-project-id",
  storageBucket: "your-project.appspot.com",
  messagingSenderId: "123456789012",
  appId: "1:123456789012:web:abcdef1234567890"
};

You will need three values from this block:

• apiKey — the long string starting with "AIzaSy..."
• projectId — your project name (e.g., "firstchurch-cde")
• appId — the string starting with "1:..."

Step 3b — Firestore Security Rules

In the Firestore Rules tab, paste the following rules exactly and click Publish:

rules_version = '2';
service cloud.firestore {
  match /databases/{database}/documents {
    match /{document=**} {
      allow read, write: if true;
    }
  }
}

Step 4 — Enter Credentials in ChurchCDE

1. Open ChurchCDE and log in
2. Go to Administrative → System Setup Control
3. Scroll down to the ☁️ Firebase Cloud Sync section
4. Enter your Firebase API Key, Project ID, and App ID
5. Click "💾 Save & Connect"
6. The status should change to 🟢 Connected & Syncing
7. Click "🔌 Test Connection" to confirm everything is working

Step 5 — Initial Data Sync

1. After connecting, click "☁️ Push to Cloud" in System Setup to upload all existing data
2. On a second computer or device, open ChurchCDE, connect the same Firebase credentials, then click "☁️ Pull from Cloud" to download all data
3. From this point on, all saves and deletions sync automatically in the background

Firebase Free Plan Limits

Resource	Free Limit	Typical Church Usage
Storage	1 GB	~0.01 GB for 1,000 members
Reads/day	50,000	~500 per session
Writes/day	20,000	~50 per session
Auth sign-ins/month	10,000	A few per day
Cost	$0.00 — Permanently Free

Let's Begin

To Begin using this Software System: 1) Add Members to the Membership Manager (Members Menu), 2) Then Donations can be entered from those Members (Members Menu), 3) Add Business Creditors (Expense Accounts) to the System (Expenses Menu), 4) Document Payments to the creditors and other organizational costs, 5) Members (Members Menu) can be added to the various Committees (Church Menu).

Best and Warmest Regards...
SRM