Lodge Platform · Help

Getting started for Secretaries

From your invitation to your first seating plan, in six steps. It takes about twenty minutes, and you can stop at any point and pick up where you left off.

In the print window, choose "Save as PDF" to keep a copy or email it to your committee.

  1. Create your account

    Open the invitation link you were sent by email or message, and choose Create your account. Your account uses the address the invitation was sent to.

    Type your name as other officers should see it (for example W.Bro. John Smith) and choose a password of at least 8 characters. A few words strung together is easy to remember and hard to guess.

  2. Find your way around Home

    After signing in you land on Home. It shows the tools you can use and Your lodges. You can always get back to it with Home at the top of the page.

  3. Add your lodge

    On the Table Planner tile, choose Add your lodge. Give its name, number and Province, and where it usually meets (this becomes the venue on new plans).

    You'll be the lodge's account holder: the person who looks after the lodge's account on Lodge Platform. If your lodge is already here — perhaps your Director of Ceremonies added it — ask them to invite you instead, so the lodge isn't added twice.

  4. Invite your team

    Open your lodge's team page and invite the officers who help with the festive board — usually the Director of Ceremonies, and perhaps the Treasurer or an Assistant Secretary. For each, choose what they can do. Only give seating-plan access to people who need it, because plans can include dietary and health needs.

    More: Inviting your team.

  5. Plan your first festive board

    Choose Open the Table Planner, start a new plan, and pick a layout such as a top table with sprigs. Add your guests — you can type W.Bro. John Smith PPrJGW and the planner understands the rank — then drag each person to a seat, or tap a guest and then a seat. Everything saves as you go.

    More: Planning a festive board.

  6. Print for the night

    A day or two before the meeting, print what you need: table lists, place cards, the alphabetical "find your seat" list, the top-table order for the Director of Ceremonies, and the catering summary for the caterer. Take a printed copy with you, in case the venue has no signal.

Your lodge and personal information

Your lodge decides what goes into its seating plans, and is responsible for it. A few habits keep everyone's details safe:

  • Ask before recording dietary or health needs. A line on your dining form does it: "Please tell us of any dietary or accessibility needs so that we can cater and seat you safely. We'll share them only with the caterer and the officers arranging the dinner."
  • Only invite people who need access, and remove officers from the team when they step down.
  • No ritual, no minutes, and nothing your lodge keeps private.
  • Collect printed lists after the dinner rather than leaving them at the venue.

Our lodge data processing agreement explains how we look after your lodge's information, and our privacy notice covers your own account.

Need a hand?

Email web@lodgeofalliance.org. We aim to reply within 2 working days.