Review attendance before closing the night
A bed assignment and a nightly attendance check answer different questions. The assignment shows the placement recorded in the system; attendance review helps staff establish who is present for the night.
The sample screen has 18 expected residents: 16 present, one excused, and one unknown. The draft calls out that unknown status for follow-up. Staff review the roster and empty-bed checks before completing the count, rather than assuming every assigned bed confirms attendance.
Use a repeatable close-of-night routine
- Check the date. Make sure the team is reviewing the intended night.
- Review the roster. Compare attendance with the information available to staff.
- Resolve gaps. Check arrivals, exits, and unclear attendance before completing census.
- Finish the count. Review the completion state and tell the next shift about remaining operational work.
Choose a facility routine for who completes census and who reviews later questions. Staff still need a clear process when the internet or service is unavailable.
Keep follow-up visible
If an attendance question needs another person’s input, make the next action clear in your approved handoff process. Describe what needs checking and who should handle it, while keeping resident details in the appropriate access-controlled record.
ShelterCurrent also provides operational reports and data exports. Review what those outputs contain before using them in another process.
Need a census spreadsheet or occupancy calculation?
If your immediate task is to reconcile aggregate nightly counts, use the free nightly shelter census Excel workbook. It includes a daily log, monthly summary, and fictional example. For a period total, the occupancy and bed-night calculator handles fixed or changing operational capacity.
These are separate tools you can use with your existing records; they do not automatically receive data from ShelterCurrent. Check that your count time and definitions match before comparing a resident attendance count with bed-based occupancy.
Understand the reporting boundary
This is an operational nightly census workflow. ShelterCurrent does not replace mandated reporting, your HMIS, or your organization’s reporting definitions. Automated HMIS sync is not included.
In the demo, open census, inspect an attendance gap, and review the completion controls. Use fictional data to decide whether the routine is clear enough for your staff.