Features & entitlements
How WAQAF decides which modules your organisation can use, why a feature may be locked, and how that follows your plan rather than being switched on by hand.
WAQAF is made of modules — Website, Accounting, Donations, Reporting, Projects, and more. Your organisation doesn't get every module switched on at once. Instead, the modules you can use are decided by your plan, and the dashboard quietly arranges itself around that: the modules you're entitled to are ready to open, and the ones you aren't show as locked rather than half-working. This page explains how that works, why a feature might be locked for you, and where the on/off decision actually lives.
It's worth keeping one distinction in mind from the start. Two separate things decide whether you can use a feature, and they answer different questions:
- Entitlement — does your organisation's plan include this module at all? This is what the page below is about.
- Role — are you, personally, allowed to use it? That's a separate matter covered in Why can't I see a button? and the roles reference.
A feature is only fully available to you when both are true: your organisation is entitled to the module and your role grants the action.
Who can do this. Anyone can view the Apps page and see which modules are active, available, or coming soon. Turning a module on is more restricted: a built module like Accounting can be activated in-app only by someone whose finance role grants create — typically the Accountant or Finance Manager. The underlying entitlement itself follows your plan and is never something a member self-grants — see Your current plan. If you don't see an activate option, your role doesn't allow it; ask an Owner or Org Admin.
Where to find it
Open Apps from the dashboard. The page is titled Apps, with the line "Activate and open the modules available to your organisation." Every module your organisation could have appears here as a tile, grouped into sections — Fundraising, Finance, Programs, Operations, and Account.
What the tile badges mean
Each module tile carries a small status badge in its corner. There are exactly three, and they tell you at a glance where that module stands for your organisation:
Active
The module is switched on for your organisation and ready to use. Active tiles show an Open link that takes you straight into the module, plus a Settings shortcut. Your Website and your Subscription are always active — they're part of every plan. Other modules become active once they've been turned on.
Available
The module is built and ready, but not yet turned on for your organisation. If your role allows it, the tile shows an Activate button. If your role doesn't, you'll see Ask an admin to activate instead — the module is within reach, it just needs the right person to switch it on.
Soon
The module is on the way but not built yet. Its tile is shown faded, with no Open or Activate option. These appear so you can see what's coming; there's nothing to do with them for now.
A locked or faded tile is expected, not an error. WAQAF prefers to show you what a module is — and clearly mark it as available or coming soon — rather than hide it entirely or let you open something that isn't ready.
How WAQAF decides
Behind each tile, the dashboard runs a simple check whenever you open the Apps page:
- A few modules are baseline — part of every WAQAF plan and always active. Your Website and your Subscription are baseline; they never need turning on.
- Every other built module is tied to an entitlement — a feature your plan includes. Accounting is entitled by a financial feature, Donations by a donor feature, Projects by a projects feature, and so on. If your plan includes that entitlement, the tile is Active (or Available to activate); if it doesn't, the module simply isn't offered.
- A module that hasn't been built yet always shows as Soon, regardless of plan.
The important part is where that entitlement comes from. It is read from your organisation's plan record, and it can only be set by WAQAF's billing system — when you subscribe, change plan, or when a module is activated through the proper in-app flow. It is not a free-form setting that an owner or admin can flip in organisation settings.
Because this is a real-money platform, entitlements are deliberately not self-grantable. Even an Owner cannot quietly switch on a paid module by editing organisation settings — the plan record is protected and only the billing system writes to it. This keeps what your organisation pays for and what it can use honestly in step. To get a module your plan doesn't include, the route is changing your plan, not a settings toggle.
Activating a built module
Some built modules can be switched on from the Apps page itself, without changing your plan — Accounting is the clearest example. When Accounting shows as Available, the tile offers an Activate button to the right person.
Open the Apps page
Go to Apps from the dashboard and find the Accounting tile in the Finance section.
Check the badge
If it reads Active, you're already set — just click Open. If it reads Available, it's ready to switch on.
Click Activate
If your role grants finance create — the Accountant or Finance Manager — you'll see an Activate button. Click it. WAQAF turns the module on and sets up the starting pieces it needs (your chart of accounts, funds, the current fiscal period and so on) so you can begin straight away.
If there's no Activate button
If the tile says Ask an admin to activate instead, your role doesn't include the action. That isn't a fault — ask a colleague who holds the finance role, or an Owner or Org Admin, to switch it on. Once it's active, it's active for the whole organisation.
Activating a module is a one-time setup for the organisation, and it's safe to do — the setup it runs is idempotent, so an accidental second click won't duplicate anything. After activation the module's section appears in the dashboard for everyone whose role can reach it.
Why a module might be locked for you
Putting it together, there are a few everyday reasons a module isn't usable right now:
- Your plan doesn't include it. The module isn't offered as a tile, or shows as needing a plan that includes it. The fix is changing your plan.
- It's built but not yet turned on. The tile shows Available. Someone with the right role activates it — see above.
- It isn't built yet. The tile shows Soon. There's nothing to do but wait; it'll light up when it ships.
- Your plan includes it, but your role doesn't. The module is active for the organisation, yet you personally can't see its section or buttons. That's a role question, not an entitlement one — see Why can't I see a button?.