Planning Center Integration

Flowforth requires a connection to Planning Center (PCO) in order to function. It’s how we know who your people are and how you send and automate emails using lists you’ve already created in PCO.

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What We Sync

Once connected, we sync the following data from your Planning Center account:

• All people and their primary email addresses
• Lists
• List categories

This allows you to send targeted messages, track engagement, and automate communications in Flowforth.

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Real-Time Syncing

When you connect to Planning Center, Flowforth creates webhooks in your PCO account. This means:

• Any changes you make in PCO—such as adding or removing people from lists—are reflected in Flowforth within minutes
• Your data stays accurate and up-to-date, without needing manual imports

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Who Can Connect to Planning Center

To connect your Planning Center account to Flowforth, you must be a People Manager or higher in Planning Center.

• Anyone you invite to Flowforth can use the platform.
• However, only users with People Manager access in PCO can connect your account.

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Connecting to Planning Center

You’ll be prompted to connect to Planning Center during onboarding, so we can sync your data before you start emailing. If your organization is not connected (or the connection is lost), you’ll be prompted to reconnect. Reasons you might lose your connection:

• The person who connected to PCO had their permissions changed within PCO
• It’s been 90+ days since you last used Flowforth
• The original connector deleted their Flowforth account or PCO account

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Expanding Your Connection

After your initial connection, you can expand the scope to include Groups, Registrations, and Calendar data. This enables importing Planning Center content directly into emails. To expand your connection:

1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
2. If the expand option is available, click Expand PCO Connection
3. Authorize the additional scopes using the same account that originally connected

Required permissions for the expanded connection:

• Manager access to People
• Administrator access to Groups
• Administrator access to Registrations
• Viewer access to Calendar

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List Syncing

When you connect to Planning Center, Flowforth syncs your PCO lists so you can use them to send emails. You can check for new lists at any time from the People > Lists page by clicking Actions > Check for New Lists. New lists are assigned a default visibility level when they sync. You can control this default—and override it per category—from the Planning Center settings page.

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Default List Permissions

The Default List Permissions setting controls the visibility assigned to new lists when they first sync from Planning Center. To change the default:

1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
2. Under List Sync Settings, find Default List Permissions
3. Choose a visibility level:

When you change the default, you’ll be asked whether to:

• Apply to All Lists — updates all existing lists to the new default
• Only New Lists — keeps existing lists unchanged; only future synced lists use the new default

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Per-Category Defaults

You can override the global default for specific Planning Center list categories. This is useful if you want most lists visible but certain categories restricted.

1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
2. Under List Sync Settings, click Customize per category to expand the category list
3. For each category, choose a visibility level or leave it as Inherited to use the global default

When you change a category’s default, you’ll be asked whether to apply the change to all existing lists in that category or only to newly synced lists.

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Per-List Permissions

You can also set visibility on individual lists from the People > Lists page. Owners can click on any list to open its settings and choose from:

• Visible to All — all team members can see the list
• Owners Only — only owners can see the list
• Hidden — the list doesn’t appear in Flowforth
• Custom — hand-pick which team members can access the list

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Custom Refresh Schedules

By default, lists are refreshed automatically via webhooks. If you need a list refreshed on a specific schedule, you can set a custom refresh for individual lists:

1. Go to People > Lists
2. Click on a list to open its settings
3. Enable Custom Refresh Schedule
4. Choose a day of the week and time

The list will be refreshed at the selected time in your browser’s timezone.

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Disconnecting from Planning Center

To disconnect your Flowforth organization from Planning Center:

1. Go to Settings > Planning Center
2. Click Disconnect, then confirm

After disconnecting:

• You will only be able to manage billing or reconnect your PCO account
• You will not be able to send emails or manage links

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Importing Content into Emails

You can import groups, registrations, and calendar events from Planning Center directly into the Flowforth email editor. This lets you quickly build emails featuring your Planning Center content without manually creating each block. Learn more in Importing Content from Planning Center.

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Additional Notes

• You can see who connected your Planning Center account and when from Settings > Planning Center.
• A single Planning Center organization can only be connected to one Flowforth organization.
• If a list isn’t showing up, see PCO List Not Showing for troubleshooting steps.

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Need help syncing or managing your Planning Center connection? Contact support@flowforth.co.