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Target ratios define the maximum number of children that should be assigned to each staff member during different time periods. These ratios are used to work out your occupancy percentage and to highlight times when you may be over capacity, so they are crucial for maintaining safety and compliance.
The Occupancy view with the ratio editor open, showing the target ratio periods for a room

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How Ratios Work

Ratios are set per room. In Per Room view each room card has its own ratios, and in All Rooms view you edit the ratios that apply to the aggregate view. There is no single global ratio setting to manage separately — you edit the ratios in the context you’re looking at, and Pigeonhole saves them against that room (or the all-rooms view). You can also set different ratios for different times of day, which is useful if your staffing or age mix changes across the day (for example, a lower ratio during a baby room’s morning session).

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Opening the Ratio Editor

The ratio editor is only available in the Occupancy heatmap view.
  1. Switch the heatmap to the Occupancy view mode.
  2. Click the pencil icon in the heatmap controls to open the ratio editor for that room (or for the all-rooms view).
The pencil icon in the Occupancy view heatmap controls that opens the ratio editor
When the editor is open, the same control changes to a Save icon so you can save your changes from the same place.

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Adjusting Ratios

With the ratio editor open you can:
  • Change a ratio — edit the number of children per staff member for a time period.
  • Split a time period — click Click to split to divide an existing period at its midpoint, creating a new ratio period you can adjust independently.
  • Move a boundary — drag the boundary line between two periods to change when the ratio changes. Pigeonhole updates both adjacent periods automatically.
Changes are reflected in the heatmap immediately so you can see their effect before saving.

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Removing a Ratio Period

To remove a ratio period, click the trash icon next to it. Pigeonhole merges the period with an adjacent one. At least one ratio period must always remain, so the trash icon only appears when there is more than one period.

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Saving Your Changes

When you’re happy with the ratios, click the Save icon (the same control you used to open the editor) to apply your changes for that room.
Always save your ratio changes before navigating away from the page, or they will be lost.