Reasons-Based Attendance replaces the old “roll code + pass” logic with a single, consistent “reason” backbone that syncs cleanly to your SIS and improves attendance accuracy inside Orah.

In this webinar, Emily and Zohaib cover:

• What Reasons-Based Attendance is, and what changes from your current setup
• Why it improves insights and reporting (excused vs unexcused absences and tardies, plus “Not expected”)
• How the migration works, including what happens to historical data
• A live walkthrough of the Manage Reasons screen (mapping reasons to roll codes, passes, and SIS)
• How to manage visibility and permissions for staff and parents
• What’s new in Insights and Alerts once you switch
• Best practices for timing your migration (midweek vs weekend vs summer) and avoiding duplicates

To complete your setup the right way, follow the step-by-step guide here: https://success.orah.com/en/articles/12458404-reasons

Mini guide: Setting up Reasons-Based Attendance in Orah

Confirm your current setup

Go to your SIS integration settings and check what you’re currently mapping (roll codes, passes, reasons). This tells you how much configuration you’ll need before switching.

Enable the Reasons object from your SIS

In Data Integration, add/enable the Reason Code (or equivalent) object so Orah can pull your SIS excuse types/reasons and keep a clean 1:1 mapping.

Configure reasons in Orah (Manage Reasons)

Open Attendance Settings → Reasons to view all reasons in one place. Here you can:

• Review SIS-imported reasons vs existing Orah reasons (watch for duplicates)
• Edit reason details and access
• Set the Reason Type for each reason:
  • Excused
  • Unexcused
  • Not expected (does not count toward absence totals)

Map reasons to roll codes and passes

From the same Reasons screen, link:

• Roll codes → reasons
• Pass types → reasons

This is what drives consistent reporting, automations, and SIS sync behaviour.

Set visibility and permissions (staff + parents)

Decide which roles can see/use each reason. Optionally enable parent-facing reasons for parent-reported absences (for example “Late due to traffic”).

Switch to Reasons-Based Attendance

When everything is mapped, flip the switch in Attendance Settings. Orah will validate setup, then migrate. Historical records are recategorised in Orah (not re-pushed to your SIS).

Verify Insights + Alerts

After switching, confirm you can see:

• Excused vs unexcused absences and tardies in Insights
• Filters and alerts that can trigger on specific reasons

For the full, authoritative setup steps (and screenshots), use: https://success.orah.com/en/articles/12458404-reasons