1. Can I use Parmenas now?
Parmenas is currently in closed testing with partner food co-ops and buying clubs. You can request early access for your cooperative, and Viable Food will contact you as our next testing group opens.
Plain-Language Answers · In Closed Testing
Frequently asked questions about Parmenas.
Straightforward answers for cooperative boards, treasurers, store staff, volunteers, and buying-club organizers.
2. What software do food co-ops use to manage members?
Parmenas is co-op management software in closed testing built for food co-ops and buying clubs. It brings together Members & Ownership, Patronage Dividends, Board & Elections, Volunteers, Buying Club, Finance, and Store Tools in one self-hosted system.
3. How do co-ops calculate patronage dividends?
Throughout the fiscal year, Parmenas attributes eligible purchases to each member household. At fiscal year-end, the treasurer enters the board's allocation rules (for example, 20% cash payout and 80% retained patronage equity), and Parmenas calculates each household's dividend, preparing member statements and accounting summaries without fragile spreadsheet formulas.
4. Is there co-op management software that runs on shared hosting?
Yes. Parmenas is built on standard PHP 8.x and MySQL with no Node.js server runtime, Docker containers, or cloud microservices required. A small food co-op or buying club can run it cleanly on an ordinary cPanel shared hosting account or a modest computer in the co-op office.
5. Does it handle board elections and member votes?
Yes. Parmenas runs verified one-member-one-vote board elections and bylaw votes tied directly to your active member roll. It tracks quorum percentages live, keeps individual ballot choices secret, supports paper-ballot check-off at the store counter so no household votes twice, and presents candidate statements in both English and Spanish.
6. How do buying clubs use Parmenas to split wholesale cases?
Buying clubs open pre-order windows where member households claim whole cases or partial splits (such as 5 lbs from a 25-lb sack of oats). Parmenas shows live case-fill progress, locks filled cases for the distributor purchase order, prints household pack-out labels, and prorates catch-weights or shorted items on delivery day.
7. How do volunteer work shifts connect to checkout discounts?
Working members claim or swap pack-out, receiving, and stocking shifts from a shared calendar. When a shift is marked complete, Parmenas credits the household's work hours so the counter lookup shows their active working-member discount for every authorized shopper in that household.
8. Does Parmenas work in both English and Spanish?
Yes. Parmenas supports English and natural informal tú Spanish across member portals, share payment notices, volunteer shift reminders, election ballots, and receipts. Each member household chooses its preferred language at enrollment.
9. Does Parmenas replace our point-of-sale (POS) or accounting software?
Parmenas works alongside your existing checkout system and accounting software. It handles the cooperative-specific jobs that generic retail systems miss (member share installments, working-member shift credits, buying-club pools, one-member-one-vote elections, and patronage allocations) and exports clean journal summaries for QuickBooks, Xero, GnuCash, or your accountant.
10. Can a startup co-op use Parmenas before opening a storefront?
Yes. Organizing food co-ops can use Parmenas during their founding member drive to enroll member-owners, track multi-payment share pledges, run founding board elections, and operate a pre-storefront buying club, then turn on daily store tools when the doors open.
11. Who owns the member and financial data in Parmenas?
Your cooperative owns all of its data. Because Parmenas is self-hosted on your own hosting account or server, your member roll, equity records, and governance history remain in your custody and can be backed up or exported as standard spreadsheet and backup files at any time.
12. Does Parmenas show our co-op's own name and branding to members?
Yes. Inside the application, Parmenas is white-label: your cooperative's own name, logo, and colours take centre stage across member portals, ballots, receipts, and shelf tags.
13. What is Remote Viable Food support?
Remote Viable Food support is optional managed assistance from Viable Food covering initial server setup, migrating existing member and equity spreadsheets, automated off-site backups, and software updates. You can self-host independently or add Remote Viable Food support whenever your team wants a hand.
14. Is Parmenas accessible to members using screen readers or keyboard navigation?
Yes. Parmenas aims for WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards, with semantic landmarks, full keyboard operation, visible focus indicators, high-contrast typography, and respect for reduced-motion settings.