Pilot Starting Balance is a free, VA-agnostic phpVMS 7 module for administrators who want to provide a controlled starting balance to newly verified pilots and issue one-off credits to pilots whose current balance is zero.
What it does
The module adds an administrator page under Admin → Addons → Pilot Starting Balance. Administrators can:
- Set the default amount credited once after a new pilot confirms their email address.
- Use a blank or zero value to apply no automatic credit.
- Select multiple pilots and issue a one-off credit only to pilots with a current zero balance.
- Add an optional memo to manual credits.
- Review the installed version and GitHub release status.
Credits are created through the phpVMS finance journal and recorded in an audit table. Repeated verification events cannot duplicate a registration credit. The module does not modify phpVMS core files.
Features
- Admin-controlled registration starting balance.
- Applied once after email confirmation.
- Zero or empty default value results in zero credit.
- Multi-pilot manual credits with a zero-balance filter.
- Row locking and balance re-checking protect manual credits from race conditions.
- Idempotent registration handling and audit history.
- Cached GitHub release checker with a Check GitHub now action.
- Manual, administrator-controlled updates; no automatic file replacement.
- MIT licensed and free to use.
Compatibility
- phpVMS 7 installations using the standard module manager.
- PHP 8.1.2 or newer.
- Standard phpVMS user verification and finance services.
The first release preserves the setting and audit-table identifiers used by the earlier AEV/Jumpseat implementation, allowing existing saved configuration and credit history to remain compatible.
Installation through the phpVMS admin panel
- Download PilotStartingBalance.zip from the release link below. Keep the top-level folder inside the archive named PilotStartingBalance.
- Sign in as a phpVMS administrator.
- Open Admin → Modules → Add New.
- Select and upload PilotStartingBalance.zip.
- Activate the module if phpVMS places it under Not Installed Modules.
- Run the module migration if the installer did not run it automatically.
- Clear the Laravel/application caches.
- Open Admin → Addons → Pilot Starting Balance.
- Set the default balance and confirm the installed version and GitHub update status.
Expected installed path:
modules/PilotStartingBalance/
FTP or file-manager installation
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Extract the archive.
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Upload the PilotStartingBalance folder into the phpVMS modules directory.
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Activate it from Admin → Modules.
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From the phpVMS installation root, run:
php artisan module:enable PilotStartingBalance php artisan module:migrate PilotStartingBalance --force php artisan optimize:clear
Updating phpVMS and the module
The module lives outside phpVMS core files, so normal phpVMS updates do not replace its provider, event listener, controller, migration, or update page. The setting and credit audit data are stored in the database and are not part of the phpVMS core settings seed files.
The admin status page checks the canonical GitHub release every six hours, or immediately when Check GitHub now is pressed. If a newer release is found, it displays the release link. Updates are manual and administrator-controlled: download the new ZIP from GitHub and install it through the phpVMS module manager. The module never replaces files automatically.
Links
- Repository: GitHub - parkho/PilotStartingBalance: Admin-controlled starting balances for newly verified phpVMS 7 pilots. · GitHub
- Release page: Release Pilot Starting Balance v1.0.0 · parkho/PilotStartingBalance · GitHub
- Direct download: https://github.com/parkho/PilotStartingBalance/releases/download/v1.0.0/PilotStartingBalance.zip
Notes
This is an independent community module and is not an official phpVMS product. It is released under the MIT License. Please back up the database and test in a staging VA before enabling credits in production. Support requests and compatibility reports are welcome in this topic.
Support the project
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