Helmsman complete guide

Creating an account

Helmsman supports email/password and Google sign-in. Pick the role that matches you on signup — Seafarer (learner), Instructor (teacher), or Company representative. You can switch or add roles later from Settings.

1. Click 'Get started' in the top-right header.
2. Choose 'Sign up' and enter your email + password (min 8 characters).
3. Verify your email by clicking the link we send.
4. Complete your profile: display name, country, rank (if seafarer), and avatar.

Navigating the site header

The header gives you Courses (catalogue), Find Instructors (1-on-1 booking), Group Classes, For Companies, About, and your Dashboard. The bell shows notifications, the heart shows your wishlist, and the avatar opens your profile.

Switching themes

Use the theme switcher (sun/moon icon) in the header. Choose Light, Dark, or one of the maritime presets (Deep Sea, Brass, Storm). Your preference is saved per device.

Overview

Your dashboard home shows current courses, upcoming sessions, recent certificates, and unread notifications. The left sidebar lists every section.

My courses

Lists every course you're enrolled in, with progress bars. Click any course to resume from your last lesson. Use the filter bar to show only In progress, Completed, or Expired.

Group classes

Shows live group sessions you've booked. Each card has a 'Join' button that activates 10 minutes before the start time and opens the Zoho Meeting room.

Certificates

All issued certificates with download (PDF) and verify (QR/URL) actions. Certificates auto-issue when you finish all lessons and pass the final assessment.

Badges & points

Gamification hub. Points accrue from lesson completion, streaks, reviews, and referrals. Badges (Bronze → Platinum tiers) unlock at milestones and appear on your public profile.

Wishlist

Heart any course to save it for later. Useful for tracking price drops — we notify you if a wishlisted course goes on sale.

Sessions

1-on-1 bookings with instructors. Shows upcoming, past, and cancelled. Click a session to see meeting link, instructor notes, and your booking history.

Messages

Direct conversations with your instructors. Real-time delivery, typing indicators, and file attachments (PDF, images).

AI Tutor

A maritime-trained chat assistant. Ask about regulations (STCW, MARPOL, SOLAS, COLREGs), navigation, engineering, or get explanations of lesson concepts. Context-aware: it knows which course you're studying.

Wallet

Top up funds, view transactions, redeem coupons. Refunds and instructor cancellations land here automatically. Withdraw to bank account if your balance came from referral rewards.

Subscription

Manage your monthly/annual plan. Free tier gives access to free courses + AI Tutor (10 queries/day). Pro unlocks unlimited AI, all featured courses, and premium group classes.

Verification (KYC)

Upload passport, CDC, and STCW credentials. Required for issuing official certificates and unlocking 'Verified Seafarer' badge. Reviewed within 48 hours.

Settings

Edit profile, change password, manage email notifications, set timezone & language, delete account.

Lesson player

Video lessons support 0.5×–2× playback, captions (when provided), and bookmarking. Your position auto-saves every 10 seconds. Use the lesson sidebar to jump between sections.

Quizzes

Quizzes lock the next lesson until you pass. Question types: multiple choice, true/false, matching pairs. Your highest attempt counts. Explanations appear after each question once submitted.

Assignments

Submit text answers and/or upload files (PDF, images, max 25 MB). Your instructor grades within 5 business days; you'll be notified of feedback. Failed assignments can be resubmitted unless capped.

Resources

Each lesson can include downloadable PDFs, charts, checklists. Find them in the 'Resources' tab on the lesson page.

Reviews & ratings

After completing 50% of a course, you can leave a star rating (1–5) and written review. Reviews are public and help other seafarers choose.

Checkout flow

Click 'Enrol now' on any course. Apply a coupon if you have one. Choose payment method: Card (Stripe), Razorpay (UPI/NetBanking/Wallet — India), or Wallet balance. After success you're enrolled instantly.

Coupons

Enter a code at checkout. Coupons may be percentage-based or fixed-amount, with min order or course-specific restrictions. Stacking is not allowed.

Refund policy

Full refund within 7 days if course progress is under 25%. Partial refunds case-by-case via the Disputes flow. Live 1-on-1 sessions: full refund up to 24 hours before scheduled time.

Raising a dispute

Dashboard → Wallet → find the transaction → 'Raise dispute'. Provide reason and evidence. Resolution within 5 business days.

Onboarding

Visit /teach. Complete profile (bio, expertise, languages, hourly rate, vessel types, max group size). Upload KYC + STCW credentials. Wait for admin approval (1–2 business days).

Building a course

Teach → Courses → 'New course'. Fill metadata (title, slug, description, price, category, level, language, CPD hours). Build curriculum with Sections → Lessons. Submit for review.

1. Add a section (e.g., 'Module 1: Bridge Procedures').
2. Inside the section, add lessons one at a time.
3. For each lesson choose type: video, article, PDF, quiz, assignment, or audio.
4. Mark intro lessons 'Free preview' so prospective students can sample.
5. Set passing score for the course (default 70%).
6. Click 'Submit for review' — admins approve within 48 hours.

AI tools (admin-only)

AI course generation, AI module/lesson generation, 'Improve with AI + online sources', and PDF→course conversion are restricted to administrators. Instructors build content manually using the rich editor and file upload.

Availability & bookings

Teach → Availability: set recurring weekly slots in your timezone. Teach → Bookings: see all 1-on-1 sessions. You can mark sessions complete, add private notes, or cancel (with reason — this notifies the student and refunds them).

Group classes

Teach → Group classes → 'New group class'. Schedule date/time, set max participants and price. Meeting link auto-generates on first enrolment. Run the class via Zoho Meeting.

Students & messages

Teach → Students lists everyone enrolled in your courses. Click a student to see their progress, message history, and submitted assignments. Teach → Messages is the same inbox as the student dashboard.

Earnings & payouts

Teach → Earnings shows gross/net revenue, pending payout, and history. Payouts run weekly Mondays once you cross the minimum (₹500 / $10). Add bank details under Teach → Profile → Payout settings.

Analytics

Teach → Analytics: enrolment trends, completion rate, average rating, revenue by course. Use this to identify drop-off points (e.g., a lesson where 40% of students stop) and improve content.

Setting up your fleet

Visit /for-companies and request a demo, or email enterprise@helmsman.tech. Once provisioned, you get a company admin login with seat allocation and the company dashboard.

Bulk crew enrolment

Upload a CSV of crew (name, email, rank, vessel) — invitations are sent automatically. Each seafarer creates their account and is auto-linked to your company.

Learning paths

Build sequenced course bundles by rank or vessel type (e.g., 'Officer of the Watch — Path' with 6 mandatory + 3 elective courses). Assign to crew with deadlines.

Compliance reporting

Export STCW-aligned reports in CSV or PDF. Filter by vessel, rank, certificate expiry. Auto-alerts 60/30/7 days before expiry.

API & SSO

REST API with OAuth 2.0. SCORM/xAPI export to your LMS. SAML 2.0 SSO available on enterprise plans (Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace tested).

Overview

/admin gives you platform-wide command. Sidebar sections: Users & roles, Courses, Group classes, AI course generator, Categories, KYC, Coupons, Payments, Disputes, Reports, Subscriptions, Wallets, Pricing rules, Analytics, Announcements, Badges, Staff, Support, Pages & nav, Settings.

AI course generator (admin only)

Three modes: (1) generate from prompt, (2) generate from uploaded PDF, (3) improve existing course with web sources. All actions require admin role and are logged in ai_audit_log. Output is editable before publishing.

Payment gateways

Admin → Settings → Payment gateways. Configure Stripe, Razorpay, Paytm with Test/Live credentials. Credentials are AES-GCM encrypted with the server-only ENCRYPTION_KEY. Toggle the active gateway site-wide. Use 'Test connection' before going live.

Dynamic pricing

Create rules that adjust course prices based on country, currency, time-of-day, or user segment. Rules are evaluated in priority order at checkout.

Pages & navigation

Build static pages (Terms, Privacy, About variants) with the rich editor. Toggle 'Show in header' or 'Show in footer' and set nav position to control where they appear.

Staff & permissions

Add staff (moderators, support agents) with granular permissions instead of full admin. Roles are stored in user_roles; permissions in staff_permissions.

Video won't play / buffers constantly

Switch to lower quality (gear icon → 240p/360p). Check connection ≥ 1 Mbps with fast.com. On VSAT, use Audio-only mode. If still failing, hard-refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R) and clear browser cache.

Payment failed but money was deducted

Wait 10 minutes — most failed transactions auto-reverse. If not, go to Wallet → Transactions, find the entry, click 'Report issue'. Provide gateway reference ID. Resolved in 2–5 business days.

Certificate not issued after completion

Confirm you finished every lesson (100%) AND passed the final assessment. Check Dashboard → My courses for the green tick. If both met but no certificate after 1 hour, contact support with course slug.

Can't book a session — slot keeps disappearing

Slots are first-come, first-served. Another student likely grabbed it while you were on the booking page. Refresh and pick a new slot, or use the 'Notify me when free' button.

Login loop / can't access dashboard

Clear cookies for the site, then sign in again. If you use Google sign-in, ensure third-party cookies are allowed. Browser extensions (privacy blockers) can also interfere — try incognito mode.

Email notifications not arriving

Check spam folder and add no-reply@helmsman.tech to contacts. In Settings → Notifications, confirm the relevant categories are toggled on. Corporate email firewalls sometimes block — try a personal address.

Instructor: KYC rejected

Check the rejection reason in Teach → Profile. Common causes: blurry passport scan, expired credentials, mismatched name. Re-upload corrected documents — admin re-reviews within 24 hours.

Company: CSV upload errors

Errors usually mean malformed columns or duplicate emails. Download the error report — it lists failing rows. Fix and re-upload (only failed rows; successful ones aren't duplicated).

Still stuck?

Open the Support chat (bottom-right floating button) — you'll reach a human within business hours (Mon–Fri, 09:00–21:00 UTC). For account-sensitive issues include your seafarer ID or registered email.