When a seat opens, the next family hears about it
A family drops pottery in week two. Somewhere there is a list of the five families who wanted in, in the order they asked — in an inbox, or a notebook, or someone’s head. By the time anyone works through it, the seat has sat empty for a fortnight.
In CircleUp the waitlist lives on the class, and when you free a seat it goes to the next family in line without anyone working the list.
If this is how your waitlist works
- “Email me if you want to be on the list.”
- Trying to remember who asked first.
- Calling three families before one says yes.
- A seat that opened up and nobody noticed.
How it works in CircleUp
Switch it on per class
Turn the waitlist on for the classes that fill. When one is full, families see a button to join its waitlist instead of “Add”.
A place in line for each child
Families join for a particular child, so the seat is offered for that child when it comes.
Open seats move the line
When you remove a child from the roster, move one to another class, or raise a class’s size, the next family in line is offered the seat: an email and an in-app notification with a link to register.
The seat waits for them
An offered seat is held for that family until they register or you take them off the list, so nobody loses a place because they missed an email for a day.
Field trips and events too
Events with limited spots have their own waitlist. A freed spot is offered to the next family that fits, held for a window you choose (48 hours unless you change it), and moves down the line by itself if nobody claims it.
Worth knowing
- Automated waitlists are part of the Pro plan and up.
- A class waitlist offer doesn’t expire on its own. If a family doesn’t register, you remove them and the seat goes to the next family.
Questions co-ops ask us
Which plan includes waitlists?
Automated waitlists are included on Pro and up.
Do I have to watch the list and email families myself?
No. When a seat opens on a class with a waitlist, CircleUp offers it to the next family in line by email and in the app, with a link to register that child.
What if two of my children are waiting for the same class?
Each child holds their own place in line, and each offer is for the child it names.
The other jobs CircleUp takes on
Stop working the list by hand
CircleUp is free for up to 10 families, with no credit card. Waitlists come with Pro, for co-ops whose classes fill up.