Waiting Lists - Shopping Basket & Checkout
Learn about Waiting Lists
Related Help Guide Pages
This page provides information on how Waiting lists work for both Shopping Basket and Checkout
Waiting Lists in accessplanit give your Delegates the opportunity to reserve a place on a Course that has already reached full capacity. Rather than turning Delegates away, the Waiting List acts as a queue, so if a space becomes available before the Course begins, those on the list have the chance to secure a booking!
By using waiting lists, you can maximise attendance, reduce the impact of last-minute dropouts, and make sure no Course place goes to waste! While your Delegates enjoy a seamless, transparent booking experience.
Please Note
If you do not have Waiting Lists enabled in your platform, please contact a member of our Support Team and we’ll be happy to make this available to you.
How do Course Waiting Lists work?
The information below explains how Waiting Lists work within the Shopping Basket and Checkout Basket.
Enabling Waiting Lists
You can control whether you would like to offer waiting lists on a Course-by-Course basis!
To offer a waiting list on a Course:
Edit the Course via the Courses DataGrid or the Course Calendar
Click on the ‘Waiting List’ section header along the top of the form to jump to the waiting list options
Set the Waiting List drop-down option to ‘Enabled’
Click ‘Save’ at the top of the page
Top tip!
Within each Course Template, you can set a default for the ‘Waiting List’ option. If you have enabled the waiting list on the Course Template, all Courses scheduled from it will automatically have the Waiting List enabled by default, saving you time!
Registering onto a Waiting List
Fully booked Course
When a User adds a fully booked Course to their basket, the basket will immediately display a clear notification informing the booking User that the Course is already at capacity.
Rather than losing the booking altogether, if the waiting list for that Course is enabled, the Delegate assigned will assigned the status of ‘Waiting List’.
Registering multiple Delegates
When a customer books onto a Course with fewer spaces available than the number of Delegates they’re registering, the available spaces will be filled with Delegates given the status ‘Booked’. Any additional Delegates beyond the available spaces will automatically be assigned the status ‘Waiting List’.
Costs for Waiting List Delegates
Delegates added to a Waiting List through the basket are not charged at this stage, and no invoice will be generated for them. This protects Delegates from being billed prematurely! If a Delegate is later promoted from ‘Waiting List’ to ‘Booked’ (once a space becomes free), you will then have the option to process the payment on their behalf manually, ensuring that Invoices are only raised once a confirmed place has been secured.
Please note
Text shown in the basket regarding the Waiting List is system-generated and cannot be amended or customised. This ensures that all Users receive a consistent and accurate message when interacting with the booking process.
Course Requirements
For a Course to support waiting lists, the following must be in place:
The Course should have ‘Waiting List’ enabled
The Course should have no remaining places available to book
The Course should have the status of ‘Available’ (please note, the status of ‘Fully Booked’ does not support waiting lists)
Auto Promotion on Waiting list
In your platform, there is a configuration setting available that can be enabled by the Helpdesk on your behalf.
When switched on, this setting allows Delegates on your Course Waiting List to be automatically promoted to ‘Booked’ if a space becomes available on their Course, for example, when another Delegate cancels their place or is transferred to another Course.
This automation removes the need for manual intervention, ensuring that valuable Course places never go unused and that Delegates are given the best possible chance to secure a Booking!
Promotions from the Waiting List are always handled on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that Delegates are promoted in the exact order they joined the Waiting List, guaranteeing a fair and transparent process for all learners.
Please Note
Waiting list automation cannot be used in conjunction with provisional only bookings.
If you wish to use waiting lists and also have provisional only bookings, when a place becomes available the Delegate that is promoted from the waiting list will be added to your Course as ‘Booked’ rather than ‘Provisional’.
FAQ’s
How does the Waiting list know who to promote first when a place becomes available on a Course?
How do I invoice Delegates who have been promoted to ‘Booked’ from the Waiting List?