Table of Contents
Document Summary
Waitlist Automation is a “set it and forget it” feature that automatically sends enrollment offers to patrons on an Activity Section waitlist. Enrollment offers are sent in numeric order based on patron Waitlist Numbers until all available enrollment slots are filled for the Section, or until the automation end date defined on the Section occurs.
This feature's primary goal is to reduce the number of staff hours required to manually track, manage, and enroll patrons from Activity Section waitlists.
Please note that Waitlist Automation currently notifies patrons via Household Email. To ensure that 1) Patrons receive enrollment offers from any automated waitlists they are part of and 2) Your staff offers no manual tracking, we recommend that patrons who sign up for an automated waitlist have a Household Email associated with their account.
Note:
As of 3.1.10.31.00, the Waitlist Options feature will no longer be supported for the Activity module. Waitlist enrollment is now specific to the Activity Section selected by the patron, rather than to Activities that share the same Type, Category, or other legacy Waitlist Option. This change is part of a larger initiative of Activity Waitlist processing updates and quality-of-life improvements.
All preexisting Activity waitlists utilizing Waitlist Options will be converted to one of the following:
- Standard Activity waitlist enrollments will now have a Waitlist Option of “This Section”
- By Day Activity waitlist enrollments will now have a Waitlist Option of “This Section/This Date”
Please note that no action is required to continue utilizing Activity waitlists, and that Waitlist Options will still be available for other modules.
Rules are not checked when a record with a status of Enrollment Offered is added to the Shopping Cart. Once an enrollment offer is received by a patron, that offer should always be able to be accepted by the patron.
If a patron is not eligible to receive an enrollment offer for an Activity Section, VS recommends preventing the patron from signing up for that Section’s waitlist.
License –Maintenance Agreement
The Activity Waitlist Automation feature is free. Use of the interface requires a Vermont Systems license and annual maintenance agreement for RecTrac and the component modules discussed in this document. Before implementing any process outlined in this document, please contact the Vermont Systems Sales department at 1-877-883-8757 to verify that you are authorized to use the modules discussed in this document and if not, to obtain a quote and/or approval.
Setup Steps
This document provides the basic File Maintenance and Daily Processing steps required to:
- Enable the Automated Waitlist? option for your Activity Sections
- Set up the Automation Begin Date and Automation End Date range for your Activity Sections
- Set when enrollment offers sent from an Automated Waitlist expire
- Set up the Waitlist Automation Scheduled Event
- Set up the Enrollment Offer Expiration Scheduled Event
- Track your automated waitlists via Activity Section Email Features and the Global Sales Waitlist tab
If you have additional questions about Activity Waitlist Automation setup and processing after reading this document, please contact Vermont Systems Customer Service by phone at 887-883-8757 or generate a Support Case through the Customer portal of the Vermont Systems website using your Customer ID and password.
Before You Begin
This document is written with the following assumptions. If any of the items listed below are NOT true, contact Vermont Systems Support before continuing, as the steps in this document may prove difficult to complete and unexpected results may occur.
- Your organization is running RecTrac 3.1.10.31.00 or greater.
- You have a full understanding of how programs are managed in your organization, including but not limited to: the programs for which Waitlist Automation will be used and how enrollment into those waitlists and programs is currently managed.
- You understand RecTrac Activity Management and have created the Activities and Sections for which Waitlist Automation will be allowed.
- The User ID with which you sign in to RecTrac has the requisite permissions and ability to access all modules and functions pertaining to Activity Waitlist Automation, including but not limited to: Activity Section Management, Scheduled Event Management, Static Parameters, and Global Sales.
- You understand RecTrac DataGrids and how to maneuver through them.
File Maintenance Setup
You will visit the following program modules to configure Activity, Static Parameter, and Scheduled Event logic in RecTrac:
Note:
All file paths and screen/tab locations in this document refer to file paths and screen/tab locations as they appear in the standard, default Vermont Systems design. Your setup and design may vary.
Activity Section Management
Waitlist Automation is enabled at the Activity Section level. When the Automated Waitlist? toggle is enabled for an Activity Section, enrollment offers are automatically sent to Family Members on that Section’s Waitlist:
- Enrollment offers are sent in numeric order based on Family Member Waitlist Number.
- Enrollment offers are sent within the timeframe defined by the Automation Start Date and Automation End Date fields on the associated Activity Section.
- The number of enrollment offers sent at one time cannot exceed the available enrollment spaces in the Activity Section.
Please follow the steps below to turn on the Automated Waitlist? toggle for an Activity Section, and to set the Automation Begin Date and Automation End Date for that Section. Waitlist Automation will process for a Section only if this toggle is enabled, and only within the specified date range.
- In RecTrac, go to Management Ribbon • Activity Management • Activity Management Programs group • Activity Section Management.
- Highlight/select the first Section for which you will enable Waitlist Automation and click Change. You will continue to the Activity Section Update screen.
- In the Core Settings group, click the Automated Waitlist? toggle to enable Waitlist Automation functionality. The Automation Begin Date and Automation End Date fields will appear.
- Fill in or select the Section’s Automation Begin Date and Automation End Date. Enrollment offers will be sent to patrons on the Section’s waitlist starting on the Automation Begin Date and ending on the Automation End Date.
- Click Save.
- Repeat this process for each Section for which you will enable Waitlist Automation.
Note:
Use the Bulk Change program to expedite this process, if desired. From the Section Management DataGrid, click Bulk Change. Select a range of Sections. Add Automated Waitlist, Automation Begin Date, and Automation End Date to the Bulk Changes to Complete column of the Dual Select List. Then click Process Bulk Change.
Static Parameters Profile
To ensure that Waitlist Automation continues to process until all available enrollment slots in a Section are filled, enrollment offers sent by an automated waitlist must expire after a set period of time. The number of hours after which a waitlist enrollment offer expires is set in the Static Parameters profile, with the default expiration period being 48 hours. This number is referenced by the Enrollment Offer Expiration scheduled program described below.
To set the timeframe that patrons have to accept an automated waitlist enrollment offer:
- In RecTrac, go to Management Ribbon • System Management • User/Menu/Profile Management Programs group • Profile Assignments.
- Click Static Parameters. You will continue to the Static Parameters Profile Update screen.
- In the Misc Settings group, update the Activity Waitlist Enrollment Offers Expire After X Hours field. This field will default to a value of 48.
- Click Save.
Scheduled Events Management
Two scheduled programs are associated with Waitlist Automation:
- The Waitlist Automation program, which sends enrollment offers to Family Members on automated waitlists in your database.
- The Enrollment Offer Expiration program, which automatically expires pending enrollment offers after the period of time set up in the Static Parameters profile.
When Waitlist Automation is enabled for an Activity Section with available space, Family Members are automatically emailed an enrollment offer when they reach the top of that Section’s waitlist. This offer must be accepted, either via the My Pending Enrollments page on WebTrac or via Global Sales in RecTrac, in order to finalize enrollment into the Activity Section.
The enrollment offer can also be rejected, if enrollment into the Section is no longer wanted, or allowed to expire, if no action is taken.
Note:
To ensure enrollment offers are triggered as expected, it is recommended that custom version(s) of Language Code Rcpt-AR-00006 are deleted prior to using this feature.
To delete a custom Language Code:
- In RecTrac, go to Management Ribbon • System Management • Misc Management Programs group • Language Code Management.
- Locate the Language Codes DataGrid at the bottom of the screen.
- Type “Rcpt-AR-00006” into the Phrase ID column filter and press the Enter key. If a custom Language Code exists in your database, it will appear on the DataGrid.
- Select the custom Rcpt-AR-00006 Language Code.
- Click on the More button group.
- Click Delete.
- When the Information confirmation popup appears, click Yes. Your Language Code will be deleted.
Scheduled Program: Waitlist Automation
To trigger the enrollment offers that are sent to Family Members on your automated waitlists, you must visit Scheduled Events Management and create a scheduled Waitlist Automation program. Once set up, this program runs every one (1) minute and identifies all Sections that have:
- A status of Active
- Waitlist Automation settings enabled in Activity Section Management
- Space available
- Current waitlist enrollments
When it finds a Section that satisfies the criteria above, the program sends enrollment offers to Family Members based on the following events:
- Cancellation of an enrollment in the Activity Section
- Transfer of an enrollment in the Activity Section to a different Section
- Rejection of an enrollment offer for the Activity Section
- Expiration of an enrollment offer for the Activity Section
- Increase of the Overall Max Count on the Activity Section
- Automation End Date field on the Activity Section updated to end at a later date
- Automation Start Date field on the Activity Section updated to occur on or before the current date
- Activity Section removed from the Shopping Cart
- Automated Waitlist? toggle turned on for a new Activity Section
Enrollment offer emails can be updated from Comment Code Management using the following VSI Reserved Comment Codes:
- WaitlistOffer01
- OfferExpiration01
- OfferExpiration02
To create a Waitlist Automation Scheduled Event:
- In RecTrac, go to Management Ribbon • System Management • Misc Management Programs group • Scheduled Events Management.
- Click Add Misc Event. You will continue to the Scheduled Program Update screen.
- Select Waitlist Automation from the Scheduled Program drop-down list.
- Select the Run As user. By default, VS recommends selecting the ZZS User ID as the "Run As" User. If you select a different User ID, please ensure that user has the appropriate administrative permissions in Profile Assignments.
- Click Save.
Scheduled Program: Enrollment Offer Expiration
The Static Parameters profile allows you to set the number of hours that a patron has to accept an automated waitlist enrollment offer before that offer expires. To trigger enrollment offer expirations, you must visit Scheduled Events Management and create a scheduled Enrollment Offer Expiration program. Once set up, this program checks for enrollment offer expiration dates/times every one (1) minute. When it finds an enrollment offer that has expired, the program cancels the enrollment offer and sends an email notification to the patron. When it finds an enrollment offer that has an upcoming expiration, the program sends a warning email to the patron. Enrollment offer emails can be updated from Comment Code Management.
To create an Enrollment Offer Expiration Scheduled Event:
- In RecTrac, go to Management Ribbon • System Management • Misc Management Programs group • Scheduled Events Management.
- Click the Add Misc Event button. You will continue to the Scheduled Program Update screen.
- Select Enrollment Offer Expiration from the Scheduled Program drop-down list.
- Select the Run As user. By default, VS recommends selecting the ZZS User ID as the "Run As" User. If you select a different User ID, please ensure that user has the appropriate administrative permissions in Profile Assignments.
- Enter the number of hours prior to offer expiration that a warning email will be sent to patrons.
- Click Save.
Tracking Waitlists
You will visit the following RecTrac programs to set up and monitor tracking for your automated waitlists:
- Activity Section Management - Email Features
- Global Sales - Waitlist Tab
- WebTrac - My Pending Enrollments
Note:
All file paths and screen/tab locations in this document refer to file paths and screen/tab locations as they appear in the standard, default Vermont Systems Design. Your setup and Design may vary.
Activity Section Management – Email Features
When the Enrollment Offer Email Feature is enabled for an Activity Section, specified contacts are sent email notifications when Family Members receive a status of “Enrollment Offered” for that Section. Setting up this feature ensures that you are notified by email each time a new enrollment offer is issued for the applicable Activity Section, either from Waitlist Automation or from the Lottery Spin.
To enable Enrollment Offer Email Features for your Activity Sections:
- In RecTrac, go to Management Ribbon • Activity Management • Activity Management Programs group • Activity Section Management.
- Highlight/select the first Section for which you will enable Enrollment Offer Email Features and click Change. You will continue to the Activity Section Update screen.
- At the top of the Activity Section Update screen, click the Email Features tab.
- From the Email Features DataGrid, click Add. The Email Features Update screen will open.
- Select Enrollment Offered from the Transaction Types dropdown field.
- Use the Staff Contact List picklist to select the staff members who should be emailed when a Family Member receives a status of Enrollment Offered for the Section.
- Use the Free Form Contact List entry field to fill in email addresses that should be emailed when a Family Member receives a status of Enrollment Offered for the Section.
- Click Save.
- Repeat this process for each Section for which you will enable Enrollment Offer Email Features.
Global Sales – Waitlist Tab
The Waitlist tab in RecTrac’s Global Sales program allows you to track and process enrollments from your Activity Section waitlists.
To access the Global Sales Waitlist tab:
- In RecTrac, go to Processing Ribbon • Global Sales.
- Skip the Global Sales Lookup screen. The Global Sales Processing screen will open.
- At the top of the Global Sales group, click on the Waitlist tab.
From the Global Sales Waitlist tab, you can view and sort your automated waitlists and your manually processed waitlists with the following DataGrid columns:
- Section Description
- Household ID
- Family Member First and Last Name
- Phone Number
- Status (Waitlist or Enrollment Offered)*
- Automated Waitlist?*
- Automation Begin Date*
- Automation End Date*
- Waitlist Order
- Transaction Date
- Section Begin Date
- Section End Date
- Offer Date*
- Offer Time*
- Offer Expire Date*
- Offer Expire Time*
Note:
Columns with an asterisk (*) are not visible on the Waitlist DataGrid by default. To enable these columns, click on the DataGrid’s Options button, select Show Settings, and check the Visible toggle for each column.
To process enrollments from the Global Sales Waitlist tab, use the Enroll button group.
WebTrac – My Pending Enrollments
From the My Pending Enrollments page on WebTrac, patrons have the following self-service waitlist options:
- Waitlist tracking, including the number on the waitlist
- Waitlist enrollment cancellation
- Acceptance or rejection of enrollment offers from the waitlist
To access the My Pending Enrollments page:
On WebTrac, go to Account Menu • Update group • My Pending Enrollments.
Accepting and Rejecting Enrollment Offers
When a Family Member reaches the top of an automated waitlist and there is space available in the Section, they receive an enrollment offer. This offer must be accepted, either via the My Pending Enrollments page on WebTrac or via Global Sales’ Purchase History in RecTrac, to finalize enrollment in the Activity Section.
The enrollment offer can also be rejected, if enrollment into the Section is no longer wanted, or allowed to expire, if no action is taken.
Note:
Rules are not checked when a record with a status of Enrollment Offered is added to the Shopping Cart. Once an enrollment offer is received by a patron, that offer should always be able to be accepted by the patron.
If a patron is not eligible to receive an enrollment offer for an Activity Section, VS recommends preventing the patron from signing up for that Section’s waitlist.
Accepting an Enrollment Offer – Global Sales
The following presents the basic steps required to accept an enrollment offer on behalf of a Family Member via the Waitlist tab in Global Sales. Please note that while the following steps present the enrollment process using the Waitlist tab, enrollments can also be processed from the Purchase History tab.
- In RecTrac, go to Global Sales.
- Lookup and select the Household/Family Member who wishes to accept an enrollment offer.
- Click on the Waitlist tab.
- Select the Enrollment Offer from the Waitlist DataGrid.
- Click on the Enroll button group and select Enroll from Offer. Confirm that the correct Activity Section was added to the Shopping Cart. You will see two line items representing the enrollment offer and the full enrollment.
- Click Payment and complete checkout as you normally would. All Processing Prompts, Fees, Waivers, etc. associated with enrolling into the Activity Section will appear.
Accepting an Enrollment Offer – WebTrac
The following presents the basic steps required for a patron to accept an enrollment offer via the My Pending Enrollments Page on WebTrac.
- Sign into WebTrac.
- Go to the My Pending Enrollments page.
- Locate the Enrollment Offer that you would like to accept on the Pending Enrollments from Waitlist DataGrid. Note that the status will be Enrollment Offered.
- Click Accept. Confirm that the correct Activity Section was added to the Shopping Cart.
- Click Proceed To Checkout and complete checkout as you normally would. All Processing Prompts, Fees, Waivers, etc. associated with enrolling into the Activity Section will appear.
- You will receive an emailed Enrollment Receipt.
Rejecting an Enrollment Offer – Global Sales
The following presents the basic steps required to reject an enrollment offer on behalf of a Family Member via the Waitlist tab in Global Sales. Please note that while the following steps present the cancellation process using the Waitlist tab, cancellations can also be processed from the Purchase History tab.
- In RecTrac, go to Global Sales.
- Look up and select the Household/Family Member who wishes to reject an enrollment offer.
- Click the Waitlist tab.
- Select the Enrollment Offer from the Waitlist DataGrid. Note that the status of the Activity Section will be Enrollment Offered.
- Click Cancel. Confirm that the correct Activity Section was added to the Shopping Cart.
- Click Payment and complete the cancellation as you normally would.
Rejecting an Enrollment Offer – WebTrac
The following presents the basic steps required for a patron to reject an enrollment offer via the My Pending Enrollments Page on WebTrac.
- Sign into WebTrac.
- Go to the My Pending Enrollments page.
- Locate the Enrollment Offer that you would like to reject on the Pending Enrollments from Waitlist DataGrid. Note that the status will be Enrollment Offered.
- Click Reject. Confirm that you would like to reject the enrollment offer by clicking Yes on the confirmation popup. You will be directed to the Shopping Cart.
- Click Proceed To Checkout and complete the cancellation as you normally would.
- You will receive an emailed Cancellation receipt.