Reviewing, approving, and declining applications

What this is for

When a family applies, everything they sent sits on their record: their answers, their preferences, any forms you assigned, and your own private notes. This is where you read it all and decide what happens next.

Where to find it

Open Waitlist or Families and click a family's row. New inquiries show a New inquiry chip until you open them. Opening the record clears the reminder on Today and in the sidebar; nothing else changes.

The top of the record shows their name, how to reach them, and a row of pills: their stage, their place in line, and their deposit. Under that is one sentence about what to do next. Four tabs hold the details: Overview, Application, Messages, and Payments.

Read their answers

1. Open Application.
2. Under Their answers, read every question and answer from the form they submitted.
3. If they revised their application, Earlier versions lists each one. Open a version to see the answers as they stood then.

Uploaded photos and files show as links you can open in a new tab. Signatures show in a handwriting face. A family who joined without a form has no Application tab; their preferences are on Overview.

Approve or decline

Click Approve or Decline at the top right. A short confirmation explains what happens: approving opens the way to a deposit or an offer, declining closes this spot and keeps their other spots, messages, and payments. Either choice emails them a status update if that automation is on.

To change your mind later, click Edit on the Overview card, open Advanced: manual status, and set the application back to Under Review or Approved. Nothing is deleted when you decline.

Ask for more before you decide

If you want a questionnaire, a contract, or a reference form before you approve someone:

1. Open Application.
2. Under Additional forms, click Assign Form.
3. Pick one of your published forms and assign it.

The form appears in the family's account, and its status shows here as they work through it. Build and publish the forms themselves under Forms.

Talk to them

Their email and phone number at the top of the record are links. Messages shows your portal conversation with them and lets you reply without leaving the page. The menu at the top right has Email, Call, and Invite to portal for a family without a login.

Use Private notes on Overview for anything the family should never see. Notes save on their own.

Set them up for a puppy

Click Edit on the Their request card to record the litter they want, a specific puppy, their preferred gender and colors, and whether they get New puppy alerts. Those preferences decide who is told when a matching puppy becomes available, and they are what an offer is built from later.

Once a family is in line and you have an available puppy, Offer a puppy appears at the top right. See reservation offers.

Common questions

Does approving someone email them?

Yes. Approving, declining, or completing a spot sends that family a status update under your kennel name. You can adjust the wording in the customer emails control center.

What do the Advanced status fields do?

They are the record's underlying fields: application status, spot status, priority, source, and request type. They update on their own as you approve families, record deposits, and match puppies. Open them only to correct a record. The line at the bottom shows exactly what the family sees.

Why can I not send this family an offer?

If your workflow asks for an application, a family has to have submitted one, and if approval is required they have to be approved first. Approve them, then send the offer. If a deposit is required before joining the line, the offer button appears once the deposit is received.

Where do I see everything they have ever done with me?

Open the record's Account tab. It gathers their payments across every spot, credits, offers, contact details, and portal access in one place.