Reviewing, approving, and declining applications

What this is for

When a family applies, everything they sent sits on their waitlist entry: 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

In the left sidebar, open Customers, then Waitlist, and click a family's name.

The entry opens on an overview with their name, status, and a card for each part of the record: Contact, Request & status, Preferences & internal notes, Puppy matching, and, once they have applied, Forms & application. Click a card to open it, and use All sections to come back.

Read their answers

1. Open Forms & application.
2. Under Their answers, read every question and answer from the application they submitted.
3. If they revised their application, Application history lists each saved revision. Click one to open 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.

Approve or decline

1. From the overview, open Request & status.
2. Set Application Status to Approved, Declined, Under Review, or Withdrawn.
3. Check the line at the bottom that begins What this family sees. That is the wording shown to them.
4. Click Save changes.

Moving a family to Approved or Declined emails them a status update automatically, so write nothing extra unless you want to. Everything on the entry saves together with one Save changes, so you can change status, notes, and preferences in one pass.

Ask for more before you decide

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

1. Open Forms & application.
2. Under Forms & Tasks, 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

At the top of the entry you have Email, Call when you have a phone number, and Messages when they have an account. Messages opens their thread in your inbox, which keeps the conversation with the rest of their history.

Use Preferences & internal notes for anything private. Internal notes are never shown to the family.

Set them up for a puppy

Open Preferences & internal notes to record Preferred Gender and Preferred Colors. Open Puppy matching to link a specific Interested Puppy and to turn New puppy alerts on or off. Those preferences decide who gets alerted when a matching puppy becomes available, and they are what an offer is built from later.

Once you are ready to place a puppy with an approved family, send them a reservation offer.

Common questions

Does approving someone email them?

Yes. Changing the status to Approved, Declined, or Completed sends that family a status update email under your kennel name. You can adjust the wording in the customer emails control center.

Can I change my mind after declining?

Yes. Open the entry, set Application Status back to Under Review or Approved, and save. Nothing is deleted when you decline.

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. Set Application Status to Approved, save, then send the offer.

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

Open their customer record. It gathers their payments, offers, waitlist entries, and forms on one page.