With the No Fee Waitlist, registrants can join a waitlist and secure their spot without being charged at registration. Their payment information is collected at sign-up and automatically processed when an Admin moves them to Active. No extra steps and no refunds needed.
This is a great alternative to the standard waitlist, which charges registrants upfront and requires a refund if they’re never accepted.
How to Enable a No Fee Waitlist
Navigate to Programs > choose your program and season > Structure.
Click the Edit button at the season/group level.
Select Season/Grouping Eligibility.
Scroll down to the Season Registration Limit Rule section.
Select 'Any additional registrations will be added to the Waitlist and not charged for. The cost is left off the order until an administrator makes the registration active."
Enter your Total Season Registration Limit
Click Save.
What Registrants Experience at Checkout
When a season or grouping reaches its registration limit, and the No Fee Waitlist is enabled, here’s what registrants see during checkout:
The registration fee is displayed but excluded from the amount due at checkout
The registrant is informed that payment will be collected if they are accepted (Active)
The registrant provides a credit card or payment information to be charged later
The registrant must acknowledge the future payment before completing registration
If all registrations in the order are waitlisted, the order total is $0
If the order contains both active and waitlisted registrations, the household pays only for the items currently due
Their registration status is set to Waitlist
What Registrants See After Checkout
Registrants are notified of their waitlist status at multiple points so there’s never any confusion about where they stand:
During season selection
On the cart review page
In their confirmation email
Registration Confirmation
What Happens When an Admin Sets the Registrant to Active
When an Admin is ready to move a waitlisted registrant to Active:
Navigate to the household’s Orders tab and select the order. Click Edit under Registration Status.
2. Change the registration status from Waitlist to Active using the dropdown. When changing a status to Active, Admins must acknowledge that the action may trigger a charge to the household’s payment method on file.
Note: If you change a registration status from Waitlist to Active in Roster Management, you will not see the payment acknowledgment dialog. The fee will still be automatically charged to the participant’s payment method on file. To see the acknowledgement, make the status change from the household’s Orders tab instead.
3. Once confirmed, the following happens automatically:
The registration fee is added to the household’s order
Any applicable service fee is included
The payment method on file is automatically charged
The household receives an updated order confirmation email with the payment schedule
If no usable payment method is on file, then the amount is invoiced instead, and the household will need to log in and submit payment manually.
How Do I Remove a Registrant from the Waitlist?
If a registrant on a No Fee Waitlist needs to be removed from the waitlist entirely, simply update their registration status to Inactive and their payment method will not be charged.
Comparing Waitlist Options
| Standard Waitlist | No Fee Waitlist |
Charged at sign-up? | Yes | No |
Payment info collected at sign-up? | Yes | Yes |
Future payment acknowledged at sign-up? | No | Yes |
Auto-charged when moved to Active? | N/A | Yes |
Refund needed if not accepted? | Yes | No |
VI Coverage Insurance available while waitlisted? | Yes | No |
Important Exceptions
Moving a registration to Pending Payment or another non-Active status does not trigger payment. Payment is only triggered when the status is changed to Active.
If a registration was previously moved to another status before being set to Active, payment is still triggered when it becomes Active.
Registrations receiving Financial Aid are not automatically charged when moved to Active.
Cash or check registrations activated by an Admin are invoiced when activated rather than automatically charged.
VI Coverage Insurance options are unavailable on a registration while it remains in Waitlist status. They become available once the registration is moved to Active.