Applications

Applications add a screening step before registration. Instead of registering directly, families first submit an application. You review it, decide whether to accept them, and approved families then receive a link to complete the full registration. This is useful for camps with limited spots, selective enrollment, or waitlists.

Enabling Applications

1. Go to Settings in the sidebar, then click Registration.
2. In the Application Mode section, turn on Enable Application Form.
3. An explanation card appears describing the three-step flow: families apply, you review, approved families register.

Once enabled, several parts of the settings page update to show separate application and registration options side by side, color-coded with amber (application) and pink (registration).

Setting the Application Window

1. In the Form Windows & Links section, find the Application card (marked with an amber dot).
2. Set the Opens date — when you want to start accepting applications.
3. Set the Closes date — the deadline for applications.

The application window is independent of the registration window. A typical setup might be: applications open January through March, and registration opens April through June.

Your application link appears below the date fields. You can copy it, and there’s a Preview form link that bypasses date restrictions for testing.

Configuring the Application Form

The application form uses the same fields as registration, but you can control which fields appear on each form independently:

Field Settings

In the Field Settings section, you’ll see separate columns for application and registration. For each field, you can independently set:

• Whether it’s shown on the application
• Whether it’s required on the application

This lets you collect less information upfront. For example, you might only ask for names and contact info on the application, and collect addresses, medical info, and documents during registration.

Application Deposit

In the Deposit & Payment section, the Application card lets you set a separate deposit for the application:

• Set a minimum deposit that’s lower than your registration deposit (or set it to $0 if you don’t want to collect payment at the application stage)
• Set a maximum deposit to cap how much applicants can pay
• Configure payment method saving separately from registration

Documents and Disclosures

Each document and disclosure checkbox has separate toggles for “Show on Application” and “Require on Application,” so you can choose what’s needed at each stage.

Custom Fields

Each custom field also has separate application and registration visibility settings.

Approval Statuses

Approval statuses are labels you assign to campers to track where they are in the review process. Campflow comes with default statuses, and you can create your own.

Managing Statuses

1. Scroll down to the Approval Statuses section.
2. Each status has:
   • Status Name — what you and parents see (e.g., “Accepted,” “Waitlisted,” “Under Review”)
   • Status Type — controls behavior:
     • Approved — triggers tuition charges and bunk assignments
     • Pending — no side effects, just a label
     • Rejected — removes the camper from bunk assignments
   • Allow registration — when checked, campers with this status can access the full registration form. This is how you control who can register after applying.
3. Click Add Status to create a new one.

Setting Default Statuses

At the top of the Approval Statuses section, you can set which status is automatically assigned in three situations:

• Default - Applications — the status assigned when a family submits an application (typically something like “Pending Review”)
• Default - Registrations — the status assigned when a family completes registration
• Default - Staff Additions — the status assigned when staff add a family manually through the admin

Status Change Emails

Each status can be configured to automatically send an email to parents when a camper’s status changes to it. This is how you notify families that they’ve been accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.

1. On an approval status card, check Email parents when status changes to [status name].
2. Optionally toggle Send automatically — when on, the email sends immediately when the status changes. When off, you’ll see a prompt to review the email before it’s sent.
3. Customize the Email Template using the editor. The template supports merge tags like {camper_name}, {camp_name}, and {status_name}.

The Application-to-Registration Flow

Here’s how the complete workflow looks:

1. Parent submits application — they fill out the application form with the fields you’ve configured for applications, make a deposit if required, and submit.
2. You review — the family and campers appear in Campflow. You can view their information on the family detail page.
3. You change the status — update the camper’s approval status. If you’ve configured a status change email, the parent is notified.
4. Approved families register — campers with a status that has “Allow registration” checked can access the registration form. The registration link pre-fills their information from the application, so they only need to complete the fields that weren’t on the application form.

If a family applied but none of their campers have been approved yet, they’ll see a message when visiting the registration link: “Your application is still being reviewed by the camp.” Once at least one camper is approved, they can proceed with registration.

Good to Know

• When applications are enabled, the registration form only shows campers whose status allows registration. If a family has three campers but only two are approved, only the approved two appear on the registration form.
• The application and registration forms use the same URL structure but different routes. Make sure you’re sharing the correct link — the application link and registration link are different.
• You can disable application mode at any time by turning off the toggle. This won’t affect families who have already applied — their data is preserved.
• Status change emails are sent per camper, not per family. If a family has three campers and you change all their statuses, three emails are sent.