For providers using brightwheel CRM, Enrollment forecasting helps you see where you'll have open spots and how to fill them, all in brightwheel. Instead of tracking capacity in a spreadsheet that's out of date after every withdrawal or room change, you can see your rooms fill up over time and act on openings right away.
đ Not seeing forecasting in your account? New schools see it automatically, while existing schools need to opt in. Learn how to opt in.
Overview of Enrollment forecasting features
Enrollment forecasting uses your room capacity, enrolled children, schedules, and scheduled transitions to show how many spots will be open in each room, weeks or months ahead.
You can check availability, hold a spot for a family, and fill an opening from your CRM waitlist. For example, if a toddler is scheduled to leave in October, you'll see that opening now and can offer it to a family on your waitlist.
Features:
Forecast: See open spots
Transitions: Set room transfers, schedule changes, and withdrawals ahead of time
Holds: Reserve a spot for a family who is still deciding
Waitlists: Fill spots by enrolling a child from your CRM waitlist or transfer in a current child
Set up your data for an accurate forecast
To begin, make sure the information needed for a forecast is added in brightwheel. Your forecast is built from the information already in brightwheel. The more complete it is, the more accurate your open spots will be.
Complete the following to ensure accurate forecasting
Make sure you have Programs and rooms created if you havenât already. These are the baseline for forecasting.
Add a room max capacity and link each room to a program.
Without it, the forecast can't tell how many spots you have to fill. For even more robust reporting, you can add the room ratio and age ranges.
You can add these details when creating/editing a program and room, or do it all in one spot from the CRM > Forecast page. From there, click into a room listed under each program to input the max capacity and the room it should be linked to.
View your forecast
Your forecast shows open spots by room and program so you can spot gaps before they happen.
Log in on the web
Go to Enrollment > Forecast
Choose to view by week, month, or year
Use the date range to look ahead from six months up to five years
Select any room to see which children are enrolled
Check availability
Use this when a family asks if you have room for their child. If there is availability, you can directly add them from the waitlist, or transfer them from another room.
Log in on the web
In the sidebar menu, click Enrollment > Forecast
Select Check availability
Choose the start date, schedule, program, and student birthday
Review the rooms that have open spots
Fill an open spot
When a room has an opening, you can fill it right from the forecast.
From the Forecast page
In the pop-up window, click the + plus sign next to the number of open spots
Choose to enroll from the waitlist or transfer in a current child from another room/program
Select the studentâs start date and enroll them
Additional actions
There are a few additional actions you can take that help with forecasting enrollment.
Hold a spot for a family
If a family is still deciding, you can hold a spot while you wait for their answer for a period of time. The held spot is removed from your open count once the hold period ends. If the family says yes, you can enroll their child. If not, you can offer the spot to the next family on your waitlist.
âšď¸ Learn more: Place enrollment holds.
Schedule transitions
Scheduling a transition lets your forecast show how your rooms will look after a child moves or leaves, and takes into account upcoming aging up transitions. You can schedule a room transfer, a schedule change, or a withdrawal for a future date.
âšď¸ Learn more: Schedule enrollment transitions.
FAQs
How are Enrollment forecasting and CRM connected?
Your CRM waitlist appears in the forecast when you fill a spot. Enrolling a child from the forecast uses the same enrollment steps as CRM.
Does Enrollment forecasting include revenue forecasting?
Not at this time. The forecast shows spots and capacity only.
Can I use Enrollment forecasting for multiple schools?
Not yet. It's currently available for a single school.