IN BRIEF
The Checkout Reservation Timer helps prevent class overbooking by temporarily reserving class spots when a family or staff member begins an enrollment. This temporary reservation ensures availability is accurately reflected across the Customer Portal, Mobile App, and Office Portal until the enrollment is completed or the timer expires.
Overview
The Checkout Reservation Timer is designed to reduce conflicts when multiple families attempt to enroll in classes with limited availability at the same time. When an enrollment is added to a Shopping Cart, the System immediately creates a temporary enrollment. This temporary enrollment is counted toward class capacity so that availability shown to other users remains accurate.
Separate Checkout Reservation Timer settings apply to enrollments created through the Enrollment Wizard.
- See "What are the Class Settings Options" document for more information about settings for the Class Enrollment Wizard.
- See "What are the Camp Settings Options" document for more information about settings for the Camp Enrollment Wizard.
Step-by-Step Instructions
How the Checkout Reservation Timer Works in the Customer Portal
Once an enrollment is started, a timer will begin counting down. If the family completes the enrollment process before the timer ends, the enrollment will complete as normal. If they abandon the enrollment process or their session times out, the temporary enrollment is released and is then available for another family to select.
How the Checkout Reservation Timer Works in the Office Portal
Once an enrollment is started in the Customer Portal, a timer will begin counting down. In the Office Portal, that enrollment will be reflected in Class and Camp Occupancy views until such time as the enrollment is completed or the timer expires, and the enrollment is removed from the Shopping Cart.
From the CLASSES or CAMPS screen, the enrollment will be reflected under the “Enrollment Reservations” section of the Class/Camp Occupancy:
From this view, staff users who have the “Delete enrollments” permission will be allowed to delete temporary enrollments if needed.
From the CALENDAR screen, the enrollment will be reflected in a warning dialog when creating an enrollment:
If a staff member is creating an enrollment using the "New Class Enrollment" or "New Camp Enrollment" button from the FAMILIES or STUDENTS page, or from the GROUP ENROLL button on the CLASSES page, any reserved enrollment will be reflected in the total number of ACTIVE class enrollments until such time as the enrollment is either removed from the Shopping Cart or the reservation expires.
Settings Related to the Checkout Reservation Timer
Checkout Reservation Timer settings are located under SETTINGS > CUSTOMER PORTAL > SETTINGS > OPTIONS.
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Cart Reservation Timeout (Minutes):
- A value between five and 120 minutes.
- Defines how long items remain reserved in the cart based on when the most recent item was added.
- The timer resets each time a new item is added.
- When the timer reaches zero:
- All items are automatically removed from the cart.
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Cart Reservation Timeout Limit (Minutes):
- A value between five and 120 minutes.
- Defines the maximum total amount of time a cart can be used starting from when the first item was added.
- The timer does not reset beyond this limit, even if additional items are added.
These settings work together to balance fairness for families with accurate availability tracking.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
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Why does a class show fewer available spots even though no enrollment is completed yet?
- A temporary enrollment may be reserved by another family or staff member who is still completing checkout. This reservation will release automatically if the timer expires.
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Can staff remove a temporary enrollment before the timer expires?
- Yes. Staff with the “Delete enrollments” permission can delete temporary enrollments from the Enrollment Reservations section in Class Occupancy.
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Why does the cart timer reset sometimes but not others?
- The timer resets when new items are added, but it will not exceed the Cart Reservation Timeout Limit (Minutes) setting.