How to build a waitlist in HighLevel

In HighLevel, a waitlist is a tag on people who want an earlier time. You already keep that list. Add NextUp and, when someone cancels, we text the next person from your number so they can tap a link and take the appointment. That is the whole product.

What a waitlist is in HighLevel

A waitlist in HighLevel is a tag you put on a contact who asked for an earlier time. There is no waitlist button on the calendar. HighLevel never shipped one, and shops have been asking for it on the ideas board. Until that shows up, the tag is the list.

Name the tag whatever you already use, then stick with it. People on that tag need a phone number on the contact. If the number is missing, we cannot text them when a time opens.

If you wondered whether HighLevel hid a waitlist in the calendar, Does HighLevel have a waitlist? is the short no.

How to tag people

Open the contact in HighLevel and add your waitlist tag. Do it when they ask for an earlier time, not later when you are trying to remember who wanted Thursday. They need a phone number on the contact.

You can tag from the appointment, from Contacts, or from a workflow you already run. NextUp does not need a special field. The tag is the list.

A waitlist you never add to is a kind wish. Tag three people this week.

Install NextUp on this HighLevel location, not only the agency. The tag lives here. The texts should come from this shop number.

What happens when someone cancels

When someone cancels or is a no-show, we text the next person on the list from your shop number. They tap Accept and they are booked on your calendar. You stay with the person in the chair.

The text comes from your number. They tap the link, they take the time, and the waitlist tag comes off once they are booked.

A no-show is the same hole. Mark it, and we handle it the same way we handle a cancel. What happens when a HighLevel appointment is a no-show walks through that mark. For the 4pm version, read How to fill a last-minute cancellation in HighLevel.

What if they pass?

If they pass, they stay on the list and we text the next person. Passing is normal. The time might not work, or they might already have the hour filled.

We do not keep asking the same person for that opening. Anyone who asked not to get texts gets skipped. They stay on the waitlist unless you take the tag off.

How to automatically text your waitlist when someone cancels is the pass-and-skip path if you want it in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a second phone number?

No. Texts go out from the HighLevel number you already use. You do not buy another number. HighLevel bills those separately, usually about a penny for a short US text. NextUp does not add a per-text fee. People see a message from you and tap to book.

Does every opening fill?

We cannot promise every opening fills. The next person might pass, or nobody on the list can take that time. That is still better than you calling around while someone is in the chair. If someone got a text they did not want, they talk to you, not to Freeman Labs.

Do I install NextUp on the agency or the location?

Install it on the location where this calendar lives. The agency view is the wrong door. The waitlist tag sits on contacts in that shop, and the texts go out from that shop number. A cancel in this book will not find a list you only installed at the agency.

Can I use a tag I already have?

Yes. Use the tag you already put on people who want an earlier time. NextUp does not need a special name. Pick one tag and keep it. If you have a few tags that all mean call me if something opens, pick one and move people over.