Giving families from Elmsbrück priority

Elmsbrück pays for its holiday programme, and families from the neighbouring towns may take part. If an offer in the summer holidays 2027 has more registrations than places, participants from Elmsbrück are to get a place first. At the end you have drawn the places so that Elmsbrück came first and the remaining places went to participants from outside. It takes you about an hour, spread over the weeks from before registration until committing.

What you need

An account of the account type Admin and the role Super admin. Only super admins see the settings in steps 1 and 2.
The season Summer holidays 2027 with a registration phase with the Lottery that has not begun yet. How to set up the season is shown in Planning the summer holidays with a lottery.
The postal codes of Elmsbrück, here 12345 and 12347.
The offer Swimming course, which is to reach only the families of Elmsbrück primary school.

Step 1 – Make the postal address mandatory

fepli recognises families from Elmsbrück by the postal code of the address in their participant account. If the address is missing, the participant counts as not resident in Elmsbrück, even if the family lives there. So you require the address before the registration phase begins.

In the area System, select Settings.
Switch to Registration > Participants.
In the section Registration & booking, turn on Postal address required.
Select Save.

The settings **Registration** > **Participants**, in front the notice that families without an address see on the website.

From now on, families without an address see the notice “Please complete your mailing address in your profile.” before registering.

Step 2 – Enter the postal codes of Elmsbrück

Preferred postal codes take effect in the draw: in an overbooked offer, participants from these postal code areas get a place first, and the remaining places go to everyone else. Early registration with access codes does not help in a lottery, because the time of registration plays no role there. The postal codes apply to all seasons.

On the same page, under Preferred postal codes, enter 12345, 12347.
Select Save.

The postal codes stand in one field, separated by a comma.

Under Preferred postal codes, both postal codes of Elmsbrück are now entered.

Step 3 – Announce the priority on the website

In the lottery, the website points out the priority for every offer: “Spots go first to participants from preferred postcodes.” It does not say which places belong. So that families from the neighbouring towns know where they stand, name Elmsbrück in the season's welcome text.

In the area Seasons, select Summer holidays 2027.
Switch to the tab Edit.
Select the page Website.
Under Welcome text, enter a sentence about the priority, e.g. If there are more registrations than places, families from Elmsbrück (postal codes 12345 and 12347) get a place first. The remaining places go to everyone else.
Select Save.

The page **Website** of the season with the welcome text.

The message “Your changes have been saved.” appears, and the website now shows the text above the season's offer list.

Step 4 – Offer one offer only for the primary school

Elmsbrück pays for the swimming course only for the families of Elmsbrück primary school. A private link keeps this one offer out of the offer list and the booklet, and whoever has the link can register once it is published. Preferred postal codes would give all families from Elmsbrück priority, and access codes would lock the entire registration phase.

Select Offers and open the offer Swimming course.
Switch to the tab Edit and select the page Content.
In the section General, under Visibility, select Only via private link.
Select Save.
In the offer's header, select Copy link.
Pass the link on to the primary school, e.g. for a letter to parents.

The offer in the tab **Edit** on the page **Content**, on the right the confirmation of **Copy link**.

The confirmation “Link copied” appears, and the swimming course is in no offer list on the website.

Step 5 – Add missing postal codes before the draw

Alex Beispiel's family lives in Elmsbrück but registered by phone, and the team created Alex without a participant account. Without an account the address is missing, and in the draw Alex counts as not resident in Elmsbrück. So add the address after the registration phase ends and before the draw.

In the area Seasons, select Summer holidays 2027.
Switch to the tab Allocate places.
Read the list Participants. As long as no offer is selected, it shows everyone in the season under All. For each person it says “Postal code {postal code}” or “no postcode”, and anyone who does not count as resident is highlighted in orange. For Alex Beispiel it says “no postcode”.
Select Participants.
In the row Alex Beispiel, select the actions menu ⋮ and then Edit.
In the section Address, enter Musterweg 1 under Street and number, 12345 under Postal code and Elmsbrück under City.
Select Save.

At the back the list **Participants** under **Allocate places**, in front the address of Alex Beispiel. Names and dates of birth are examples.

The message “Your changes have been saved.” appears. Under Allocate places, Alex Beispiel now shows “Postal code 12345”, and the orange highlight has gone.

Step 6 – Draw the places

After the registration phase ends, fepli draws the places, and only then do the preferred postal codes take effect. Select put on the waiting list: whoever loses in the draw then waits for places that become free and does not get the status no place. A figure of the dialog is in Planning the summer holidays with a lottery, step 5.

On the page Allocate places, select Automatic allocation.
Under Registrations without a place, select put on the waiting list.
Select Start automatic allocation.

The message “Allocation started” appears, and until the draw is finished, the page shows “Editing is locked right now. Reload the page in a moment.”

Step 7 – Verify the result on the canoe trip

The canoe trip has twelve places and 20 registrations, eight of them from Elmsbrück. On it you can see how the draw applies the priority: first all eight participants from Elmsbrück get a place, then fepli draws the remaining four places among the others.

Reload the page Allocate places.
In the list Offers, select All. After the draw nothing is open on the canoe trip, and Open does not show it.
Select Canoe trip.
Read the column Allocated. It shows “No places left”, and 4 cards carry the note “outside the preferred postcodes”.
Read the column Waiting list. All 8 cards carry the note “outside the preferred postcodes”.

The canoe trip under **Allocate places** after the draw, the columns shortened. Names are examples.

All participants from Elmsbrück have a place, and no place stays free. The decisions lie in the batch until you commit.

Step 8 – Commit the allocation

Until you commit, the families learn nothing. When you commit, every family receives its admission notice, including the families on the waiting list. A figure of the page is in Planning the summer holidays with a lottery, step 7.

In the header, select the batch icon and then Commit & send.

Warning

Committing cannot be undone, and fepli sends the message to all families in the batch.

In the side panel, select See preview and then Send to {count} families.

The page shows “Batch committed”, and the families receive their admission notices.

What you have achieved

In overbooked offers, the participants from Elmsbrück received a place first, and the remaining places went to participants from outside. Whoever missed out is on the waiting list; participants from Elmsbrück are at the front there. Only the families of the primary school find the swimming course.

If your case is different

If you allocate the places first come, first served, preferred postal codes do not take effect. Then, before the registration phase for everyone, set up a registration phase that is open only with an access code, and distribute the codes through the schools in Elmsbrück: Create access codes, Restrict a registration phase to access codes.
If the swimming course's link reaches families outside the primary school, renew it and pass the new link on to the primary school: Renew the private link.
If a neighbouring municipality shares the costs, also enter its postal codes under Preferred postal codes.
If a card shows “Own address: postcode {postal code}”, the participant has a different address from their account; for the priority, the address in the account counts: Allocation and committing.
If someone from Elmsbrück gets on the waiting list only after the draw, they stand behind everyone who is already waiting. To bring them to the front, drag their card up in the Allocate view: Change an offer's allocation by hand.