---
title: "Track leads and convert them to families"
description: "Use the Pipeline board in Admissions & CRM to follow inquiries from first contact to enrollment, add leads by hand, and convert a lead into a family."
type: guide
updated: 2026-10-11
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/enrollment/crm-and-leads
roles: ["super_admin", "center_admin"]
platforms: [web]
---
The **Pipeline** (under **Admissions & CRM**) tracks prospective families from their first inquiry to enrollment. It's a board with a column for each stage, so you always know where every family stands.

<VideoEmbed
  src="admissions-explained"
  title="Admissions, explained: from the first inquiry to an enrolled family (narrated, 5 minutes)"
  captions={false}
/>

## The board

Go to **Admissions & CRM → Pipeline**. Leads move left to right across these columns: **Inquiry, Tour Scheduled, Toured, Waitlisted, Admitted, Lost**. Each column shows a count. Drag a lead card to move it between stages. Cards show the contact, the child, where the lead came from, and how warm it is.

<ScreenshotWithPointers
  src="/screenshots/owners/growth/crm-board.png"
  alt="The Pipeline board with columns for Inquiry, Tour Scheduled, Toured, Waitlisted, Admitted, and Lost"
  caption="Admissions & CRM → Pipeline. Drag a lead across the columns as it moves toward enrollment."
/>

## Add a lead

1. On the Pipeline, click **Add Lead**.
2. Fill in the **Add Lead** form. Only **First Name** is required. You can also add the last name, email, phone, child name and date of birth, desired start, preferred schedule, source, who it's assigned to, the center (or **Any center**), a priority (**Normal** or **Urgent**), how they heard about you, and notes.
3. Click **Create Lead**.

## Convert a lead to a family

When a family enrolls, convert their lead so you don't retype anything:

1. Click the lead's card to open its detail drawer.
2. Click **Convert to Family** at the bottom.
3. Check the details in the **Convert to family** dialog: a new or existing family, the child's name and date of birth, whether to add the parent and email them an app invite, and which classroom the child starts in.
4. Click **Convert** (or **Add to family** for an existing family).

The dialog creates the family, the child, the parent (if you leave that ticked) and the classroom placement in one go. Completed enrollment forms are copied to the family's documents. It can't be undone, so convert when the family is genuinely enrolling. Each option is explained in [Review and convert a lead](/owners/enrollment/review-and-convert-a-lead#convert-a-lead-to-a-family).

<Callout kind="info" title="What's left after converting">
Attach a tuition plan so the child is billed, and invite any other parents. See <a href="/owners/billing/create-a-billing-plan">Create a billing plan</a> and <a href="/owners/families/invite-parents-to-the-app">Invite parents to the app</a>.
</Callout>

## Troubleshooting

**A lead I converted is gone from the board.** That's expected. Converting marks it enrolled and it becomes a family. Find them under **Families & Children → Families**.

**Converting says to add the child's date of birth.** The child needs a date of birth before they can be created. Type it into the **Date of birth** field in the dialog, or add it to the lead first.

**There's no Convert to Family button.** It's hidden on leads in the **Lost** column. Move the lead back to an active stage first.