---
title: "Add a family manually"
description: "Create a family record directly, with parents and children in one step. For walk-ins, transfers, or anyone who didn't come through the lead pipeline."
type: guide
updated: 2026-09-14
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/families/add-a-family-manually
roles: ["super_admin", "center_admin"]
platforms: [web]
---
Most new families come through leads or enrollment packets. Sometimes you just need to add one manually: a transfer from another daycare, a walk-in, or someone who signed up offline.

<VideoEmbed
  src="add-a-family"
  title="Adding a family from the Families page, start to finish"
/>

## Add the family

1. Go to **Families & Children → Families**.
2. Click **Add Family** in the top right.
3. Fill in the New family form.

<ScreenshotWithPointers
  src="/screenshots/owners/families/add-family-modal.png"
  alt="The New family form, with sections for the family name, parents and guardians, and children"
  caption="One form creates the whole household: family name, parents, and children."
/>

The form creates the whole household in one step:

- **Family** is the household name (like "Martins"). If you leave a parent's or child's last name blank, this is used as their surname.
- **Parents & Guardians** takes the primary parent's name, email, phone, and relationship to the child. Click **Add another parent** for a second parent or guardian.
- **Send invitation emails now** is off by default. Leave it off and nothing is emailed; you can invite parents later from the family card when you're ready. Turn it on and each parent with an email gets an app invitation immediately.
- **Children** takes each child's name and date of birth. You can place a child in a room right away or pick **No room (enroll later)**, and optionally attach a tuition plan.

Click **Add family** to save. The new family appears in the Families list with a card showing its members and children.

<Callout kind="tip" title="Not ready to invite parents?">
Adding a family does not notify anyone by default. Many owners set up all their families first, get rooms and billing right, and send invitations in one batch afterward.
</Callout>

## After the family exists

Everything else about a household happens on its family card in the Families list:

- **Add more members or children** with the add buttons under each section of the card.
- **Invite a parent to the app** from their row on the card. Parents can't create their own accounts; the invitation is how they get access.
- **Enroll a child in a room** if you chose "enroll later". See [Add a child to a family](/owners/families/add-a-child-to-a-family).
- **Attach billing** so invoices can be generated. See [Create a billing plan](/owners/billing/create-a-billing-plan).

## Troubleshooting

**Created a family I didn't mean to.** Use the archive control on the family card. You'll be asked to confirm, and archiving removes the family from active lists without destroying the record.

**"Family name is required."** The household name is the one field you can't skip. A last name alone is fine.

**Two siblings from the same household showed up as separate families.** There is no merge button. Archive the newer or smaller record and add its children to the family you're keeping.