How to Create & Manage Smart Lists

This guide shows you how to use Smart Lists in Enrollio to automatically organize and segment your families. Learn what Smart Lists are, how to set them up, and best practices for keeping your parent database organized and actionable.

Table of Contents

Why Use Smart Lists?

Smart Lists help you stay organized and run targeted outreach without manual work:

  • Save Time – Your lists update automatically as families meet your criteria
  • Better Targeting – Group families by enrollment status, tour activity, or engagement
  • Stay Organized – Keep your parent database structured and searchable
  • Power Your Automations – Use Smart Lists to trigger follow-ups, reminders, and campaigns

What are Smart Lists?

A Smart List is a dynamic list of families that updates automatically based on filters you set. Unlike regular lists that stay the same until you manually change them, Smart Lists adjust in real-time as families meet or no longer meet your criteria.

You can filter by tags, custom fields, enrollment stage, tour history, and more. The list updates automatically as your data changes.

Find Smart Lists in your Enrollio platform under Contacts → Smart Lists.

[SCREENSHOT: Enrollio navigation showing Contacts tab with Smart Lists option highlighted]

How Do Smart Lists Work?

Smart Lists use real-time filtering to keep your segments accurate:

  • Real-Time Updates – Families are added or removed automatically based on your filters (tags, custom fields, enrollment stage, activity)
  • Automatic Segmentation – Create lists like "prospective families who toured this month" or "families with open enrollments" without manual updates
  • Advanced Filtering – Apply multiple filters at once (example: "Opened email in last 30 days" + "Has active enrollment opportunity")
  • Automation Integration – Use Smart Lists to trigger automated follow-ups and personalized campaigns

Setting Up Smart Lists

Creating a Smart List takes just a few clicks. Instead of manually sorting families, your list stays organized and current automatically.

Follow these steps to create your first Smart List:

  1. Go to Contacts → Contacts/Smart Lists and click More Filters
  2. Choose one or more filters from the dropdown menu on the right side of your screen
  3. After selecting a filter, enter the required details and click Apply
  4. To add additional filters, select the AND option
  5. To permanently save your filters as a Smart List, click Save as smart list at the bottom of your screen
  6. Name your Smart List something descriptive (example: "Toured in Last 30 Days" or "Inactive Families")
[SCREENSHOT: Smart List creation screen showing More Filters button and filter dropdown menu] [SCREENSHOT: Save as Smart List dialog with name field and save button]
Pro Tip: Name your Smart Lists clearly so your team knows what they contain at a glance. Use descriptions like "No Contact 90+ Days" instead of generic names like "List 1."

Managing Smart Lists

You can modify, duplicate, and organize your Smart Lists as your needs change.

Edit an Existing Smart List

  1. Go to Contacts and select a Smart List name from the top to open it
  2. You'll see the saved filters for that list on the right-hand side
  3. To remove a filter, click the trash can icon or the X
  4. To modify a filter, click the pencil icon or dropdown arrow
  5. Click the Save icon to store your changes
[SCREENSHOT: Smart List view showing saved filters panel on right side with edit and delete icons]

Duplicate, Share, or Delete Smart Lists

  1. Click Manage Smart Lists at the top right of the Contacts page
  2. Use the icons on the right to duplicate, share, rename, or delete any Smart List
[SCREENSHOT: Manage Smart Lists panel showing list of Smart Lists with action icons]

Example: Finding Inactive Families

Here's how to create a Smart List of families you haven't contacted in over 90 days:

  1. Go to Smart Lists → All Tab
  2. Click More Filters
  3. Type "Last Activity" in the text box labeled "Add Filter"
  4. Select the Last Activity filter from the options
  5. Click the More Than radio button and enter 90 days
  6. Open the columns dropdown and select the Last Activity column to display it
  7. Click the + icon to name and save your list (example: "Inactive 90+ Days")
[SCREENSHOT: Last Activity filter setup showing "More Than 90 days" configuration]
Pro Tip: Use this list to trigger a re-engagement campaign or schedule follow-up tasks for your team.

Reorder Columns in Smart Lists

Smart Lists support drag-and-drop column management so you can arrange your view with the most important information up front.

  1. Go to Contacts → Smart Lists and open the Smart List you want to edit
  2. In the list view, open the column/field management option (typically near the top of the table)
  3. Drag and drop columns into your preferred order
  4. Close the column manager — your new column order appears immediately
[SCREENSHOT: Column manager showing drag-and-drop interface for reordering fields]

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I manually add families to a Smart List?

No, families are not manually added to Smart Lists. They're added automatically based on the filters you set. If you add a tag to a family that matches a Smart List's criteria, they'll automatically appear in that list.

Can users manage Smart Lists without having Settings access?

Currently, users need Settings access to manage Smart Lists. This limitation is on our roadmap for future updates.

Is there a way to see who created and shared a Smart List?

Enrollio doesn't currently log information about who created or shared a Smart List.

Can all users see Smart Lists or just the creator?

Smart Lists are created at the user level. However, with the global versus local Smart Lists feature, you can push your Smart Lists to the full account, making them visible to all users.

If I schedule an email campaign to a Smart List, will the list update before sending?

Yes. Smart Lists are dynamic, so the recipient list is generated at the time of sending, not when you schedule the campaign. New families who meet your criteria before the send time will be included. Families who no longer meet the criteria will be excluded.

How do I show 100 families per page instead of 20?

Use the contacts-per-page selector at the bottom right and choose 100 (options: 20, 50, 100).

Related Articles

  • Bulk Actions for Families & Smart Lists
  • How to Export Families into a CSV
  • AND/OR Filters for Smart Lists