How to run stall applications for your market

Ask for everything once

A good application collects, in one submission: what the stallholder sells, photos of their stall or product, their public liability insurance certificate, and — for food stalls — their food business registration. Chasing documents after approval is where processes rot; make the application incomplete without them.

On StallsApp, stallholders apply from your market's public page without creating an account, attaching insurance, food registration and photos as your market requires. You see each application with its documents in one place, and an approved stallholder's details stay on file — they apply once, not every month.

Approve people, then let them book days

Separate the two decisions. "Is this stallholder right for my market?" is a curation call you make once. "Are they coming on the 14th?" is a booking, made per market day. Markets that merge the two end up re-assessing the same jam maker every month.

This is the request-to-book model: an approved stallholder requests the days they want, and you confirm each one against your site plan and your mix. It keeps curation in your hands — first-in-first-served fills a market fast, but with whoever was quickest, not the mix your shoppers come for.

Balance the mix deliberately

Most organisers cap categories — so many candle makers, so many coffee carts — because three of anything side by side hurts all three. Say so on your public page: "we're currently full for jewellery" saves both sides the dance of an application you'll decline.

Keep a waitlist rather than declining outright. Markets churn; the stallholder you had no room for in March is the one you need in June. On StallsApp, days that are full take waitlist requests, and a stall that frees up is offered onward automatically.

Say no kindly, and say why

Declined applicants talk to other stallholders. A one-line reason — full in your category, not the right fit for our produce focus, site can't take another generator — costs you thirty seconds and keeps the door open for the market's sake.