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A booking's journey

A booking's journey

Who can do this: Owner, Admin, Staff

Every booking moves through a few steps. Each step shows as a coloured word on the booking in the app. This page explains each step, who moves the booking on, and what your customer gets. Open a step for the details.

Staff move their own bookings. Owners and admins move every booking.

  1. 1Request

    Shows as To answer

    Moved by The customer asks

    Only when you confirm bookings by hand.

    • DeclinedYou
    • ExpiredAutomatically
    • CancelledYou or the customer
  2. 2Confirmed

    Booked and reminded

    Moved by You accept, or it is booked straight away

    Most bookings start here.

    • CancelledYou or the customer
    • No-showYou, after the start time
  3. 3Arrived

    A mark on a confirmed booking

    Moved by You mark or scan

    Seated, for a table. You can skip it.

  4. 4Done

    The visit is over

    Moved by You, after the start time

    Counts in Analytics.

The solid line is the usual path. The dashed branches are where a booking can stop on the way, with who moves it there. Tap a step to read about it.

Request

A customer asked for a time, and your business confirms bookings by hand. The app shows To answer. The time is held for the customer until you answer.

More about Request

A booking only starts here when it needs your OK. These start at Confirmed instead:

  • online bookings, when your business confirms bookings straight away,
  • bookings you add yourself with New booking,
  • walk-ins.

For a restaurant or café, a large party is always a request, even when other bookings are confirmed straight away. By default that is 7 people or more. The app shows Request. See Large parties.

How to move it on.

  • To say yes, open the booking and tap Confirm. On Today, you can also swipe the request or tap … and choose Accept.
  • To say no, open More on the booking, tap Decline, then Yes, decline.

See Requests: accept or decline.

What your customer gets. A message saying you got their request, by WhatsApp or SMS, and by email. This is on to start, under Tell customers we got their request. When you confirm, they get a confirmation. When you decline, they get an email.

Answer in time. Each request shows Answer by and a time. By default that is 2 hours after the customer asked, or the booking’s start time if that comes first. If nobody answers by then, the request ends as Expired.

Confirmed

The time is booked. Most bookings spend most of their life here, and your customer gets a confirmation and reminders.

More about Confirmed

Who moves it here. You, when you confirm a request or add a booking. Or the customer, when they book online and your business confirms straight away.

What your customer gets.

  • A confirmation by WhatsApp, or by SMS if WhatsApp can’t reach them. An email too if they gave one, with a check-in code attached.
  • A reminder 24 hours before, by WhatsApp or SMS, and by email.
  • A reminder 2 hours before, by WhatsApp or SMS.

Reminders don’t go out between 9:00 PM and 8:00 AM. A reminder due then goes at 9:00 PM the evening before. See WhatsApp, SMS and email.

A walk-in at a table gets no messages at all.

What can still change. You can move the booking to another time. See Move a booking. The customer can reschedule or cancel it themselves until 24 hours before, by default. See Manage, reschedule and cancel.

Arrived

The customer is here. Arrived is a mark on a confirmed booking, not a step of its own. The booking is still confirmed, and the app shows Arrived at and the time.

More about Arrived

How to mark it. From 2 hours before the start, open the booking and tap Mark as arrived, then Yes, arrived. You can also tap Scan and scan the customer’s check-in code. See Arrived and Done.

For a table booking, the button says Seat, and the booking shows Seated. A walk-in at a table is seated straight away.

If Start bookings early is on and the person is free, you can start a booking that is later today now. See Start bookings early.

What your customer gets. Nothing. No message goes out.

What changes. Once the customer has arrived:

  • the booking can’t be moved,
  • the customer can’t change or cancel it online,
  • it can’t be marked as a no-show.

You can skip this step. A booking can go straight from Confirmed to Done.

Done

The visit is over. This is the end of the journey. You mark it once the start time has passed, and it can’t be changed back.

More about Done

How to mark it. Once the start time has passed, open the booking and tap Mark as done, then Yes, done. For a table booking, tap Table free, then Yes, free.

Check before you tap. A booking marked done can’t be changed back.

What your customer gets. No message for Done itself. If you turned on the rating ask, the customer gets a message asking them to rate the visit. It goes 2 hours after Done by default, by WhatsApp, or by email when WhatsApp can’t reach them. You choose the time, from 1 hour to 24 hours. It doesn’t go between 9:00 PM and 9:00 AM. Ratings are part of Pro and Business. See Reviews and come-back.

What Done gives you.

  • The booking counts toward Earned and the Show-up rate in Analytics.
  • The rating ask, if it is on.
  • Loyalty points for your customer, if loyalty is on (Pro and Business). See Loyalty.

Where a booking can stop on the way

A booking can stop before Done in four ways. Open one for the details.

Declined: you said no to a request

You said no to a request. The time is free again. The customer gets an email.

Expired: nobody answered a request in time

Nobody answered a request by its Answer by time. The time is free again. The customer gets an email, and your phone gets a Request expired notification. You find it under Bookings → List → Cancelled.

Cancelled: you or the customer called it off

A request or a confirmed booking was called off.

  • You cancel it: open More on the booking, tap Cancel booking, add a reason if you like, then Yes, cancel it. The customer gets a message by WhatsApp or SMS, and by email. Their reminders stop. See Cancel.
  • The customer cancels it from their booking link, until the cut-off. They get an email. You see it in Activity, and the business gets an email.

A cancelled booking can’t be brought back. Make a new booking instead.

No-show: the customer didn’t come

The customer didn’t come. Once the start time has passed and the customer was not marked as arrived, open More on the booking, tap No-show, then Yes, a no-show. It counts on the customer’s record and in Analytics. The customer is not messaged. See No-show.

Common questions

Why can’t I tap Mark as done yet?

The booking hasn’t started. Mark as done shows once the start time has passed.

Why is there no No-show button?

Either the start time hasn’t passed, or the customer was marked as arrived. A customer who arrived can’t be a no-show.

Why does it say Check-in opens at?

Mark as arrived shows from 2 hours before the start. Before that, the booking shows when it opens. With Start bookings early on, a booking later today can be marked straight away.

Where did a request go?

If nobody answered it in time, it ended as Expired. Find it under Bookings → List → Cancelled, with declined and cancelled bookings.

Can I undo Done?

Not yet. Check the booking before you tap Mark as done.

Can I bring back a cancelled booking?

No. Make a new booking with New booking. See New booking.

The customer asked to move their booking. Is that a new request?

It is a change request, not a new booking. The booking stays Confirmed at its time until you answer. See Requests: accept or decline.

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