Keep a waitlist

A waitlist entry is somebody who wanted a time you didn't have. When a time frees up, the first person it suits is messaged and offered it. Nobody is booked until they take it.

Add someone

Go to Bookings, then the Waitlist tab and choose Add booking.

• Booking type: choose Waitlist.
• Customer: choose the contact who is waiting.
• Catalog item: choose a bookable item directly. For a service outside Catalog, choose Staff entry · service outside Catalog and type its name.
• First day and Last day: the days they can come.
• Days: leave empty for any day, or pick the weekdays that work.
• Earliest time and Start before: leave empty for any time. For "mornings only", enter 06:00 and 12:00. Afternoons are 12:00 to 17:00 and

evenings 17:00 to 21:00. You can fill in just one, such as Start before 12:00.

• Number of people: a freed place for one can't seat a party of four.

Adding the same person for the same service again keeps their first entry.

What each state means

• Waiting: in the queue.
• Offered a time: they've been sent a time. The row shows the time and how

long they have left to take it.

• Booked: they took an offer, or booked that service inside their days some

other way.

• Declined: they said no to their last offer.
• Removed: somebody took them off the list.
• Window passed: their last day went by.

The list shows Waiting or offered until you choose another view under Show.

How offers work

A time is offered when an appointment is cancelled or an unpaid hold lapses. The first person who joined, whose days, times and party size fit, is asked first.

• The time stays open while they're asked. Somebody ready to book now can

still take it.

• No thanks passes the time to the next person. They stay on the list.
• An offer that runs out also passes to the next person, and they go back to Waiting.
• After three offers they stop being asked. The row says No offers left.

Choose whether and how long to offer

Go to Catalog, open a type that takes bookings, then choose Booking → Waitlist:

• Automatically offer newly available slots: turn it Off and freed times

aren't offered to anyone.

• Time to take an offer: how long the person offered a time has to take it.

A category or item can use different values in its Booking section. A blank category value uses its type setting, and a blank item value uses its category or type setting. When the type is blank, offers go out and last 2 hours.

Remove someone

Open Actions on their row and choose Remove from waitlist.

If they were holding an offer, they can no longer take it.

What it doesn't do

• It only watches for times that free up. We won't spot a time that appears

because you extended your hours.

• It doesn't book anyone for you. An automatic booking produces a no-show

that looks like the customer's fault.

• It doesn't reach someone you've never talked to. An offer goes to their

latest conversation with you.

When it doesn't work

Nobody was offered a time that clearly freed up. Check the time falls between their first and last day, and on one of their days if they picked any. If they gave times, check it starts at or after their earliest time and before their Start before time. Then check the number of people fits.

The row says No offers left. Message them, or remove them and add them again.

A WhatsApp customer wasn't offered anything. Outside 24 hours since their last message, an offer needs the approved waitlist offer template on that WhatsApp number. Until it's approved, the next person is asked instead.

Related

• Book, reschedule and cancel
• Why a time isn't offered for booking
• Take more than one booking at a time