An appointment moves through statuses from booking to payment: Pending, Confirmed, In Progress, Completed, Ready to Pay and Paid. Each status shows as a coloured badge on the calendar and on the appointment, and decides which actions the appointment offers.
Three other paths leave that line. A Pending booking you turn down becomes Declined. A booking you or the customer call off becomes Cancelled. A card that fails in Ready to Pay becomes Payment Declined, and a successful retry takes it to Paid.
Move an appointment to its next status
The main button on an appointment moves it to the next status.
- Open Appointments and select the appointment.
- Select the main button for its status: Accept on Pending, Check in on Confirmed, Check out on In Progress, or Charge on Ready to Pay when a card is on file.
- For anything else, such as Decline, Cancel or Mark as no show, select Manage and choose the action.
Check out finalises the invoice, so an In Progress appointment goes straight to Ready to Pay. On Payment Declined the main button reads Retry and the amount due.
Move statuses automatically
Automatic actions move a booking along without anyone pressing a button.
- Open Automatic Actions.
- Switch on the steps you want: Auto-start appointments, Auto-complete appointments, Auto-finalise appointments and Auto-pay invoices.
- Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes. Switching on Auto-pay invoices adds a second tick, I understand & take responsibility.
With every automatic action on, a booking moves like this:
- Pre-hold funds, set on Pricing & Payments, holds the card on file 72 hours before the start, which checks the card works.
- Auto-start appointments moves it from Confirmed to In Progress at the scheduled start time.
- Auto-complete appointments moves it from In Progress to Completed when its duration ends.
- Auto-finalise appointments moves it from Completed to Ready to Pay 30 minutes after the scheduled end time.
- Auto-pay invoices charges the card on file at the next automatic check, moving it from Ready to Pay to Paid.
Petboost runs these checks every 15 minutes, so a change can land up to 15 minutes after its time. A service can keep its own value for each switch, and the service's value wins. Accepting or declining a booking is always your decision, unless Instant confirmation on Booking Settings confirms online bookings for you. With a switch off, you do that step yourself: Check in to start, Check out or Finalise Invoice to finalise, and Charge or another payment method to collect.
Status reference
| Status | Colour | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Blue | Waiting for you to accept it |
| Declined | Red | You turned the booking down |
| Confirmed | Green | Accepted and scheduled |
| Cancelled | Red | Called off by you or the customer |
| In Progress | Pink | Checked in, the visit is under way |
| Completed | Indigo | The visit is over and the invoice is not final |
| Ready to Pay | Indigo | Invoice finalised, waiting for payment |
| Paid | Green | Payment received |
| Payment Declined | Red | The payment attempt failed |
| Refund Granted | Slate | The full amount was refunded |
| Partially Refunded | Amber | Part of the amount was refunded |
| Invoice Amount Void | Slate | The invoice was written off, nothing is owed |
Pending
A new booking waiting for you to accept it. A booking also waits here while a deposit is due or a pet's vaccination certificate needs approval, and goes back here when the owner reschedules while Instant confirmation is off.
You can Accept or Decline it, Edit it, or Message owner before you decide. When a deposit is held, the main button reads Take and the deposit amount, and Accept without deposit confirms it without taking the deposit. With Instant confirmation on, online bookings skip Pending and are confirmed straight away.
The customer sees the booking waiting for confirmation, and can still cancel it in their app when Changes & Cancellations allows it. A quick reply matters: aim to answer within 2 hours.
Declined
You turned the booking down. Only a Pending booking can be declined, and not the first appointment of a recurring series. Nothing is reserved and nothing is charged.
The customer is emailed when Email the customer: booking updates is on in your notification settings, and can try booking again, perhaps at another time or for other services. To clear a declined booking off your records, select Manage, then Delete Appointment.
Confirmed
Accepted and scheduled. The time, the team member and any resources are reserved for it.
You can Check in, Edit it to reschedule, Cancel, Mark as no show or Send Reminder Notification. With Pre-hold funds on, Petboost holds the card on file 72 hours before the start. Auto-start appointments checks it in at the scheduled start time.
The customer gets a confirmation by email or text, depending on your notification settings, and reminders at the times you set, up to two per booking. They can reschedule or cancel within your Changes & Cancellations rules.
Cancelled
Called off by you or the customer. The slot and its resources are free again.
The main button reads Recreate, which brings the appointment back, or Collect fee when a cancellation fee is still owed. A charged cancellation fee can be refunded while the appointment stays cancelled. See Un-cancel & Appointment Recovery.
The customer gets a cancellation email when Email the customer: booking updates is on. Whether they get money back depends on your cancellation policy and how much notice they gave.
You can cancel an appointment that is Pending, Confirmed, In Progress, Completed, Ready to Pay or Invoice Amount Void. On Payment Declined, Petboost voids the declined invoice first. A Paid, Refund Granted, Partially Refunded or Declined appointment cannot be cancelled.
In Progress
Checked in, and the visit is under way. Petboost does not time the visit: the activity log records when it started.
Select Check out when the visit ends, which finalises the invoice and moves it to Ready to Pay. Undo check in takes it back to Confirmed, and is hidden when every service on it has Auto-start appointments on. You can add notes and photos, and send the owner a report card. See Report Cards.
Auto-complete appointments moves it to Completed when its duration ends.
Completed
The visit is over and the invoice is not final yet. The activity log calls this Appointment Completed.
You can still change the invoice lines and discounts, and send a report card. Charge takes the card on file, and cash or a bank transfer can be recorded. Auto-finalise appointments moves it to Ready to Pay 30 minutes after the scheduled end time.
Ready to Pay
The invoice is finalised and waiting for payment. You can still change the invoice lines until it is paid.
Charge takes the card on file, or take the payment in person on a card reader, request a bank transfer, or record cash or another method. Void Invoice writes the amount off. Undo check out takes it back to the status it had before check out: Confirmed, In Progress, Completed or Payment Declined. It is hidden when every service on it has the automatic action that would move it forward again.
With Auto-pay invoices on, Petboost charges the card on file at the next automatic check, which runs every 15 minutes. Without a valid card on file, it stays in Ready to Pay for you to collect. A bank transfer request emails the customer the invoice.
Paid
Payment received, and nothing more is needed.
You can Issue refund, Preview Receipt, open a card payment with View in Stripe, or book the next visit with Quick Book Again. A cash, bank transfer or other payment can be reversed with Un-mark as paid while Auto-pay invoices is off for its services. It goes back to Ready to Pay.
The customer gets a receipt email when Email the customer: booking updates is on.
Payment Declined
The payment attempt failed, so the visit is done but not paid.
Select Retry to charge the card again, ask the customer to update their card, take the payment in person, or record cash or a bank transfer. Void Invoice writes the amount off. Contact the customer promptly.
The customer gets a payment-failure email when Email the customer: booking updates is on.
Refund Granted
The full amount was refunded. For a card payment, Stripe returns the money to the card it came from.
Book the next visit with Quick Book Again. Note the reason for the refund. The customer gets a refund email unless you chose Refund silently.
Partially Refunded
Part of the amount was refunded, and the rest stays paid. Issue refund refunds more of it if you need to. Note the reason, so the balance between the service given and the refund is clear later.
Invoice Amount Void
The invoice was written off, so the customer owes nothing and the visit was free. Only a Ready to Pay or Payment Declined invoice can be voided. Note why, as it often marks a service issue. You can still cancel it, or remove it with Delete Appointment.
Blocked time
Blocked time is not an appointment status. It is a separate calendar entry that takes a team member or resource out of availability for breaks, maintenance or personal time, and customers only see the slot as unavailable. Select it on the calendar to change or remove it. It cannot be turned into an appointment.
Undo a status change
Some changes can be undone, as long as the automatic action that made them would not simply repeat.
- Undo check in: In Progress back to Confirmed
- Undo check out: Ready to Pay back to the status before check out
- Un-mark as paid: Paid back to Ready to Pay, for cash, bank transfer and other payments
- Recreate: brings a cancelled appointment back
- A payment that fails in Ready to Pay moves to Payment Declined, and a successful Retry moves it to Paid
- A Paid appointment can move to Refund Granted or Partially Refunded
Paid, Refund Granted and Invoice Amount Void need nothing more. Declined ends the booking.
Tips
- Answer Pending bookings within 2 hours, and follow up a Payment Declined promptly
- Use automatic actions to cut the manual steps, and review invoices before they are finalised
- Add service notes while the visit is In Progress
- Ask customers to keep their card up to date, to watch their email and texts for booking updates, and to contact you with any questions