Provider Cancellations and No-shows
Not every session is lost because of the customer. Sometimes the provider cannot make it: your own shop, one of your staff, or a seller in a multivendor shop. This page covers three things:
- Cancel by provider: the provider cancels a session before or at its time
- Provider did not attend: the session time has come but the provider did not turn up
- Pay the provider when the customer does not show up: a setting so the provider is still paid when it is the customer who does not come
All of this is only for Booking shops and is available on every plan. Nothing changes until you press one of the new actions or turn the setting on.
Three actions in the booking detail
In the booking detail (also the booking sheet and the row menu in the list), Owners and Admins now see:
| Action | When to use it | Booking status |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel by provider | the provider cannot deliver the session | Canceled, recorded as "by the provider" |
| Provider did not attend | the session time has passed and the provider did not come | No-show, recorded as a provider no-show |
| Customer did not come | the new name of the existing Mark no-show button | No-show, as before |
A button only shows when its action is allowed. When it is not allowed yet, the button is disabled with an explanation, for example the earliest time a provider no-show can be recorded.
Requirements
| Cancel by provider | Provider did not attend | |
|---|---|---|
| booking | still active | still active |
| order | Waiting for payment or Paid | Paid |
| time | any time | from start + grace period (as for a no-show) |
| who | Owner, Admin | Owner, Admin |
Cashier and Kitchen do not see these actions.
The confirm sheet
Both actions ask for confirmation. In the sheet you fill in Reason (optional), at most 255 characters, and see what will happen to the money before you press the confirm button (named like the action; in the Dashboard app Cancel the session or Record provider no-show):
| Message in the sheet | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "A refund of ... will be recorded in Refunds. Pay it out to the customer." | a refund is recorded now. Pick How the refund is paid: Transfer, Cash, or Other |
| "The slot is freed. Settle the payment on the order in Refunds." | only the booking changes. You settle the money yourself |
| "The unpaid order is canceled." | there is no money to return |
The reason is "Seen by you and the seller only, never by the customer."
What happens to the money
| Order | Result |
|---|---|
| unpaid, holding only this booking | the order is canceled and the open charge is stopped |
| unpaid, with other items or sessions | refused: "This unpaid order also has other items or sessions, so one session cannot be canceled on its own. Change the whole order instead." Cancel the whole order from Orders |
| paid with a held deposit, holding only this booking | the deposit is refunded as in a shop cancel: the order is canceled and the deposit is refund due. After the transfer, mark Deposit refunded |
| paid with a deposit, with several lines or bookings | only the booking changes. Settle the money in Refunds |
| paid in full | depends on the When a provider cancels a paid session setting (below) |
In every case:
- the seller's earnings for this line are never paid. If not credited yet, the line is voided so it is never credited later. If already credited (for example a POS sale), the earnings are taken back in the seller's ledger
- only that booking's line is touched. Other sellers' lines and ordinary products in the same order are never refunded or canceled
- nothing is restocked (bookings have no stock)
- a refund is a record. You still transfer the money to the customer yourself. It shows in the Refunds list with the reason "Session canceled by the provider" or "Provider did not attend" (or the reason you entered)
- when the order used a scoped coupon, a one-line refund uses that line's own share of the discount: an unmatched line comes back at its full price, a matching line at its discounted price. The amount in the confirm sheet already reflects this
- if the refund cannot be recorded, nothing changes and the Dashboard shows "The refund could not be recorded, so nothing was changed. Settle this order in Refunds."
After the action, the Completing Bookings rule still applies: if another booking in the order is already completed, the order can become Delivered at once. A provider no-show never counts as a completed session.
Settings
Both are in Booking Settings, section When the provider cancels or does not attend, and only for Booking shops. Owners and Admins can change them.
When a provider cancels a paid session
Applies to provider cancels and provider no-shows of bookings that are paid in full (no deposit still held):
| Choice | Result |
|---|---|
| I refund it myself in Refunds (default) | only the booking changes and the slot is freed. The order stays Paid, and you create the refund yourself as before |
| Record the refund automatically | a refund of what the customer paid is recorded right away. If this booking is the only thing in the order, the order is canceled. If there are other lines, only this line's share is refunded and the order stays Paid for the rest |
This choice is also used when a session is canceled because too few people signed up (Sessions with a Minimum): that cancellation does not count against the provider, but the customer's money is treated the same way as above.
Pay the provider when the customer does not show up
This is off by default: a customer no-show does not move the order, and the seller earns nothing.
When on, a booking that is paid in full and then marked Customer did not come counts like a Completed booking. The order becomes Delivered once all its bookings are finished, so:
- the seller's earnings are credited, once, and follow your payout hold if you set one
- referrals and staff commission run as for a completed order
- the customer is not sent the "Order delivered" notification, only the usual no-show message
Bookings with a deposit whose balance is still unpaid do not change: the deposit is forfeited, the balance is written off, the order stays Paid, and the provider is not credited automatically. You can still pay the provider by delivering the order yourself from Sales.
Sellers in a multivendor shop
When you turn on Sellers manage their bookings (see Seller Booking Actions), a seller can press Cancel session on their own bookings in Seller Center:
- only before the session starts. After that the seller sees "The session has started. Contact the shop."
- the seller enters a Reason ("Optional. The shop sees it; the customer does not.") and confirms "Cancel this session for the customer? The customer is told and may get a refund. This cannot be undone.", without any amounts
- the money follows the same table above
- you get a bell and push notification Booking canceled by the seller, with a refund note when a refund was recorded
- in Seller Center the booking shows Canceled by you (or Canceled by the shop), and a no-show you record shows No-show recorded against you
Sellers cannot record a provider no-show. Only you can.
Counters per seller
The Sellers list and detail show two numbers: Provider cancels (by the seller or by you) and Provider no-shows. Ordinary cancels by the shop or by the customer are not counted. These numbers are for you only: they never show on the storefront, in the directory, or in Seller Center.
Who canceled
The booking detail now records who canceled:
| Shown as | Comes from |
|---|---|
| Canceled by the customer | the customer canceled the booking or their unpaid order |
| Canceled by the shop | an ordinary cancel from the Dashboard or POS, an order status change, or a full refund |
| Canceled by the provider (recorded by the shop) | you pressed Cancel by provider on the provider's behalf |
| Canceled by the provider (seller) | the seller pressed Cancel session |
| Canceled automatically | the payment expired or the system canceled an old order |
The POS order list also shows each booking line's outcome: canceled by the provider, provider did not attend, customer did not come, or completed.
Bookings canceled before this release have no such note. A booking that is already canceled keeps its first note.
What customers see
- a booking canceled by the provider or the seller shows as Canceled by the provider with a Book again button to the service page. A provider no-show shows as The provider could not attend with the same button
- the customer gets an in-app, email, and push notification: "Your session was canceled by the provider" or "The provider could not attend your session", plus a refund sentence when a refund was recorded, the attendee name if any, and a link to book again. There is no WhatsApp for these messages yet
- the customer does not see the reason you entered
- a refund, if any, shows like any order refund ("If you paid for this session, any refund shows on this order.")
Reviews
An order whose bookings are all Canceled or No-show cannot be reviewed, including an order that became Delivered through Pay the provider when the customer does not show up. An order with at least one Completed booking (or one still active, for example an order you delivered by hand) can still be reviewed as usual.