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Booking statuses explained

Definition of complete booking, checkout booking and cancelled booking

Anni avatar
Written by Anni
Updated today

A booking can have one of three statuses: Complete, Checkout, or Cancelled. If the customer has a remaining balance, an Owes status will appear in the attendance column on your Bookings tab.

This article covers:


Complete

Attendance status screen showing a ticked 'checkout' checkbox

A booking is marked as "complete" when the customer finishes the following within the checkout period:

  • For free events: The customer completes any required fields in the booking form and selects Continue.

  • For paid events: The customer completes any required fields in the booking form, either pays online or agrees to pay later, then selects Complete Booking.

In your Bookings tab overview, bookings marked as "Complete" will show additional payment details:

  1. Paid offline + amount: The total is above zero, the customer chose offline payment, and the payment has been recorded, marking the booking as paid.

  2. Owes + amount: The total is above zero, the customer chose offline payment, but no payment has been recorded, indicating the customer still owes money.

  3. Paid + amount: The total is above zero, and the customer paid online.

  4. No additional information: The total is zero, which could mean:


Checkout

When a customer selects Book now on the public pages, the booking enters the checkout phase. During this phase, we hold the spot(s) for the customer. The reservation lasts for the ‘checkout reservation period,’ which you can adjust in your Booking preferences. If the booking is abandoned, it will show as ‘checkout.’


Checkout bookings on the dashboard

Booking list showing r

If the customer completes the booking form but hasn’t paid or agreed to manual payment, the booking will stay in the checkout status on your overview page. These bookings are incomplete, don’t affect available spots, and no emails will be sent at this stage.


Completing a booking on behalf of a customer

If needed, you (the admin) can complete a checkout booking on behalf of a customer. To do this:

  1. Select the Bookings tab from the left-hand menu on your account.

  2. Find and open the booking from the list.

  3. Select Complete this booking within the booking:

    Screenshot of booking with an arrow pointing at the 'Complete this booking' option under 'Options', highlighting to users where to click to complete the booking on behalf of the customer.

  4. This forces the booking into a "Completed" status. If payment is required, it will be marked as 'Pay later.'

Completing a checkout booking on behalf of a customer may not be possible if:

  • The booking form hasn't been filled out, or

  • The ticket allocation form is incomplete.

In these cases, the customer must start a new booking.


Cancelled

Attendance status screen showing a ticked 'cancelled' checkbox

A booking can be cancelled by the customer, attendee, or you (the admin) based on the cancellation rules set in your booking preferences.

When a booking is cancelled:

  • Bookwhen will send a cancellation email to the customer, attendees, and admin users.

  • The reserved spots are released to those on the waiting list and then to the public (if enabled).

In your Bookings tab overview, bookings marked as "Complete" will show additional payment details:

  • Cancelled: All tickets within the booking or the entire booking have been cancelled (only possible for admins).

  • Complete: Some tickets within the booking were either cancelled or transferred.

💡 Important: Transferred tickets will show as cancelled for the original ticket.

Details next to the booking reference:

  • Amount + refund: Cancelled ticket(s) and any "overpaid" amount from the booker. Possible approaches:

  • Owes + amount: Typically indicates a booking with at least one transferred ticket to a higher value, with the difference showing as "to pay" within the booking.


Owes

Attendance status screen showing a ticked 'owes' checkbox

From the Bookings overview tab, bookings marked with the Owes status usually indicate that a customer owes payment. This occurs when either an offline payment was completed but not recorded yet, or at least one ticket was transferred to a higher value.

Booking list showing an 'owes' status

💡 For bookings with offline payment, the booking total will show as "to pay." If a ticket was transferred to a higher value, the difference in price will appear as the outstanding amount.


💬 Any questions or feedback? There are two ways to get in touch:

Thank you! 🕺

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