Add someone to the waitlist and book them in

Use the Waitlist page when someone calls for a day that is already full. Customers can also add themselves from your online booking page.

Who can do this: anyone who can view the calendar can see the waitlist. Adding, booking, withdrawing and removing need the "Create / edit bookings" permission (Owner, Admin, Manager, Front desk, Groomer, Vet and Caretaker by default).

Add someone

1. 1Open Waitlist in the menu and click Add to waitlist.
2. 2Search for the Customer by name or phone number, then choose their Pet. The customer must already exist under Customers.
3. 3Tick the Services they want. Services are grouped by type, with Add-ons at the end.
4. 4Choose the Branch and the Preferred date.
5. 5Set Flexible days (0 to 30) if they could also come a few days before or after their preferred date.
6. 6Choose a Time preference: Any time, Morning, Afternoon or Evening.
7. 7For a stay, enter the number of Nights. This only appears when a per-night service is ticked.
8. 8Optionally choose a Preferred staff member and add a Note.
9. 9Click Add to waitlist.

They now appear in the Waiting tab and will be offered the first matching slot that frees up.

Read the list

The page has four tabs, each with a count: Waiting, Offered, Booked and Closed (removed and expired requests). The branch selector at the top filters the list.

Each row shows the customer and pet, the services, the preferred date with any flexible days, the time preference, nights for stays, the preferred staff member, the note, how long they have waited, and whether the request came in Online or from Staff.

Book someone in by hand

You do not have to wait for a cancellation. If you find space yourself:

1. 1In the Waiting tab, click Book manually on their row.
2. 2The new booking form opens with the customer, pet, services and date already filled in.
3. 3Pick the time and save. The waitlist entry is marked as booked for you.

Send them their link

Click Send their link on WhatsApp on a waiting row. WhatsApp opens with a short message and the customer's private link, ready to send from your own number. On that link they can see their request, claim an offer and leave the waitlist.

When an offer is open

Rows in the Offered tab show the offered slot and a live countdown.

• Book it now books the offered slot for the customer straight away, for example when they phone you to say yes. You are taken to the new booking.
• Withdraw offer takes the offer back and passes the slot to the next matching person. The customer stays on the waitlist.

If the slot has been taken in the meantime, Book it now tells you "That slot was just taken" and the customer goes back to Waiting automatically, keeping their place for the next opening.

Remove someone

Click Remove on a waiting row and confirm. The entry moves to Closed. If they change their mind, add them again.

Tip: ask for flexible days whenever you can. Someone who can come on any of three days is far more likely to get a slot than someone fixed on one.