Bookings
Bookings are the heart of DetailByte. This guide covers how a booking is created, the lifecycle it moves through, and the actions available at each stage.
How bookings are created
A booking can start in two ways:
- From the public booking form: a customer chooses a service, vehicle and time and submits a request. This creates a Draft booking and sends them a "we've got your request" message.
- From the admin panel: you create the booking yourself (Bookings → Add booking), choosing the customer, vehicle, service, date, time and any add-ons.
Mobile or drop-off
What the booking form asks for depends on How you operate (Settings → Identity & brand) and on the service.
- If only one of the two is possible, the customer is not asked; there is nothing to choose.
- If both are, they pick, and nothing is preselected.
- A drop-off booking does not ask for an address. The customer is driving to you, so their home address is irrelevant. It is asked for only when you are travelling to them.
- With more than one active drop-off location, they are asked which one they are coming to.
The same choice decides which wording the confirmation and reminder use, so a drop-off customer is told where to bring the vehicle rather than being told you are on your way.
The booking lifecycle
Every booking moves through a clear set of statuses:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Requested/created but not yet confirmed. Nothing is scheduled for the customer yet. |
| Confirmed | You have accepted the booking and the time is locked in. Confirmation is sent. |
| In Progress | The job has started. |
| Completed | The job is finished. |
| Cancelled | The booking was cancelled. |
A completed booking can also be Closed: a final "archived" state once you have delivered the job package and finished up. Bookings auto-close after 30 days if not closed manually.
Actions through the job
Open a booking (Bookings → the booking) to see its details and the actions available for its current status.
While Draft
- Confirm booking: accepts it, moves it to Confirmed and sends the confirmation message.
- Reject booking: declines the request.
While Confirmed
- On my way (mobile only): messages the customer with your ETA. If you offer mobile and have set a shop origin, DetailByte auto-calculates the drive time and pre-fills the ETA for you; you can adjust it before sending. See Mobile & Travel.
- Start job: moves the booking to In Progress and can notify the customer.
- Cancel booking: cancels it and sends the cancellation message.
While In Progress
- Finish job: marks the job Completed, records how long it took, and can notify the customer. This is also where the customer's stats and any VIP/loyalty updates are recalculated.
After Completed
- Create Package: build the before/after photo gallery and invoice to deliver to the customer. See Job Packages.
- Close booking: archive the booking once everything is delivered.
The calendar
Calendar shows your bookings by date and time so you can see your day or week at a glance. Confirmed and in-progress jobs are shown; drafts and cancelled bookings are excluded from availability counts.
Booking details at a glance
Each booking record shows the customer and vehicle, the service and price, the address (or drop-off location), a map of the approximate location, notes, ETA and duration, and a full timeline of what has happened, including which messages were sent and when.
Cancellations
Cancelling a booking sends the customer a cancellation message (if enabled) and stops any further automated messages for that booking. Once cancelled, no more customer-facing messages are sent for it, except the cancellation notice itself.