Managing bookings: common questions

Short answers to the questions shop owners and staff ask most about bookings. Each answer links to the full article.

Finding and viewing bookings

How do I find a booking?

On a computer, type in the search box at the top of Bookings (it says "Find a booking or item — name, confirmation #, or nickname…"), pick a result, and the calendar scrolls to that booking and highlights it. Click the bar to open it. On a phone or any window under 768 pixels wide there is no calendar (and no Block dates button); you get a list instead, with a search field (confirmation number or customer name, close spellings still match) and status chips Active, Upcoming, Completed and Cancelled. See Finding a booking.

What is the difference between the Calendar and Quantity buttons?

They are two ways of looking at availability on a computer. Calendar shows each booking as a bar on its item's row; Quantity shows counts instead of bars, so a booking is not visible there. Searching for a booking switches you back to Calendar. See Finding a booking.

What do the booking colours on the calendar mean?

Upcoming (purple) means pickup is still ahead. In Progress (blue) means picked up and not yet due back. Needs Attention (red) means pickup time has passed and the rental was never started, or an active rental is past its return time. Completed is green, Cancelled/Expired is gray, and an open quote is brown (Quote). Practice bookings are pink with a dashed border whatever their status. See Booking statuses explained.

Creating a booking

How do I create a booking for a walk-in or phone customer?

Click + New Booking on the Bookings page (or drag across free days on an item's row in the calendar, which opens New Booking with that item and those dates filled in), add the customer, pick items and dates, then press Continue to Payment. Choose when to collect (now, before pickup, on a date, or at pickup) and how: card, cash, other, or a payment link. See Creating a booking yourself.

Why is "Continue to Payment" greyed out?

An amber box above it, "Before you can confirm:", lists what is missing: "Add a customer", "Select rental dates", "Add at least one item", a required choice such as "Choose Size for <item>", or an email (or phone, if texting is on) for the primary renter because a virtual waiver has to be sent. The button also stays grey while an item priced by packages still has no package chosen. Fix each line and the button turns on.

Can I create a booking without taking payment right away?

Yes. In the payment window you can choose to collect later (before pickup, on a date, or at pickup). The booking page then shows a blue note: "Booking created without processing payment. Balance due: $X." See Creating a booking yourself.

I started a booking and the page closed. Is it lost?

Not usually. The form keeps your progress in the browser for about 15 minutes, and reopening New Booking offers a Restore button. See Creating a booking yourself.

Can I book a customer for separate days, such as Saturday and Monday?

Yes. In the Rental Dates calendar, click each day you want. Whether the gear stays out overnight or comes back each day follows your overnight rule. See Booking separate days and the overnight rule.

Blocking dates and closures

How do I close the shop for a holiday or block an item for an event?

On a computer, press Block dates at the top of the Bookings page. Pick Entire business ("nothing can be booked on these dates"), Selected items (close some items, the rest stay bookable) or One specific unit. Set a Start and End date, add an optional reason, and press Close these dates (for a single unit the button says Block dates).

Why is the Block dates button greyed out?

It needs a Start and End date with the End on or after the Start. Selected items also needs at least one item ticked, and One specific unit needs both an item and a unit. If the item has no units, the window says "This item has no individually tracked units, so it can't be blocked per-unit. Use Selected items above to close it."

Does blocking dates cancel the bookings already on those days?

No. The window lists existing bookings in that range and says "These stay active — nothing is cancelled or refunded. Contact those customers yourself if you need to move them."

How do I remove a closure I made?

Open Block dates again. Entire-business and selected-item closures appear under "Scheduled closures", each with a Remove button.

Statuses and the top buttons

What does each booking status mean?

Pending is waiting for you to confirm. A blue Pending is waiting on payment (a held quote sits here). Confirmed is locked in. Active means the customer has the gear. Returned means the rental is finished. Cancelled was voided. Expired means the hold ran out before payment (the hold is 10 minutes on the storefront, and 20 minutes while staff have the payment window open on New Booking). See Booking statuses explained.

How do I confirm, start or finish a booking?

Open the booking and use the buttons at the top right: Confirm on a pending booking, Start on a confirmed one (opens the pickup checkout), and Finish on an active one (opens the return checkout). See Moving a booking through its lifecycle.

Why is Start blocked with "Rental not paid yet"?

By default the pickup checkout checks that the rental is paid, and it blocks Start until the balance due now is collected. Press Close to collect payment, take the money from Resolve payment, then reopen Start. See Starting a rental.

Who can start a rental that is not paid?

Owners always can, by pressing Start anyway… and typing a reason. Managers and staff can only if an owner turned on Allow starting unpaid rentals at Settings → Team → Override permissions. The owner can also switch the Payment check off at Website & Checkout → Checkout → Business side → Start flow (Pickup).

Why is "Finish rental" greyed out?

The return checkout keeps it off until every checklist task is ticked and, when the booking has a security deposit, you have decided what happens to it: Capture from deposit, Release the full deposit, or Keep the hold open. A "Still needed" line shows what is missing. See Finishing a rental.

I finished a rental by mistake. Can I undo it?

Yes. On a finished (Returned) booking press Reopen rental; it goes back to Active. Renta warns that this can re-open inventory and affect reports.

I cancelled a booking by mistake. Can I bring it back?

Press Reopen booking on the cancelled booking. It returns to Pending, with no payment or deposit hold restored, and it is blocked if another booking has taken the same dates. See Moving a booking through its lifecycle.

Where did the More menu go on a cancelled or expired booking?

A cancelled or expired booking only shows the Charge / Refund button (and only if money was paid), because the rental will never happen. The More menu comes back only while a refund is waiting to go out, to offer Cancel refund. Reschedule, Discount and the other More items are for bookings that are still live.

Cancelling, refunds and money

Does cancelling a booking refund the customer?

No. Cancel booking only voids the reservation; money already paid shows as overpaid until you refund it. If you have a cancellation policy, the window suggests an amount to keep or refund but moves no money. See Refunding or cancelling a booking.

How do I refund a customer?

Open More → Refund (or press Charge / Refund and choose Refund), enter the Amount and a reason, and press Issue refund. The window shows how much is available to refund. Tick "This is a price reduction" if the booking's total should drop by the same amount.

Why hasn't the refund gone out yet?

Refunds wait a short grace period (about 15 minutes by default) so you can change your mind. Cancel refund in the More menu stops it during that time.

Why is "Charge card" greyed out in the Charge / Refund window?

The booking is cancelled or expired. A cancelled or expired booking can be refunded but never charged again.

What is "Charge" in the Payment Log, and why is it missing?

It takes a new payment on the booking (card, cash, other, or a payment link). It is hidden once the booking is cancelled, expired or refunded. In the header's Charge / Refund window, if the booking already owes money the window warns "This booking already has $X owed" and offers Collect balance, because Add & charge would add a new charge on top and bill the customer twice. See Payment history and signed documents.

How do I give a discount after the booking exists?

More → Discount. Choose Percent off subtotal or Fixed dollar amount, add an optional reason, and apply. To bill for something extra, use Charge in the Payment Log. See Adding a discount or an extra charge.

What does the "Needs resolution" button mean?

It shows in three cases: a cancelled or expired booking that still holds money nobody has refunded or marked as kept, a finished booking that was paid more than its total, or a booking past its return date that still owes a balance. Press it to open Resolve payment. While a refund is already queued it shows "Processing refund" instead. See Payment history and signed documents.

What does the Scheduled button at the top of Bookings show?

The Scheduled payments page: charges and deposit holds waiting to run (the job runs every 15 minutes). Each row shows Type (Rental charge or Deposit hold), Status, Booking, Customer, Amount, Scheduled for, and Notes. See Upcoming and pending charge attempts.

What does "needs review" mean on Scheduled payments?

Renta cannot tell whether the customer's card was charged, so check the payment in Stripe before charging again. "Pending" means nothing has happened yet, and "charging" means an attempt is running now.

Editing a booking

How do I change a booking's dates?

More → Reschedule, pick the new dates, check the new total, and press Reschedule. It works while the booking is pending, pending payment, confirmed or active. See Changing a booking's dates.

Why is the Reschedule button greyed out?

It stays off until you pick dates that differ from the current ones and Renta has finished calculating the new price. If Reschedule is not in the More menu at all, the booking is finished, cancelled or expired.

What does "Override availability rules" do when I reschedule?

It skips advance-notice, length and opening-hours checks, for a late return or an agreed off-hours pickup. You only see the tick box if you are an owner or an owner allowed it for managers and staff (Settings → Team → Override permissions, "Allow availability overrides").

Why can't I edit the customer on a booking?

Edit is only offered while the booking is pending, pending payment, confirmed or active. The Customer card also shows Resend confirmation, Send receipt and Send email only when the customer has an email address.

How do I change which shop a booking collects from?

If you run two or more shops, press Change shop on the Shop card, pick the new shop, and review the change. It is only available while the booking is pending, pending payment or confirmed, and only to people who can edit bookings. Nothing is charged or refunded and the customer is not told. See Everything about one booking.

How do I send a customer their waiver?

On the booking's Payments & Documents tab, the Waivers card has Show QR, Create new waiver, and an add-rider form with Send waiver invite or Sign in person. Each person shows "Link not sent", "Awaiting signature" or "Completed", with Send/Resend. Send to all riders can re-send the waiver link, or email a message (or text one, when text messaging is switched on), to every rider. See Payment history and signed documents.

Warnings and special cases

What do the coloured notes at the top of a booking mean?

They appear right after you create a booking in the admin, for one visit only. Blue: "Booking created without processing payment. Balance due." Amber: "Booking created, but payment setup failed", "The waiver link couldn't be sent automatically", "Some documents didn't attach", "No units were reserved for this booking", or a rate-override discount that could not be applied. Each one tells you what to redo by hand. See Warning banners on a booking.

What is the waitlist, and what do its statuses mean?

Customers who hit sold-out dates can ask to be told if it frees up. At Bookings → Waitlist, each row shows Waiting, then after a cancellation matches either "Emailed <time>" or "Email failed", and finally Booked or Closed. Use Mark booked, Close and Reopen to tidy rows. See Notifying customers when a sold-out item opens up.

What is a practice booking, and how do I clear them?

A practice booking is one made under a Practice Customer; it has no real effect and shows pink. Owners and managers see Clear practice bookings at the top of Bookings; it deletes every practice booking and never touches real ones. See Practice customers.

What customers can do themselves

Can a customer cancel their own booking?

Yes, from Cancel Booking on their booking page, while the booking is pending, pending payment or confirmed. Once a rental is active, they need to contact the shop. With no cancellation policy set, they cannot cancel within 24 hours of pickup and are asked to contact you. With a policy set, the policy's tiers apply and the only stop is a rental that has already started. Cancelling never refunds automatically; you refund by hand. See Refunding or cancelling a booking.

Can a customer change their dates?

Yes, with Reschedule rental on their booking page, while the booking is pending, pending payment or confirmed. They cannot reschedule once it is active, and they are held to your normal availability rules such as advance notice; you can reschedule an active booking, or override those rules if you hold the permission, from More → Reschedule. The window shows "Additional owed" or "Estimated refund" for any price change.