How to prevent double bookings

Double bookings can happen when booking settings, team processes, or client communication aren’t aligned. To minimise risk, it’s important to understand how your system is set up, how bookings are confirmed, and what your clients and team members see at each stage.

Check your booking workflow and system settings

Review your service settings (for client bookings)

Go to Settings > Services and review the section: ‘How would you like to take online bookings?’

These settings control how clients book appointments online for each service:

  • Choose which services are available for online bookings

  • Decide whether online bookings should be automatically confirmed or require manual approval from a team member

Also check the unconfirmed reservation period in Settings > General preferences

  • This applies to online bookings marked as "awaiting payment" or "booking requested"

  • If set to 30 minutes, for example, the slot will be blocked from other online bookings and visible on your calendar for 30 minutes

  • If not confirmed or paid in time, the slot becomes available again, which can lead to unintentional double bookings

Check your general preferences (for team-made bookings)

Go to Settings > General preferences to manage how bookings are handled when created internally by your team

These preferences apply across all services and include:

  • Whether team-made bookings are automatically confirmed or set to a status like "pencilled in" or "awaiting payment"

These rules apply only to internal scheduling, not client-made bookings

Check client notifications

Ensure your automated messages clearly explain the status of a booking and what actions clients need to take

  • Set up automated messages for bookings marked as "pencilled in", "awaiting payment", or "booking requested"

  • Let clients know their booking is not yet confirmed and that confirmation depends on payment or team approval

  • Include any follow-up steps such as submitting proof of payment or waiting for confirmation

Monitor pending bookings

Some bookings remain unconfirmed until action is taken by either the client or a team member. These include:

  • Pencilled in

  • Awaiting payment

  • Booking requested

Monitor these closely to avoid clients assuming a booking is confirmed when it’s still pending

  • Configure team member notifications to alert team members to new bookings that require their approval

  • Use automated messages to notify clients that their booking is awaiting confirmation or payment. Make sure they understand that their appointment is not secured until it's fully confirmed

When clients book a service that requires manual approval, they’ll see a message like this:

If a booking expires due to non-payment or no action, the slot becomes available again, increasing the risk of it being booked by someone else

Track booking changes

If a double booking does occur, use the booking history to review what happened

The booking history shows:

  • Who made each change

  • When it was made

  • Status updates

This helps you determine whether the conflict came from a manual entry, an online booking, or an expired reservation

Important: Ensure each team member has their own login

  • Changes are clearly attributed to the correct person

  • Provides accountability and makes it easier to troubleshoot issues

  • Enhances security by limiting access and tracking individual activity

Train your team on booking settings

Make sure your team understands how Bookem handles bookings and confirmations. This includes:

  • How online booking requests work

  • What statuses like "pencilled in", "awaiting payment", and "booking requested" actually mean

  • How confirmation rules and lead times apply

Avoid using multiple calendars

Using an external calendar alongside Bookem is not recommended

  • Syncing delays can lead to overlapping bookings

  • Manually checking two calendars increases the chance of missed or conflicting appointments

Bookem’s calendar is the most reliable source of truth for availability and booking status. Stick to Bookem as your primary calendar to keep things simple and accurate.

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