How to Use Pencilled-In Bookings to Hold Timeslots

Pencilled-in bookings allow you to temporarily reserve a timeslot without confirming a booking. This is useful if:

• You take bookings via phone or email and need to confirm later.
• A customer must complete payment before securing their spot.
• Your business follows a multi-step booking process before final confirmation.

📌 Key things to know about pencilled-in bookings:

• Prevents double bookings by reserving the staff or resource.
• Customers do not receive an email until the booking is confirmed.
• Remains active until manually confirmed or cancelled—it does not expire.
• Pencilled-in bookings can only be added via the Calendar, customers cannot do this themselves.
  
• If a pencilled-in booking is modified to a new date or time, it will be automatically confirmed.
  

How to Create a Pencilled-In Booking

1️⃣ Go to Schedule > Calendar from the left-hand menu.
2️⃣ Use the date selector near the top to navigate to the required date.
3️⃣ Click on the desired timeslot in the calendar.
4️⃣ In the booking window, enter the customer details, service, and any relevant comments.
5️⃣ Under Booking Status, select Pencilled-In.
6️⃣ Click Add Booking to create the pencilled-in booking.

The timeslot is now reserved, but the booking is not confirmed until manually updated.

How to Confirm a Pencilled-In Booking

You can confirm a pencilled-in booking in three ways:

Option 1: Via Calendar

1️⃣ Go to Schedule > Calendar.
2️⃣ Use the date selector to find the booking.
3️⃣ Click on the pencilled-in booking in the timeslot.
4️⃣ In the booking window select Confirm.

Option 2: Using the Search Function

1️⃣ Go to Schedule > Calendar.
2️⃣ Click the search icon in the top-right corner.
3️⃣ Enter the customer name, mobile or booking ID and select the customer from the filtered list.
4️⃣ In the booking window select Confirm.

Option 3: Via Sales > Bookings

1️⃣ Navigate to Sales > Bookings.
2️⃣ Find the pencilled-in booking in the list or use the search function in the top right corner.
3️⃣ Select the corresponding row for the booking required and then select View booking at the top of the sidebar that opens.
4️⃣ In the booking window select Confirm.

How to Cancel a Pencilled-In Booking

1️⃣ Follow the same steps as confirming a pencilled-in booking to locate the booking in the Calendar, Search, or Sales > Bookings section.
2️⃣ Open the booking window by clicking on the pencilled-in booking.
3️⃣ Click Cancel Booking.
4️⃣ Choose whether to notify the customer or cancel without sending a notification.

How to Modify a Pencilled-In Booking

If you change the date or time of a pencilled-in booking, it will automatically be confirmed.

If the booking needs to remain pencilled-in, you must cancel it and create a new pencilled-in booking for the new date/time.

1️⃣ Follow the same steps as confirming a pencilled-in booking to locate the booking in the Calendar, Search, or Sales > Bookings section.
2️⃣ Open the booking window by clicking on the pencilled-in booking.
3️⃣ Use the date picker and select an available timeslot.
4️⃣ Click Change Booking to confirm the booking.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Do customers receive a notification when a pencilled-in booking is made?

No, customers only receive a confirmation email once the booking is manually confirmed.

What happens if I change the date or time of a pencilled-in booking?

The system will automatically confirm the booking. If you want the booking to remain pencilled-in, cancel the existing booking and create a new pencilled-in booking for the new date/time.

How long do pencilled-in bookings stay in the system?

There is no expiration date; the booking remains until it is manually confirmed or cancelled.

What’s the difference between pencilled-in bookings and pending bookings?

Pencilled-in bookings are manually added by the business and block availability immediately.

Pending bookings are customer-initiated when the service is booking requests instead instant confirmation and appear as pending until confirmed by the business.

 

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Need Help?

If you need assistance, contact our support team:
💬 Live Chat: Click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
📧 Email: support@nabooki.com

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