Booking Inspector & Quick Actions

View full booking details, contact customers, change booking status, add treatment notes, and manage consultation forms — all from a single panel without leaving the calendar.

Overview

The Booking Inspector lets you:

• See the full appointment details (services, staff, time, payment) at a glance
• Change booking status — mark arrived, complete, no-show, or cancel
• Approve or decline pending requests, with counter-offer support
• Contact the customer directly via call, SMS, or email
• Add treatment notes with optional AI polishing
• Send and review consultation forms
• View an AI pre-appointment brief before the customer arrives

Opening the Booking Inspector

On Web

Click any booking block on the calendar. The inspector opens as a sidebar panel on the right side of the screen.

On iPad

Tap any booking block on the calendar. The inspector slides in as a trailing-edge panel from the right.

On Phone

Tap any booking block on the calendar. The booking detail opens as a full-screen view.

Quick Actions from Calendar (Phone and iPad)

Long-press a booking block on the calendar to open a quick action sheet:

Action	Icon	Description
Mark as arrived	LogIn	Sets the booking to arrived status
Mark as complete	CheckCircle	Sets the booking to completed status
View details	ExternalLink	Opens the full booking detail screen

If a booking is already in a terminal state (completed, cancelled, no-show), the action shows as "Already finalised" and is disabled.

What You See

Header

The inspector header shows:

• Customer name — the customer's full name (tappable to view their profile)
• Status badge — current booking status with colour coding (see Status Badges below)
• Time range — the appointment start and end time
• Series badge — appears if the booking is part of a recurring series

Contact buttons appear when the customer has contact details on file:

Button	Available When	What It Does
Call	Phone number on file	Opens phone dialler
SMS	Phone number on file	Opens SMS compose sheet (iPad) or phone's messaging app
Email	Email address on file	Opens email compose sheet (iPad) or email client

On iPad, the SMS and Email buttons open in-app compose sheets where you can draft a message, use templates, or rewrite with AI before sending.

Status Badges

Status	Meaning
Pending	Awaiting approval from the venue
Confirmed	Approved and scheduled
Arrived	Customer has checked in
Completed	Appointment finished
Cancelled	Appointment cancelled
No show	Customer did not attend
Counter offered	Alternative times sent to the customer
Declined	Request declined by the venue
Expired	Pending request expired without action

Terminal statuses (completed, cancelled, no-show, declined, expired) disable edit and reschedule controls.

Itinerary

Lists each service in the appointment with:

• Service name
• Duration (e.g., "45 min")
• Total Duration at the bottom

Financials

Field	Description
Total Value	Full price for all services
Paid	Amount already collected (shown in green)
Balance Due	Remaining amount owed (shown in red)

Deposit status is shown separately when applicable: Deposit (hold), Deposit paid, Deposit partially refunded, Deposit refunded, or Deposit retained.

Client Information

A strip of badges below the header shows key client details at a glance:

• Skin type (e.g., "oily skin")
• Hair type and condition
• Allergies (shown with a warning icon)
• Colour formula (if saved to client card)

Contraindication Alert

If the client has a contraindication on file, a red alert banner appears:

"Contraindication on file — review forms before proceeding."

This banner appears prominently before any action buttons, ensuring staff see it before proceeding with the appointment.

Changing Booking Status

The action buttons shown depend on the booking's current status.

Available Actions by Status

Current Status	Actions Available
Pending	Approve, Decline, Suggest Times
Confirmed	Arrived, No-Show, Cancel, Complete
Arrived	Complete, No-Show, Cancel
Counter offered	(Awaiting customer response)
Completed	None (terminal)
Cancelled	None (terminal)
No show	None (terminal)

Marking as Arrived

1. Click Mark Arrived (web) or Arrived (mobile)
2. Confirm in the dialog: "Mark [name] as Arrived?" / "This will mark [name] as checked in."
3. The status badge updates to Arrived

Completing a Booking

1. Click Complete
2. Confirm in the dialog: "Mark [name] as Completed" / "This will finalise the appointment."
3. The status updates to Completed

If the booking is part of a recurring series, a rebook prompt appears after completion (see Rebook Prompt below).

Recording a No-Show

1. Click No Show (web) or No-Show (mobile)
2. Confirm in the dialog: "Mark [name] as No-Show?"
3. If a deposit is on file, the confirmation warns: "The [amount] deposit will be automatically captured."

The no-show is recorded on the customer's profile. If a deposit was authorised, it is automatically forfeited.

Cancelling a Booking

1. Click Cancel (web) or Cancel (mobile)
2. Confirm in the dialog: "Cancel [name]'s Booking?" / "This will permanently cancel [name]'s booking. Any deposit will be handled according to your cancellation policy."

Only Owners and Managers can cancel bookings.

Approving and Declining Requests

When a customer books online and the venue requires manual approval, bookings arrive with Pending status. The inspector shows an expiry countdown (e.g., "Expires 2 hours from now") and three action buttons.

Approving a Booking

1. Click Approve
2. The booking moves to Confirmed status
3. The customer receives a booking confirmation via email and/or SMS

Declining a Booking

1. Click Decline
2. The booking moves to Declined status
3. Any deposit is refunded automatically
4. The customer is notified

Counter-Offers (Suggest Times)

Instead of declining outright, you can suggest alternative times:

1. Click Suggest Times (web) or Other Times (mobile)
2. OpenChair finds up to 5 available slots within 3 days of the original booking date
3. Select which times to offer (1–5 slots)
4. Click Send
5. The booking moves to Counter offered status

The customer receives an SMS and/or email with a link to accept one of the offered times. Counter-offers expire after 24 hours by default (configurable in venue settings via Counter-offer expiry).

If the customer accepts an offer, the booking automatically moves to Confirmed with the new time and staff assignment.

Notes & Forms

Treatment Notes

Add notes during or after an appointment — useful for colour formulas, treatment details, or follow-up reminders.

On web:

1. Type in the notes field (placeholder: "Colour formula, treatment notes, anything worth remembering…")
2. Click Save Note
3. A confirmation appears: "Note saved to [customer]'s appointment"

On mobile:

1. Tap the notes field to enter edit mode
2. Type your note
3. Notes auto-save after a short pause (you will see "Saving…" then "Saved")
4. Tap Done to exit edit mode

Notes show who last saved them and when (e.g., "Saved by Sarah · 2 min ago").

AI Note Polish (PRO)

Tidy up shorthand notes into professional language:

1. Write your note in shorthand
2. Click Polish with AI (button with sparkles icon)
3. The AI rewrites your note in clear, professional British English while preserving all factual details — product names, colour formulas, measurements, and timings
4. Review the polished text
5. Click Save Note (web) or the note auto-saves (mobile)
6. To undo, click Undo polish before saving

Colour Formula Detection

When you save a note containing a colour formula, the inspector detects it and prompts:

"Formula detected: [formula] — add to [customer]'s card?"

Click Update card to save the formula to the customer's client card for future reference, or Dismiss to skip.

Consultation Forms

The Consultation Forms section shows forms sent to or completed by the customer:

• Pending — awaiting signature — form sent but not yet completed
• Risk flagged — completed form with a risk score above zero (shown as a red badge)

To send a new form:

1. Click Send Form
2. Select a consultation form template
3. The customer receives a link to complete the form

If the customer has no phone number or email on file, the Send Form button shows a tooltip: "No contact details on file — add a phone number or email to this client."

When 5 or more forms are on file, a "View all forms →" link appears to see the complete history.

AI Pre-Appointment Brief (PRO)

Before a customer arrives, the inspector shows an AI-generated brief summarising key context for the appointment. The brief highlights:

• Colour formula on file (or "No colour formula on file — Add after this service →")
• Allergy history (or "No allergy history recorded.")
• Previous appointment notes (or "First appointment — no previous notes.")

The brief appears automatically when viewing a confirmed or arrived booking and is labelled "AI brief" with a sparkles icon.

On FREE plans, a placeholder shows: "Pre-appointment briefs available on PRO" with an "Upgrade →" link.

Checkout & Payment

Balance Due

The inspector footer shows the payment status:

• "Paid in Full" — when balance is zero
• "Checkout $[amount]" — when a balance remains (tapping opens the checkout flow)

Walk-out Checkout

For arrived bookings with a card on file, a walk-out checkout banner appears, showing the charge amount and card summary. This allows one-tap checkout when the customer is ready to leave.

Rebook Prompt (Recurring Series)

After completing a booking that is part of a recurring series, a rebook prompt banner appears:

• "Rebook [customer]?"
• Shows the next suggested appointment: "[service] · [staff] · in [interval]w ([date])"
• "Rebook →" — creates the next appointment in the series
• "Change details" — opens the rebook form to adjust the date, time, or staff

SMS and Email Compose (iPad)

On iPad, the inspector includes built-in compose sheets for SMS and email.

SMS Compose

1. Tap SMS in the inspector header
2. The sheet opens with the title "SMS to [customer]" and the customer's phone number
3. Type your message (maximum 320 characters, with a live character counter)
4. Optionally tap Improve message with AI (sparkles icon) to rewrite the message
5. Choose a tone: Professional, Friendly, or Concise
6. Tap Send

Email Compose

1. Tap Email in the inspector header
2. The sheet opens with the title "Email to [customer]"
3. The subject line defaults to "Regarding your booking on [date]"
4. Type your message and tap Send

Inline Editing (iPad)

On iPad, you can edit customer details directly from the inspector header without opening the full customer profile:

1. Tap Edit customer details
2. Edit the customer's name, phone number, or email inline
3. Tap Save
4. A toast confirms: "Customer details updated"

You can also reassign staff directly from the appointment section:

1. Tap the staff name in the Appointment card
2. Select a new staff member from the "Reassign staff" sheet
3. A toast confirms: "Staff updated"

Platform Differences

Feature	Web	iPad	Phone
Inspector panel	Sidebar (right)	Trailing panel (right)	Full screen
Quick actions (long-press)	No	Yes	Yes
Contact buttons (Call/SMS/Email)	Call, Email	Call, SMS, Email (in-app compose)	Call (opens phone)
In-app SMS/email compose	No	Yes	No
Inline customer editing	No	Yes	No
Inline staff reassignment	No	Yes	No
Notes	Manual save (Save Note)	Auto-save	Auto-save
AI note polish	Yes (PRO)	Yes (PRO)	Yes (PRO)
AI pre-appointment brief	Yes (PRO)	Yes (PRO)	Yes (PRO)
Rebook prompt (series)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Checkout button	Yes	Yes	Yes

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Cannot mark as arrived — compliance block	Required consultation forms are incomplete. Ask the customer to complete them, or have a Manager override with a reason.
Cannot cancel a booking	Only Owners and Managers can cancel bookings. If you are a Stylist, ask your manager.
Send Form button is greyed out	The customer has no phone number or email on file. Add contact details to their profile first.
Counter-offer expired before customer responded	The default expiry is 24 hours. You can adjust this in your venue's booking settings under Counter-offer expiry. Contact the customer directly to rebook.
Note not saving (mobile)	Check your internet connection. If you see "Couldn't save — tap to retry", tap the message to retry.
AI polish not available	AI note polish requires a PRO subscription. The button appears as "Polish with AI" with a sparkles icon when available.
Customer did not receive counter-offer	Verify the customer's phone number and email are correct. Check your venue's quiet hours settings — SMS is not sent before 8 AM or after 9 PM.

Related Articles

• Using the Calendar
• Creating a Booking
• Counter-Offers
• Rescheduling & Cancelling Bookings
• Consultation Forms
• Smart Waitlist & Gap Filling
• Sending Quick Messages (SMS & Email)

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Last updated: March 2026