This article is about pending appointment bookings: what happens when Manual booking approval is on, how to approve or reject a request, and when Zenamu cancels an unapproved booking automatically. Manual booking approval exists only for appointments (1:1 services), and you turn it on per specialist. Group classes, courses and events can't be held for approval — see Can I approve bookings for a group class or course? for what to use instead.
What is a pending booking?
A pending booking is an appointment booking that is waiting for approval from your studio or the specialist. Until it's approved, the client doesn't have a confirmed appointment. The client sees that the booking is awaiting confirmation and that they'll get an email with an update. The time slot is already reserved, so no other client can book it.
How do I turn on manual booking approval?
Go to Appointments › Specialists.
On the specialist's card, click Services (for a new specialist, click Add specialist).
Turn on the Manual booking approval switch.
Click Save. New bookings for all services of that specialist are now created as pending.
How do I approve or reject a pending booking?
Go to Appointments › Bookings. The Awaiting approval number shows how many bookings are waiting; they have the status Pending.
Open the booking with View details and review the appointment time, client, service and payment.
Click Approve to confirm the booking. The client receives a confirmation email.
Or click Reject request, optionally fill in Reason for rejection (recommended), and confirm with Reject request. The booking is cancelled, the client is notified by email and the payment is refunded in full.
You'll also find Approve and Reject request in the actions menu of each pending booking in the table.
When is a pending booking cancelled automatically?
If you don't approve a pending booking before the appointment start time, Zenamu cancels it automatically shortly after the start time and refunds the client in full.
We recommend checking the queue of pending bookings regularly throughout the day.
Can I approve bookings for a group class or course?
No. Manual booking approval exists only for appointments. In a group class, course or event, a client who books a free spot gets it straight away. If you want to choose who gets a spot in a group class, use one of these options:
Keep the class visible, but take registrations yourself: in the class form, open Advanced booking settings and tick Don't let clients book this class. The class stays on your public schedule, but nobody can book it online. Tell clients in the description how to ask for a spot (email, phone), and add the clients you accept with Add participant in the class detail.
Hide the class completely: tick Class isn't publicly visible in Advanced booking settings. The class won't appear on the public schedule, and only you can add clients with Add participant.
A course has the same options: Don't let clients book this class and Course isn't publicly visible.
Common scenarios
You have availability and the client is fine
Approve the booking as soon as possible so the client has certainty and you can move on to follow-up communication.
The appointment can't be confirmed
Reject the request and give a clear reason. This reduces back-and-forth communication.
A pending booking is still unresolved close to the appointment time
Decide immediately — otherwise it will be automatically cancelled once the appointment starts, leading to a worse client experience.
FAQ
When does the client pay for a pending booking?
When they make the booking. Manual approval doesn't postpone payment: a card or PayPal payment is taken, or credits or entries are deducted, the same way as without approval (payment on site is paid later as usual). At checkout, the client sees that they'll be refunded in full if the specialist doesn't confirm the booking before the appointment starts.
If you reject the request, or the booking is cancelled automatically, card and PayPal payments are refunded automatically and credits or entries go back to the client's balance. A bank transfer is the exception: you have to send the money back yourself through your online banking.
Can I reject a request without giving a reason?
Yes, Reason for rejection is optional, but we recommend filling it in for clear communication with the client.
Who can approve pending bookings?
Team members with the Manager or Administrator permissions can approve and reject all bookings. A specialist can approve and reject the bookings assigned to them.
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