Managing and Preventing Unpaid Bookings in Arketa
Unpaid bookings can disrupt class management and create administrative challenges. Arketa provides several tools and settings to help manage and prevent unpaid bookings effectively. Below is a comprehensive guide to address these issues.
Overview of Unpaid Bookings
Unpaid bookings occur when clients reserve classes without completing payment. These can result from settings that allow unpaid reservations, recurring bookings, or waitlist conversions. Arketa offers both manual and automated solutions to manage these scenarios.
Managing Unpaid Bookings
1. Manual Resolution of Unpaid Visits
If the Unpaid Reservation Resolver is not enabled, unpaid visits must be resolved manually. For example, you can ring out the client at check-in to reconcile the payment.
2. Reconcile Past Unpaid Reservations
To mark a past reservation as paid:
Navigate to the specific past class session and reconcile the payment from that page.
Alternatively, open the client’s Reservations list and resolve the unpaid booking directly from there.
3. Automated Resolution with Unpaid Reservation Resolver
When enabled, the Unpaid Reservation Resolver automatically applies available packages or subscriptions to unpaid bookings. If no credits are available, the system can charge a configured drop-in fee. This feature ensures unpaid bookings are resolved before the class start time.
Configuring Settings to Prevent Unpaid Bookings
1. Disable Unpaid Bookings
To prevent unpaid bookings:
Edit the relevant membership or service type settings.
Under Billing Options, set "Allow unpaid bookings" to "No." This ensures clients cannot book classes without payment beyond their allotted credits.
2. Prevent Unpaid Waitlist Conversions
To avoid unpaid bookings from waitlist conversions:
Enable "Waitlist Credit Hold" in the Waitlist settings. This requires a credit to join the waitlist and holds it until the client is moved into the class or removed from the waitlist.
Ensure "Allow unpaid bookings" is turned off in membership and service type settings.
Additional Solutions
1. Recurring Reservations
Unpaid bookings can occur due to recurring reservations. To stop this:
Cancel the customer’s recurring reservations for the affected classes.
Choose the option to cancel the entire recurring series to remove all future occurrences.
2. Alternative to Booking Blocks
If a client’s invoice is unpaid, you can mark the invoice as paid to allow the booking instead of disabling the booking block.
3. Configuring Drop-In Fees
If no active membership or credits are available, the system can charge a drop-in fee for unpaid reservations. Configure this fee under the service type settings to apply a special members-only rate.
FAQs and Troubleshooting
What happens if I disable unpaid bookings? Clients will be restricted to booking only within their available credits or by paying at the time of booking.
Can unpaid reservations be resolved automatically? Yes, enabling the Unpaid Reservation Resolver automates the reconciliation process.
By leveraging these tools and settings, you can effectively manage and prevent unpaid bookings, ensuring smoother operations and better client experiences.