Booking & Scheduling
Answer booking requests
When a client asks for a visit in their Chester account, it waits for you as a booking request. Accept it and Chester makes the booking. Decline it and Chester tells the client, with your reason if you give one.
The short version
- Open your booking requests from your schedule.
- Open a request and check the details.
- Accept it, or decline it with an optional reason.
On your phone
- Tap the Schedule tab.
- A number on the tab shows how many requests are waiting.
- Scroll to Booking Requests and tap a request to see all its details.
- Tap ā Accept Request, or Accept on the card.
- On a service priced as a range, it reads Approve at and the price you set.
- If you can assign work and you're on the Team plan, the Assign to Staff sheet opens next.
- Leave Automatic selected, or tap Assign to myself or a team member, and add Handoff notes if useful.
- Tap Confirm & Assign, or Confirm without assigning to leave it for your team to pick up. That second button shows once 2 or more people are on your team.
- To say no, tap Decline, type a reason if you like, and tap Confirm Decline.
- Tap Keep to leave the request waiting.
On the web
- Open your Schedule and click the Requests button at the top.
- The button only shows while requests are waiting.
- Click a request to see its details.
- If you have a team, choose who takes it under Who walks it (or Who takes it for other services).
- Pick Leave unassigned (team picks it up) to send it to the Unassigned list.
- Click Accept Request.
- It reads Accept, leave unassigned when you've picked that, or Approve at and the price on a service priced as a range.
- To say no, click Decline, add a reason if you like, and click Confirm Decline.
- Click Keep request to leave it waiting.
What your client gets
- When you accept: their booking confirmation email. A repeating request sends one summary email for the whole series.
- When you accept a request to move a visit: the visit moves, and they get a push saying it was rescheduled, or an email if they don't have the app.
- When you decline: an email with your reason, if you wrote one. They also see the reason on the request in their account.
- Accept and decline emails follow the client's booking confirmation email setting. The reschedule notice follows their booking change setting. Their account shows the result either way.
Good to know
- Accepting a repeating request books every date. Dates that clash are skipped, and Chester lists them.
- A prepaid pack is used automatically when the client has one that fits. If none fits, Chester tells you the visit will be invoiced instead.
- Warnings never block you. Chester flags a request outside your set hours, on a day you blocked, or for a pet type the service isn't for. You can still accept.
- Some requests can't be accepted. If the date has passed or the client was archived, Chester says so. Decline it to clear it.
- Who can answer requests. Anyone with the "Assign bookings" permission. Owners have it to start.
- Choosing who takes it needs the Team plan. On the web it also needs at least 2 people on your team. On the phone, leaving it unassigned needs 2 people.
- New requests notify the owner only.
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