Moving a booking to a different time or cancelling it are some of the most frequent actions in the real life of a business: the client calls to reschedule, something unexpected comes up, the employee gets sick. BookHero handles these two paths deliberately: it forces you to confirm and decide whether to notify the client, instead of silently changing the calendar. A few more clicks in the moment, but it prevents the classic case of a client showing up at the door because nobody told them the booking was moved.
This guide covers both flows from the same entry point (clicking the booking in the calendar) and explains in detail what changes in the database, in the calendar and in the client's inbox.
Where everything starts: the detail panel
Both rescheduling and cancelling start in the same place: click on a booking in the calendar to open the detail panel on the right. This is where you see client, services, dates, total to be paid and the header with the current status (confirmed, cancelled or past).
- Secondary 'Book again' button: opens the create panel pre-filled to reschedule.
- Primary 'Go to checkout' button: takes you to the cart with the services (this is not cancelling, this is charging).
- 'Cancel booking' link (at the bottom, with an X icon): opens the confirmation dialog with the notification channel picker.
Reschedule: step by step
Open the booking in the calendar
Click the booking to open the detail panel. The reschedule flow is available for future confirmed bookings and also for cancelled bookings (when you want to recover them on a new date).
Click 'Book again'
Opens a copy of the 'Create booking' panel pre-filled with the same client, same services, same employee, same duration. The only thing left is to pick the new date and time.
Pick a new date and a new time
The other fields can stay as they are. If you also want to change employee, adjust the duration or tweak the price, do it here before confirming.
Watch out for conflict warnings
The 'Info' tab shows warnings (outside of hours, employee without that service, overlap with a time block) and blocking errors (double booking on the same slot). It is the same engine as when you create from scratch.
Confirm the new booking
Green button at the bottom. Creates the new booking in the calendar and, if the client has an email, sends the usual confirmation email.
Cancel the original booking (with notification)
Go back to the old booking in the calendar and cancel it, picking WhatsApp or email. That way the client knows the first one is off and the new one is what counts. Without this step you end up with two bookings in the system.
Cancel: what BookHero asks you
The 'Cancel booking' link does not cancel on the first click: it opens a confirmation dialog where you choose whether to notify the client and on which channel. This is where the system makes important decisions based on your plan and the client's contact data.
Click 'Cancel booking'
Link with an X icon at the bottom of the detail panel. It only appears on future confirmed bookings (not on cancelled ones, not on past ones).
Pick a notification channel
Three options: WhatsApp (green icon), Email (envelope icon) or 'Do not notify' (bell-off icon). The system pre-selects the strongest channel your plan and the client allow.
Read the locked-channel hint if it shows up
If WhatsApp appears greyed out with 'Pro', your current plan does not include it. If 'Email' is greyed out, the client has no email on file. The system always tells you why.
Confirm with the red button
'Cancel booking' button (red) at the bottom of the dialog. While the request is in flight you see a spinner; cancelling halfway does not undo the operation on the server.
Read the delivery status
If something goes wrong with the send (WhatsApp without a configured token, template not approved, rejected email), an orange banner appears on the panel with the exact reason. The booking is cancelled either way; only the notification failed.
WhatsApp or email: which one to pick
Both channels deliver the same information (business, date, time, services), but they have different guarantees and costs. WhatsApp has near-total open rates, but it is only available on paid plans and requires the client's phone in international format. Email works on every plan, but open rates are usually lower, especially if the client does not have you in their contacts.
| Plans with access | Pro and Enterprise | All plans (Free, Starter, Pro, Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|
| Client requirement | Phone in +351... format | Email saved on the client file |
| Typical open rate | Near 100% same day | Variable (30-60%) |
| Delivery speed | Seconds | Seconds to minutes |
| Cost to you | Included in Pro+ | Included in every plan |
| Fallback if it fails | Explanatory banner in the panel | Explanatory banner in the panel |
Why the WhatsApp option can be locked
When a channel appears greyed out or locked, the system always shows the reason. These are the possible reasons, in order of frequency:
- Plan does not include WhatsApp: you are on Free or Starter. Upgrade to Pro to enable it. Email remains available.
- Client without phone: the client record has no phone number, or it is not in international format. Edit the record in Clients and add the number.
- Client without email: locks the Email channel (not WhatsApp). Symmetric symptom to the previous one.
- WhatsApp not configured on the server: rare case, specific to your installation environment. Shows up as 'send failed' in the post-cancel banner. Talk to BookHero support.
What happens after cancelling
- The booking changes to 'Cancelled' status. The detail panel header turns red and a banner confirms the change.
- In the calendar, the booking is visible with 'Cancelled' on the eyebrow (List view) or muted (Day/Week view), until you filter it out.
- The client notification goes out (or gets logged as skipped/failed, depending on status).
- Revenue reports stop counting this booking as billed, but keep a historical record for the cancellation-rate metric.
- If the booking was paid, the payment is NOT reversed automatically. Cancelling and refunding are separate flows (more below).
Cancelling a booking that has already been paid
Cancelling a paid booking is technically possible, but you should know what does NOT happen: BookHero does not refund the money automatically. The 'paid' status stays in the historical record, and the refund (if it applies) is handled outside of the calendar, depending on the payment method used.
Cases where you cannot cancel
The 'Cancel booking' link only appears under certain conditions. When it is missing, there is a concrete reason:
- Booking already cancelled: the link disappears and 'Book again' is highlighted instead (in case you want to bring it back on a new date).
- Past booking: the link is not available. Past bookings can only be flagged as 'no show' or 'completed' through the checkout/closure flow.
- Basic role: accounts with the 'basic' role see the detail panel but no cancel or reschedule buttons. Talk to the owner or a manager.
Frequently asked questions
Can I drag a booking to another time in the calendar?
No. BookHero does not support drag & drop in the calendar. To move a booking to a different time, open it, click 'Book again' with the new date/time, then cancel the original (with notification). It is a deliberate decision: it forces you through the notification flow instead of letting the change happen silently.
When 'Book again' creates the new booking, does it cancel the old one automatically?
No. The new one is created separately and the original stays until you cancel it manually. Do it right after, picking a notification channel, so the client does not receive two contradictory confirmations.
WhatsApp shows up greyed out as 'Pro'. How do I unlock it?
Your current plan is Free or Starter, which only allows email cancellations. Upgrade to Pro under Settings · Plan to enable WhatsApp for payment confirmations, refunds, reminders and cancellations.
I cancelled and an orange banner appeared: 'send skipped: no phone'. What now?
The booking was cancelled successfully, but the message did not go out because the client has no phone on file. For next time, open the client record in Clients, add the phone in international format (+351...), and WhatsApp becomes available. For this specific booking, consider calling the client manually.
Can I cancel a booking that is already paid?
Yes, but cancellation and refund are different flows. Cancelling marks the booking as 'Cancelled' and triggers the notification; the refund itself must be done outside BookHero (cash, card terminal), depending on the original payment method. The 'Paid' badge stays in history for auditing.
Where do I see cancelled bookings afterwards?
They stay visible in the calendar with the 'Cancelled' eyebrow (muted), and you can filter them in the calendar List tab. Reports keep them around to compute the cancellation rate but exclude them from revenue.
Good day-to-day practices
- Reschedule and cancel in sequence: create the new booking first, then cancel the original with notification. Avoids duplicates on the calendar.
- On Pro plans, pick WhatsApp whenever the client has a phone on file. Email only when WhatsApp is not available.
- Always read the post-cancellation banner. If it says 'skipped' or 'failed', follow the indicated reason before assuming the client was notified.
- Keep client phone and email complete on the record. In Clients, sort by 'no contact' to fill in the missing ones.
- If you are cancelling because the slot does not work for you anymore, consider blocking that window (see Block time on the calendar) to stop the client from booking the impossible slot again.
Next up in the help center
- How to create a manual booking in the calendar: the inverse flow, for when you need to create from scratch instead of rescheduling.
- Block time on the calendar: useful when the reason to cancel is a lack of availability (long lunch, training, one-off day off).
- Manage clients in BookHero: client behaviour, repeated no-shows and cancellations are tracked on the individual client file.