Booking Management

Overview

Booking Management is the heart of your autoGMS dashboard. It is where you create, track, and manage every service job that comes through your garage -- from the moment a customer walks in or calls, all the way through to job completion.

Whether you are running a single-bay workshop or a multi-bay operation, this feature helps your team stay organized, avoid double-bookings, and keep customers informed at every step.

Why it matters:

• Gives your entire team a shared, real-time view of every job in the garage
• Tracks every booking through clear stages so nothing falls through the cracks
• Helps you manage your garage capacity and plan your day effectively
• Keeps a complete record of services, pricing, and customer details for every job

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How to Access

1. Log in to your autoGMS dashboard.
2. From the sidebar, select the garage you want to manage.
3. Click Bookings in the sidebar navigation.

You will land on the Bookings page, which shows all of your garage's bookings in a table view by default. At the top of the page you will see tabs for List, Calendar, and -- depending on your feature settings -- Reminders and Service Plans.

In the page header you will also find a Refresh button to reload your data on demand, and a Settings button that takes you to your booking configuration page.

Good to know: Technicians cannot access the Bookings page. If a technician logs in and tries to navigate here, they are automatically redirected to the Workshop page.

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Key Features

• List View -- A searchable, filterable table of all your bookings with inline actions, configurable columns, and concise estimate and price states that are easy to scan
• Calendar View -- A visual calendar showing bookings by day, week, or month with color-coded status cards and timed placement when bookings use slots
• Reminders Tab -- Schedule and manage service reminders for your customers (feature-flagged)
• Service Plans Tab -- View and manage recurring service plans for fleet customers (fleet mode only)
• Status Tracking -- Move bookings through Pending, Confirmed, In-Service, and Completed stages
• Smart Dispatch -- Automated technician assignment with skill matching when starting service
• Hold and Resume -- Pause an active job when waiting for parts or customer approval
• Pre-Inspection Integration -- Complete vehicle inspections before or during service
• Digital Vehicle Inspection (DVI) Tracking -- See the inspection status of every booking at a glance in the table
• Estimate Decision Tracking -- Monitor whether customers have approved, declined, or not yet responded to estimates
• Search and Filters -- Find any booking by customer name, phone number, plate number, or status
• Column Visibility -- Show or hide table columns to focus on the information that matters to you
• Price Adjustments -- Update pricing from the booking detail page with required reason capture and visible price history
• Customer Type Filtering -- Filter between individual and business customers
• Real-Time Updates -- Bookings update live via WebSocket connections as changes happen across your team

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Understanding Booking Statuses

Every booking in autoGMS moves through a clear set of stages. Think of it like a conveyor belt -- each job moves forward one step at a time.

The Status Flow

Pending  -->  Confirmed  -->  In-Service  -->  Completed

Any booking can also be Cancelled at any point before completion.

What Each Status Means

Status	What it means	What you should do
Pending	A new booking has been created but not yet reviewed.	Review the booking details and confirm it, or cancel if needed.
Confirmed	The booking has been approved and is scheduled for service.	When the vehicle arrives and you are ready to work on it, start the service.
In-Service	The job is actively being worked on in your garage.	Complete the work, confirm any inventory used, then mark the job as completed.
Completed	The service is finished.	The job is done. Revenue from this booking is now counted in your reports.
Cancelled	The booking was cancelled.	No further action needed. Cancelled bookings do not affect your revenue.

Good to know: Bookings must move forward in order. You cannot skip from Pending directly to In-Service -- you must confirm it first. This keeps your records accurate and ensures nothing is missed.

On Hold

Sometimes a job needs to be paused -- maybe you are waiting for a part to arrive, or the customer needs to approve additional work. When a booking is In-Service, you can put it On Hold.

• On-hold jobs stay in the In-Service status but are clearly marked so your team knows they are paused.
• You must provide a reason when placing a job on hold. Available reasons include:
  • Waiting for Parts
  • Waiting for Customer Approval
  • Waiting for Payment
  • Technician Unavailable
  • Equipment Issue
  • Other
• You can add optional notes explaining the hold in more detail.
• When you are ready to continue, simply resume the job.
• The system tracks how long each job was on hold.

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Step-by-Step Guide

Viewing Your Bookings List

The default view when you open Bookings is the List tab -- a table showing all your bookings.

What you will see:

• Two desktop summary cards above the table:
  • Completed revenue (total from completed jobs, with a count of completed jobs)
  • Pipeline value (combined value of pending, confirmed, and in-service bookings, with a count of active bookings)
• A table with configurable columns (see Column Reference below)
• Status filter chips at the top (Pending, Confirmed, In-Service, Completed, Cancelled) with count numbers next to each status
• A search bar to find specific bookings
• A customer type filter dropdown (All Customers, Individual, Business)
• Pagination controls at the bottom with a page size selector
• A column visibility menu to show or hide columns

When the table is loading new data -- for example, after applying a filter or changing pages -- the existing rows fade slightly to indicate fresh data is on the way. There is no full-screen loading spinner, so you are never blocked from reading what is already on screen.

The right-side Actions column expands to match the current workflow view, so row buttons such as Inspect, Start, and Cancel stay readable instead of overlapping each other.

Table Columns

The bookings table has a set of default columns and several optional columns you can show or hide.

Always-visible columns (default):

Column	What it shows
Customer	Customer name (for business accounts, shows business name with contact name below)
Vehicle	Vehicle make and model, with vehicle type shown below
Service	Service name and vehicle type
Date	Booking date
Status	Current booking status as a color-coded label
Estimate	Two lines only: the estimate status on the first line, and the latest estimate amount on the second line when an amount exists. The status text is color-coded: green for Approved, amber for Awaiting decision, red for Declined, and grey for No estimate. There is no separate estimate legend.
Price	Two lines only: the current booking price on the first line, and one short qualifier on the second line only when it helps explain the number. Examples include Booking price, Price not set, Edited after sync, and Last approved price.
DVI	Digital Vehicle Inspection status shown as compact icons -- grey (not started), amber (in progress), or green (completed). The table includes a legend above the table labeled Digital Vehicle Inspection.

Estimate and Price Examples

The Estimate column and Price column are intentionally separate.

• The Estimate column tells you the quote state.
• The Price column tells you the booking's saved price.

Common combinations:

Estimate column	Price column	What it means
Approved AED 3,035.55	AED 3,035.55 Booking price	The approved estimate has already been applied to the booking.
Awaiting decision AED 3,035.55	AED 0.00 Price not set	A quote has been sent, but the booking does not have a saved price yet.
Approved AED 3,035.55	AED 2,900.00 Edited after sync	The booking price was changed manually after the estimate had already been applied.
Draft AED 2,100.00	AED 3,035.55 Last approved price	A newer quote exists, but the booking is still showing the last approved amount.
Declined AED 3,035.55	AED 0.00 Price not set	The estimate was declined and the booking still has no saved price.
Declined AED 3,035.55	AED 3,035.55 Last approved price	The latest estimate was declined, but the booking is still showing an older approved amount.
No estimate	AED 1,250.00 Booking price	The booking has a saved price, but no estimate has been created or requested.
No estimate	AED 0.00 Price not set	No estimate has been created and the booking does not have a saved price yet.

Plain-English rule:

• Estimate answers: "What quote status is the customer on?"
• Price answers: "What price is currently saved on the booking?"

Optional columns (hidden by default, toggle via column visibility menu):

Column	What it shows
License Plate	Vehicle registration/license plate number
Year	Vehicle year of manufacture
Customer Phone	Customer's phone number
Customer Email	Customer's email address
Payment Status	Whether payment has been received (e.g., unpaid, partially paid, paid)
Amount Paid	Amount the customer has paid so far
Created At	When the booking was first created (date and time)
Updated At	When the booking was last modified (date and time)

Your column visibility preferences are saved per garage, so they persist across sessions.

Filtering Bookings by Status

• With no status chip selected, the table shows all bookings.
• Click any status chip to filter the table to show only bookings with that status.
• If you open Bookings from the dashboard's Booking Status Summary card, the matching status chip is selected automatically.
• Each chip shows a count so you can see at a glance how many bookings are in that status.
• Only one status chip is active at a time in the table view.
• Click a different chip to switch the table to that status.
• Click the selected chip again to clear the status filter and return to the full bookings list.

Searching for Bookings

Use the search bar at the top of the table to find bookings by:

• Customer first or last name
• Phone number
• License plate number

Results update as you type, with the search running against the server for accurate results across your full booking history.

Sorting Bookings

Click on any sortable column header to sort by that column. Click again to reverse the sort order. Sorting is handled server-side, so it works correctly even when you have thousands of bookings across many pages. When you apply a status filter, the list resets to show the newest items for that stage first. In the Completed view, that means the most recently completed jobs appear at the top.

Filtering by Customer Type

Use the customer type dropdown to show only Individual customers, only Business customers, or All Customers. This is especially helpful when you need to focus on fleet jobs or personal vehicle services.

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Using the Calendar View

The Calendar View gives you a visual overview of your bookings laid out on a calendar.

How to switch to Calendar View:

1. On the Bookings page, click the Calendar tab at the top of the page.

The calendar loads on demand the first time you open it. Once it appears, the sidebar collapses automatically to give the calendar more room.

What to expect:

• The toolbar at the top gives you Previous, Today, Next, Day, Week, Month, search, and status filters.
• Booking cards are color-coded by status.
• Clicking a booking card opens the booking details page.

Good to know: The calendar keeps your current day, week, or month in the page URL. If you refresh or share the link, it reopens on the same calendar position.

By View

View	What it is for	How to use it
Day	Dispatching the workshop in detail	Use the technician lanes to place, move, or resize bookings. Drag an active booking into a lane to assign the technician and time together.
Week	Planning workload across the week	See which days are busy, move active bookings between times, and scroll the all-day area when there are more than three bookings.
Month	Fast schedule overview	Scan the month at a glance. Each day shows a left-aligned booking count such as 2 bookings, and the all-day area scrolls booking-by-booking after the first three items.

Status Colors

• Amber/Yellow -- Pending
• Blue -- Confirmed
• Indigo/Purple -- In-Service
• Green -- Completed

Cancelled bookings are hidden from the calendar. Completed, cancelled, and no-show bookings are read-only when they are shown elsewhere in the calendar.

Day View Rules

• Active unscheduled bookings sit in the all-day row until you place them.
• The Unassigned lane means the booking is scheduled but does not yet have a technician.
• The Unassigned lane is lightly highlighted so it stands out without looking like an error.
• Drag an all-day booking into a technician lane to set the time and the primary technician in one move.
• Click an empty time slot to place an existing unscheduled active booking there.

Moving and Resizing

• Drag the booking card body to move an active timed booking to a different time.
• Drag the card into another technician lane in Day view to reassign the primary technician.
• Use the bottom grip on the card to extend or shorten the booking length.
• After you move or resize a booking, the calendar saves the new timing automatically and updates the visible card.
• If the save fails, the booking snaps back to its original position.
• Completed bookings stay visible, but they cannot be moved or resized.

Capacity Indicators

If your garage has a maximum bookings-per-day setting configured, the calendar shows capacity information:

• In Week and Day views, each day header shows the booking count (for example, 3/10).
• In Month view, each day cell shows a left-aligned count line such as 2 bookings.
• Days at full capacity are highlighted so they stand out quickly.

Searching in Calendar View

Use the search bar in the calendar toolbar to find bookings by customer name, phone number, or license plate.

Opening a Booking from the Calendar

Click on any booking card in the calendar to go directly to that booking's detail page.

On the booking detail page, the service overview also shows the scheduled booking time when one has been captured, so your team can confirm the expected arrival at a glance.

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Changing a Booking's Status

You can advance a booking through its statuses directly from the bookings table using the action buttons on each row.

Confirming a Pending Booking

1. Find the booking in the list.
2. Click the Confirm button on the booking row.
3. A confirmation dialog appears. Review the details, and if needed set the optional intake arrival date using the calendar date picker.
4. Click Confirm Booking.

What happens: The booking moves to Confirmed status. If the customer has an email on file and notifications are enabled, they receive a confirmation notification.

Starting Service on a Confirmed Booking (Smart Dispatch)

Starting service involves a guided workflow called Smart Dispatch that ensures every job is properly set up before work begins.

1. Find the confirmed booking in the list.
2. Click the Start button on the booking row.
3. Pre-inspection check -- If a pre-inspection is required for your garage and has not been completed, you will be prompted to complete it first. The button will show as Inspect instead of Start, and you will need to complete the inspection before proceeding.
4. Technician assignment -- The TechnicianAssignmentModal opens, showing your available technicians with match scores based on skills and current workload. Select the best fit for the job.
5. Confirm to start the service.

What happens: The booking moves to In-Service. A job card is automatically created and assigned -- you do not need to manually select a bay. The system handles bay allocation for you. The assigned technician is linked to the job, and the system begins tracking the service duration.

Good to know: You do not need to manually select a bay. autoGMS automatically creates a job card for each active job. The smart dispatch system suggests the best-available technician based on their skills, experience with the service type, and current workload, so you can make an informed assignment quickly.

Completing a Job

1. Find the in-service booking in the list.
2. Click the Complete button on the booking row.
3. Inventory confirmation -- If there are pending inventory items assigned to the job that have not been confirmed as used, you will be prompted to confirm them first.
4. Pre-inspection check -- If a pre-inspection was required but not completed, you will be prompted to complete it.
5. If any blockers remain, a blockers dialog will appear listing everything that needs to be resolved before the job can be completed.
6. Once all requirements are met, confirm the completion.

What happens: The booking moves to Completed. Revenue is recorded and reflected in your reports and analytics. If review automation is configured, a review request may be sent to the customer.

Cancelling a Booking

1. Find the booking in the list.
2. Click the Cancel button in the actions for that row.
3. Add a note explaining the reason for cancellation, then confirm.

What happens: The booking is marked as Cancelled. Cancelled bookings do not count toward your revenue. This action cannot be undone.

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Putting a Job On Hold and Resuming

Putting a Job On Hold

1. Find an In-Service booking in the list.
2. Click the Hold button in the booking row actions.
3. Select a reason from the dropdown:
   • Waiting for Parts
   • Waiting for Customer Approval
   • Waiting for Payment
   • Technician Unavailable
   • Equipment Issue
   • Other
4. Add any notes explaining the hold.
5. Click Put On Hold.

What you will see: The booking shows an "On Hold" label. The status remains In-Service, but the hold is clearly visible to your whole team in both the list and calendar views.

Resuming a Job

1. Find the on-hold booking in the list.
2. Click the Resume button (which replaces the normal action buttons when a job is on hold).

What happens: The hold is lifted and the job is active again. The system records how long the job was on hold.

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Running a Pre-Inspection

If your organization has pre-inspection enabled, you can launch it from the bookings table at any time.

1. Find the booking in the list.
2. If pre-inspection is required and not completed, the primary action button shows as Inspect rather than the normal status action.
3. Click the button to open the pre-inspection workflow modal.

Pre-inspections can be completed before starting service (recommended) or during the In-Service phase. If your organization has set pre-inspections as mandatory, the system will require them before allowing status transitions.

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Setting a Reminder

If the service reminders feature is enabled for your garage:

1. Find a completed booking in the list.
2. Click the Reminder button on the booking row.
3. A dialog opens where you can configure when and how the customer should be reminded about their next service.

Good to know: The Reminder action only appears on completed bookings. For bulk reminder management, use the Reminders tab.

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Adjusting Prices

You adjust a booking's price from the Booking Detail Page, not directly in the list.

1. In the bookings list, click Details on the booking you want to update.
2. Open the Activity tab and find the Pricing section.
3. Click Change price.
4. Enter the new final price.
5. Choose a Reason.
6. For larger changes, record the Authorization type. For very large changes, also record who authorized it.
7. Confirm and save the change.

What happens: The final price updates on the booking, the pricing card records the previous price, new price, reason, authorization details, who applied the change, and when it happened, and any active workshop/job card uses the updated final price as well.

Good to know: Price adjustments can only be made on bookings that are not yet completed or cancelled.

Good to know: Owners and managers can also click the price shown on an occupied job card in Workshop. That takes you straight to the booking's Activity tab and opens the same audited price-adjustment workflow there.

Good to know: Nothing is sent to another user's screen for approval. Larger changes simply require you to record the authorization details on the same booking page before saving.

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Using the Reminders Tab

If your garage has the service reminders feature enabled, you will see a Reminders tab on the Bookings page. The Reminders tab has two subviews, selectable via pill buttons:

• Queue -- the completed services table where you manage individual reminders (schedule, send, cancel)
• Settings -- the automation configuration where you set up delivery channels, service reminders, and MOT expiry reminders

A help tooltip is available in the page header when you are on this tab -- click it to learn how Queue and Settings work together.

For full details on the Queue, automation rules, and step-by-step guides, see the Service Reminders documentation.

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Using the Service Plans Tab

If your garage has fleet mode enabled in booking settings, you will see a Service Plans tab on the Bookings page. Service plans let you set up recurring maintenance schedules for fleet vehicles so bookings are created automatically on a fixed interval.

Good to know: The Service Plans tab only appears when fleet mode is active in your booking settings. If you do not see it, go to Bookings > Settings and enable Fleet Mode.

What you will see

A header with "Service Plans" title, description, and a Create Plan button. Below that, a table listing all plans.

Table columns:

Column	What it shows
Plan	Plan name with the service type shown below
Customer	Business name or customer name
Schedule	Interval (e.g., "Monthly", "Bi-weekly", "One-time") with start date below
Vehicles	Number of vehicles on the plan
Status	Green dot for Active, grey dot for Paused

Row actions (three-dot menu):

Action	What it does
Details	Opens a dialog showing status, vehicle count, start date, last generated date, schedule summary, upcoming bookings table, and a Regenerate Future Bookings button
Edit	Opens the plan editor to change settings
Pause / Resume	Toggles the plan between active and paused
Delete	Removes the plan and all future scheduled bookings (completed bookings are kept for history)

If no plans exist, an empty state appears with a Create your first plan button.

Creating a Service Plan

Click Create Plan to open the plan creation modal.

Fields:

1. Plan Name (optional) -- a label for the plan (e.g., "Bus Fleet Weekly Service")
2. Customer (required) -- search and select a customer. A "Garage Fleet" option is always available at the top for your garage's own internal vehicles.
3. Vehicles (required) -- once a customer is selected, choose which vehicles to include. Use Select All or pick individually. At least one vehicle must be selected.
4. Service Type (optional) -- choose a service from your catalog, or leave as "No specific service"
5. Schedule Type -- choose between:
   • One-time -- creates a single booking for each selected vehicle on the chosen date
   • Recurring -- creates repeating bookings at a fixed interval
6. Service Interval (recurring only) -- Weekly, Bi-weekly, Every 3 weeks, Monthly (4 weeks), Every 6 weeks, Every 8 weeks, or Quarterly (12 weeks)
7. Schedule Ahead (recurring only) -- how far into the future to generate bookings: 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months
8. Start Date -- when the first booking should be scheduled (minimum is today)
9. Auto-Reminder Configuration (optional) -- check "Auto-create reminder when service completes" to configure:
   • Reminder type (Maintenance, Oil Change, Tire Rotation, Inspection, Follow-up, Custom)
   • Days after completion (1-365, default 90)
   • Notification channels (Email, WhatsApp)

For recurring plans, a Distribution Preview panel at the bottom shows how bookings will be spread across days, capacity warnings, and any scheduling conflicts.

Click Create Plan to save. The system will immediately generate the scheduled bookings.

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Handling Missing Customer Email

Bookings can still be confirmed and advanced even if the customer does not have an email address on file. The status change proceeds normally, and autoGMS simply skips any email notification that cannot be delivered.

If you want the customer to receive email updates, add their email address to the customer record before sending future communications.

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Row Actions Reference

Here is a complete reference of the actions available on each booking row, depending on the booking's current status:

Action	Available when	What it does
Details	Any status	Opens the full booking detail page
Confirm	Pending	Moves the booking to Confirmed status
Start	Confirmed (pre-inspection complete or not required)	Launches the smart dispatch workflow (technician assignment, status change)
Inspect	Confirmed (pre-inspection required but not complete)	Opens the pre-inspection workflow; Start is disabled until inspection is done
Complete	In-Service	Marks the job as completed (after inventory and pre-inspection checks)
Cancel	Pending, Confirmed	Cancels the booking with a required note
Hold	In-Service	Puts the job on hold with a reason and notes
Resume	In-Service (on hold)	Lifts the hold and resumes the job
Reminder	Completed (if reminders feature is enabled)	Opens the create reminder dialog

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Booking Detail Page

Clicking Details on any booking row opens the full Booking Detail Page. This page is organized into tabs:

Tab	What it contains
Overview	Job overview card with schedule summary, vehicle intake tracking, customer and vehicle information, service details, commission assignment, editable internal notes, and vehicle editing
Pre-inspection, Estimate & Parts	Digital vehicle inspection results, estimate details, deposit summary (balance due, received, applied), and inventory/parts management
Stages	Multi-stage project tracking (only visible for project-mode bookings)
Outsourced Work	External/vendor services linked to the booking (only visible for certain garage configurations)
Activity	Pricing controls, price history, booking timeline, and booking record metadata such as source and creation details
Attachments	Files and documents attached to the booking

From the booking detail header, you can also:

• Put the job on hold or resume it
• Toggle project mode on or off (if your garage has project mode enabled)
• View the current status and booking metadata

At the top of the Overview tab, the page now separates:

• Schedule -- planned Drop-Off Date, Completion Date, and Arrival Time Slot when one is scheduled
• Vehicle Intake -- whether the vehicle has actually been received at the garage, with the recorded timestamp and the staff member who marked it in once that happens

Staff can edit the schedule directly from the Schedule section on the booking detail page. When a schedule field changes, the page shows a small "Updated ..." line under that field with the latest change timestamp and the staff member who made it.

Recording an Advance Payment for a Booking

If a customer is paying before the work starts, use the finance workflow linked to that booking:

1. Go to Invoices → Deposits.
2. Stay on the Deposits tab.
3. In the create form, select the Booking.
4. Enter the advance Amount and confirm the Currency.
5. Add a Description if needed, then click Create Deposit.
6. In the Record Payment section on the same page, select the deposit invoice you just created.
7. Enter the amount the customer actually paid, choose the Method, add a Reference if needed, and click Record Payment.
8. When you later create the job invoice, open Apply Deposit, select the paid deposit and the target invoice, enter the amount to use, and click Apply Deposit.

After you record the payment, you can return to the booking's Pre-inspection, Estimate & Parts tab to review the updated deposit summary:

• Balance Due -- the remaining deposit balance available
• Received -- total deposit money collected for the booking
• Applied -- total deposit value already used on invoices

For the full deposits workflow, see Deposits & Credit Notes.

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Tips and Best Practices

• Start each day by checking Pending bookings. Confirm them early so your team knows what is coming and your customers receive timely confirmation notifications.

• Use status filters to focus. Filter by "In-Service" to see only active jobs, or by "Confirmed" to see what is scheduled next. The count numbers on each chip make it easy to spot where your attention is needed.

• Configure your columns. Use the column visibility menu to show the columns your team needs most. For example, show the Payment Status column if tracking payments is a priority, or hide the DVI column if your garage does not use digital inspections.

• Use the Calendar View for planning. The week view is especially helpful for seeing how busy each day is and balancing your workload across the week.

• Complete pre-inspections before starting service. While the system allows you to complete them during In-Service, doing them upfront catches issues early and avoids delays once work has started.

• Let smart dispatch guide technician selection. The match scores in the technician assignment modal take into account skills, experience, and current workload. Trust the suggestions, but override when you know better -- you know your team.

• Use On Hold when waiting. Rather than leaving a job idle, put it on hold with a clear reason. This tells your team exactly why work has stopped and helps you track delays accurately.

• Check capacity indicators. If you have a max bookings-per-day setting, watch the booking counts shown in the calendar to avoid overbooking. Days at full capacity are highlighted so they stand out.

• Refresh if something looks off. Click the Refresh button in the page header to pull the latest data. The system updates in real time via live connections, but a manual refresh can help if you suspect stale data.

• Keep vehicle details complete. Adding VIN and license plate numbers makes it easier to find bookings later using search, and keeps your customer records accurate.

• Use the customer type filter for fleet work. When managing a mix of individual and business customers, switch the dropdown to "Business" to focus on fleet jobs that may need consolidated invoicing.

• Monitor estimate decisions. The Estimate column tells you at a glance which customers have approved or declined their estimates, and which are still waiting. Follow up on pending decisions to keep jobs moving.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I skip a status? For example, go directly from Pending to In-Service?

No. Bookings must follow the sequence: Pending, then Confirmed, then In-Service, then Completed. This ensures every job goes through proper review before work begins.

What happens if I complete a job by mistake?

You can reopen a completed job, which moves it back to In-Service. The system will recalculate costs when you complete it again. This is useful for fixing errors without losing the booking record.

Can I cancel a completed booking?

No. Once a booking is completed, it cannot be cancelled. If you need to reverse a completed job, reopen it first (which moves it back to In-Service), and then cancel it from there.

Do cancelled bookings affect my revenue?

No. Only completed bookings contribute to your revenue figures.

How do I record an advance payment for a booking?

1. Open Invoices → Deposits.
2. On the Deposits tab, select the booking, enter the amount, and click Create Deposit.
3. In the Record Payment section, select that deposit invoice, enter the payment amount, choose the method, and click Record Payment.
4. Later, when you issue the main invoice, use Apply Deposit to move the paid deposit onto that invoice.

The booking detail page then shows the updated Balance Due, Received, and Applied values in the Pre-inspection, Estimate & Parts tab.

What does "On Hold" mean? Is it a separate status?

On Hold is not a separate status -- it is a flag on In-Service bookings. The booking remains In-Service but is clearly marked as paused. Your team can see the reason for the hold, and the system tracks hold duration.

I see "Inspect" instead of "Start" on a confirmed booking. What do I do?

This means a pre-inspection is required for this booking but has not been completed yet. Click Inspect to open the pre-inspection workflow. Once the inspection is done, the system will automatically proceed to the technician assignment step so you can start the service.

What are inventory confirmations?

When parts or materials from your inventory are assigned to a job, they need to be confirmed as used before the job can be completed. This ensures your inventory records stay accurate. If there are unconfirmed inventory items, the system will prompt you to confirm them before allowing completion.

How does the search work?

The search bar in the list view searches by customer first name, last name, phone number, and license plate number. The search runs against the server, so it works across your full booking history regardless of which page you are viewing. Results update as you type.

What is the blockers dialog?

When you try to advance a booking's status and there are outstanding requirements -- such as an incomplete pre-inspection or unconfirmed inventory items -- a blockers dialog appears listing everything that needs to be resolved first. Address each item in the list, then try the status change again.

Will my customers receive notifications when I change a booking's status?

If you have email and/or WhatsApp notifications enabled in your booking settings, customers will automatically receive messages when their booking status changes (for example, when confirmed, when service starts, and when completed). You can configure which status changes trigger notifications in your booking settings page.

What is the capacity indicator on the calendar?

If you have set a maximum number of bookings per day in your booking settings, the calendar shows how many bookings are scheduled for each day. In week and day views this appears in the header (for example, "5/10"), and in month view it appears as a small left-aligned count line such as 5 bookings. This helps you avoid overbooking. Days at full capacity are highlighted.

What is smart dispatch?

Smart dispatch is the automated workflow that runs when you start service on a booking. It checks for pre-inspection requirements, presents a technician assignment modal with match scores based on skills and workload, and handles the status transition and job card creation in one smooth flow. You do not need to manually select bays -- the system handles that automatically.

I do not see the Reminders tab. How do I enable it?

The Reminders tab is controlled by the service-reminders feature flag. If you do not see it, the feature may not be enabled for your garage. Contact your administrator to enable service reminders in your organization's feature settings.

I do not see the Service Plans tab. Where is it?

The Service Plans tab only appears when fleet mode is enabled in your booking settings. Go to Bookings > Settings, enable Fleet Mode, and save. The tab will appear after refreshing the page.

Can I create bookings for multiple vehicles at once?

Yes. When creating a booking for a business customer with registered fleet vehicles, you can select multiple vehicles and create bookings for all of them in one go. You can assign the same service to all vehicles or choose different services for each.

Why can I not change the service on my booking?

Services can only be changed on bookings that are in Pending, Confirmed, or In-Service status. If the booking is completed or cancelled, the service is locked. The dropdown shows all active services from your garage, and if the selected service does not have an exact price for the booking's vehicle type, autoGMS falls back to the service's Other price or the first configured price.

Do bookings update in real time?

Yes. autoGMS uses WebSocket connections to push live updates to your bookings page. When a colleague changes a booking's status, assigns a technician, or updates details, your view refreshes automatically. If you ever notice something that looks out of date, use the Refresh button in the page header.

What is the DVI column?

DVI stands for Digital Vehicle Inspection. The column shows a compact status icon: grey means not started, amber means in progress, and green means completed. A small legend above the table labeled Digital Vehicle Inspection explains the icons, and hovering the icon shows the full status text.

What is the Estimate column?

This column tracks the quote state for the booking. It uses simple text instead of icons:

• Approved
• Awaiting decision
• Declined
• No estimate

The text itself is color-coded, and the second line shows the latest estimate amount when there is one.

How do I show or hide columns?

Click the column visibility menu in the table toolbar. You can toggle individual columns on or off. Your preferences are saved per garage, so they persist between sessions.

Can I select multiple status filters at once?

Yes. Click multiple status chips to show bookings across those statuses. For example, click both "Pending" and "Confirmed" to see all bookings that need attention.

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Quick Reference

I want to...	Go here	Do this
View all bookings	Sidebar → Bookings → List tab	See bookings table
Create a booking	New Booking button (calendar-plus icon in header)	Fill form, select service, save
View booking details	Booking row → Details	Opens full booking detail page
Confirm a pending booking	Booking row → Confirm button	Moves to Confirmed status
Start work on a job	Booking row → Start button	Opens Smart Dispatch (technician assignment)
Complete a job	Booking row → Complete button	Confirms inventory, completes job
Cancel a booking	Booking row → Cancel button	Add note, confirm cancellation
Put a job on hold	In-Service booking row → Hold button	Select reason, add notes
Resume a held job	On-hold booking row → Resume button	Lifts the hold
Run pre-inspection	Confirmed booking row → Inspect button	Opens pre-inspection workflow
Set a reminder	Completed booking row → Reminder button	Opens create reminder dialog
Adjust a booking price	Booking row → Details → Activity tab → Pricing section	Click Change price, record the reason, then save
Filter by status	Status chips at top of table	Click one or more statuses
Filter by customer type	Customer type dropdown	Select Individual, Business, or All
Search bookings	Search bar	Type customer name, phone, or plate number
View calendar	Calendar tab	See bookings by Day, Week, or Month
Record advance payment	Invoices → Deposits tab	Select booking, enter amount, Create Deposit
Apply deposit to invoice	Generate the final invoice for the booking	Paid deposit is applied automatically
View reminders	Reminders tab (if feature enabled)	See completed services and reminder statuses
View service plans	Service Plans tab (if fleet mode enabled)	See recurring plans for fleet customers