Appointment statuses, cancellations and no-shows
Updated
On this page
Every appointment has one of six statuses: Pending, Confirmed, In Progress, Completed, Cancelled or No Show.
On the calendar, the same statuses go by friendlier names. Pending shows as Unconfirmed and Confirmed shows as Scheduled. Ready for pickup is a stage inside In Progress, not a status of its own.
Moving an appointment forward
The buttons you see depend on the current status:
| Status | Buttons |
|---|---|
| Pending | Confirm, Cancel |
| Confirmed | Start, Complete, Cancel |
| In Progress | Complete |
| Completed, Cancelled, No Show | Rebook (these are end states) |
On the calendar, right-click a block to get the same actions. There, Start is called Check In and Complete is called Complete & Check Out.
A few rules catch people out:
- You can't confirm an appointment with no staff member assigned. Assign someone first.
- Online booking requests need a price check. When you confirm a request from your online booking page, a small box asks you to check the price first.
- Deposits. If the client owes a deposit (see Deposits for repeat no-shows), Confirm asks you to collect it or confirm anyway.
- Incomplete grooming card. Starting a grooming appointment with an unfinished grooming card shows a warning listing what is missing. Choose Open grooming card to fill it in, or Start anyway. Bath appointments skip this check.
- Complete opens checkout. You can complete straight from Confirmed, so a walk-in you never started can still be checked out.
- Take payment lets a client pay before the visit is finished. The status does not change.
Undoing a status change
Picked the wrong button? Owners, managers, front desk staff, and anyone with the Undo status changes permission can walk it back:
| Status now | Undo button | Goes back to |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed | Unconfirm | Pending |
| In Progress | Undo Start | Confirmed |
| Completed | Reopen | In Progress |
| No Show | Undo No-Show | Confirmed |
| Cancelled | Reinstate | Confirmed |
Each undo asks for an optional reason and is saved in the appointment's history.
Undo an accidental Start
- Find the appointment on the calendar.
- Right-click the block and choose Undo Start… (or press Undo Start in the side panel or on the appointment page).
- Add a reason if you like, then confirm.
The appointment goes back to Confirmed and its timer resets, so the next Start measures the groom fresh. The dialog warns you about things it can't undo: a "ready for pickup" text that already went out, or a payment already taken. Payments stay on the appointment.
When Reopen is missing
Reopen is hidden once the appointment is fully paid. Reopening paid work would leave the invoice out of step. To charge for something extra, add a charge to the invoice instead.
Cancelling
- Press Cancel (or right-click the block and choose Cancel Appointment…).
- Pick a reason: Client requested, Client no-show, Staff unavailable, Scheduling conflict, Weather, Pet illness, Emergency, or Other. Add detail if you want.
- Confirm.
The appointment stays on record as Cancelled. It is never deleted, so reports still count it. Cancelled appointments disappear from the calendar grid, but you can still find them under Sidebar → Appointments → All Appointments.
When you cancel, Alaga also:
- Emails the client a cancellation notice, unless they opted out or you turned that email off.
- Checks the waitlist for that date and offers the slot to the next person waiting. See Using the waitlist.
Cancelling an appointment never charges a fee. The cancellation fee under Payment Settings is charged automatically only when a client cancels a boarding or daycare reservation from their portal. See Rescheduling, cancelling and no-shows.
No-shows
There are three ways an appointment becomes a No Show:
- Automatically, if you switch it on. Automatic no-shows are off unless an owner or manager turns them on (see below).
- By hand. Right-click the block on the calendar and choose Mark No-Show, or edit the appointment and set the status to No Show.
- Reclassify a cancellation. If someone was cancelled but really just didn't turn up, open it and press Reclassify as No-Show. This needs the Undo status changes permission.
Automatic no-shows
Turn them on under Business Settings → Payment Settings → Booking Policies → Automatic No-Shows, and pick how long to wait after the appointment ends: 30 minutes to 24 hours (2 hours by default). Only owners and managers can change this.
When it's on, Alaga checks every 30 minutes. An appointment is marked No Show only if it is still Confirmed after the wait, and nothing shows the pet was there. It is never marked when:
- it was started, completed or paid, or has photos
- the pet, or another pet of the same client, is checked in for a boarding or daycare stay at that time, or the appointment is linked to a stay that is checked in
- another pet of the same client was started or completed that day, as in a family visit
- someone already pressed Undo No-Show on it
Appointments that ended before you switched it on are never touched, and Pending appointments are always left alone. When an appointment is marked, the client may get a "we missed you" email. Turn that off with the Follow-up emails switch under Notifications.
Even with these checks, it's still worth clearing your day at closing. Start or complete every dog that came in. If one gets marked by mistake, use Undo No-Show. It won't be marked again.
Recurring series
An appointment in a series also has a Series button. See Recurring and standing appointments.