The purpose of this article is to help you understand: 

  • What are the unassigned folder and waitlist features
  • How to allow your providers to view the unassigned folder
  • How to override provider settings to let them view all jobs in the unassigned folder
  • Where to enable/disable permissions to view the unassigned folder for individual providers or teams
  • How to enable the customer waitlist feature
  • How providers can accept jobs from the unassigned folder

 

What is the unassigned folder/waitlist?

Whenever a booking has not yet been assigned to a specific provider, it will be placed in the Unassigned Folder.  

Once a booking is placed in the unassigned folder, you can update the priority color for your reference (customers and providers will not be able to see the priority). To do so, click the triangle icon, and then a pop-up window will show you the options for priority.

There are three levels of priority: 

  • Low (Green)
  • Medium (Orange)
  • High (Red)

By default, all new bookings placed in the unassigned folder will be the medium priority

There are various action buttons listed to the right of each booking in the unassigned folder when in the list view.  

  1. Details - Hover over this icon to view basic details about the booking
  2. Assign - Click this icon to assign a provider to the service.
      
  3. Send Invitation - Click this icon to send an "invitation" notification to your providers letting them know this job is still available.  


    Please be sure your notification templates are enabled for "New booking in unassigned folder". You can do this by going to:
    Settings > Notifications > Email or SMS > Providers > Unassigned Booking


    Once you have sent out a reminder, there will be another action button to send a reminder that the job is still available.  

  4. Edit - Click this icon to open the booking form to make changes or updates to the booking form. 
  5. Cancel - Click this icon to cancel the booking. A pop-up will ask if you are sure you want to cancel the booking. This pop-up also contains an additional option to exclude customer notifications and exclude the cancelation fee (if you have one set up).  

The unassigned folder can also double as a Waitlist on the customer front-end. This feature allows customers to request a date and time for their booking when no other providers are available.

Whenever a customer chooses to place their booking on the waitlist, an orange "WL" icon will be added just before the priority level icon.  

The unassigned folder/waiting feature can be used in many circumstances.

  • A customer may want to reschedule for a different time, but you don’t currently have the time they are looking for. 
  • Your provider has called off sick last minute and you want to find a worker to cover that job as soon as possible.  
  • You are fully booked up but would still like to waitlist a job in case a cancelation comes in

Whatever the case may be, these bookings will be displayed inside this special folder so you and your providers can pay closer attention to them.  

 

Provider Unassigned Folder Settings

Your unassigned folder comes configured and ready to go when you create your BookingKoala account, so it is ready to use as soon as you begin taking appointments. However, there are several settings under the Store Options section that further control how your unassigned folder will work.

If you would like providers to be able to see and pick up jobs from the unsigned folder, go to:

Settings > General > Store Options > Scheduling > Scheduling

Expand this section and scroll down to the question "Would you like to allow your providers to see bookings in the unassigned folder and accept them?".

  • Select "Yes" to allow providers to view and pick up bookings that fit their availability and settings.
  • Select "No" to hide the unassigned folder section from the providers' dashboards.

If you answered "Yes" to the previous question, select an answer for the following question, "Would you like to allow your providers to see bookings in the unassigned folder even if not applicable?"

  • Select "Yes" to override all of your provider's settings (such as which industries they work in, locations, pricing parameters, etc) and show them all bookings in the unassigned folder.
    • For example, if a provider has disabled the extra "Cats" from their profile settings, they will still be able to see bookings that have the "Cat" extra added when placed in the unassigned folder.  
  • Select "No" so only jobs that are permitted within the provider's profile settings will display when placed in the unassigned folder.
    • For example, if a provider is only available in the "Dallas" service area and a job in "San Antonio" is added to the waitlist, they will NOT be able to see this job.  

You can also decide if you would like your provider to receive a notification when a new job has been placed in the unassigned folder. Below, "Would you like all your providers to be notified when a new booking comes into the unassigned folder?" select:

  • Yes - Providers will be notified when new bookings are added to the waitlist/unassigned folder.
    • Please be sure your notification templates are enabled for "New booking in unassigned folder". You can do this by going to: Settings > Notifications > Email or SMS > Providers > Unassigned Booking


  • No - Provider will not be notified when bookings are added to this section. Instead, they must manually check this section of their dashboard to view any new bookings that have been added. 

 

Permission for Providers to View the Unassigned Folder

You may want to customize which of your providers can see and pick up jobs from the unassigned folder.  For example, you may not want new or still-in-training workers to pick up jobs until you have more confidence in their skills.  To do so, please go to:

Providers > Providers > [Provider/Team Name] >Profile > Settings

Beneath the question, “Show unassigned jobs to the provider?”:

  • Select "Yes: to allow this provider/team to view and grab jobs from the unassigned folder section in their dashboard.
  • Select "No" to hide this section from their dashboard entirely. 

 

Enable/Disable the Waitlist for Customers

As previously mentioned, you can allow your customers to use the unassigned folder as a waitlist. This allows customers to submit a request for service for days and times that are already booked up.  Customers can also reschedule existing bookings into the unassigned folder if they change their preference for a date and time and you do not have the availability for it just yet. 

As soon as the job is picked up from the unassigned folder (or is assigned to a provider by admin/staff), the customer can receive an automatic notification confirming the appointment has been covered.  If the booking is unable to be assigned to a provider, you can simply cancel out the booking and the customer will receive an automatic notification that you were unable to locate a provider for their appointment.  

To enable or disable the customer waitlist feature, go to:

Settings > General > Store Options > Scheduling > Booking Options

The first question in this section is “Do you want to activate the waiting list option under the booking form?”  

  • Select "Yes" to enable the waitlist option.  
  • Select "No" to disable the waitlist option. Customers will need to select an open spot to schedule services with your business.  

 

How do my providers pick up jobs from the unassigned folder?

If you enable your providers to see and pick up jobs for the unassigned folder, they will have a tab added to their menu in both their app and the desktop version.  

To look at job details, they can click the blue "View Detail" button. If they would like to assign the job to their schedule, they can click the green "Grab Job" button.  

 

There will always be a pop-up displayed confirming that they want to grab this booking.  To proceed with adding it to their schedule, they must click "Yes".

Once a booking has been grabbed by a provider, it cannot get "dropped" unless an admin or staff member places the booking back into the unassigned folder.