Receive and confirm your first booking

You’ve shared your link. At some point over the next few hours or days, someone will make their first booking. This guide explains what to expect, how you find out, where to see it, and how to confirm it.

What exactly happens when a client books

1. The client opens your public link (citauno.com/your-business).
2. They pick a service, professional, location, day and time.
3. They fill in their details: first name, last name and WhatsApp are required; email is optional (it only becomes required if they also create an account).
4. They tap “Confirm booking”.
5. Citauno creates the booking in your system.

Three booking modes

What happens next depends on the confirmation mode you chose in Set up your business:

Automatic mode

• The booking comes in as Confirmed straight away.
• The slot is taken so nobody else can book it.
• The client gets the “Your booking at …” email with all the details and the calendar file.

You don’t have to do anything. The booking is already live.

Manual mode (the default)

• The booking comes in as Pending.
• The slot is taken all the same — nobody else can book it while you decide.
• The client gets the same “Your booking at …” email, with one extra line: “The business still has to confirm. We’ll email you the moment they do.”

You have to confirm or reject it from the panel.

Deposit-required mode

• The booking stays Pending.
• The client sees a “Pay deposit” button on their booking page.
• When the payment lands, the booking becomes Confirmed on its own and the confirmation email goes out.
• This mode needs online payments set up. If they aren’t, the booking follows the business’s normal mode (automatic or manual) instead of being stranded waiting for money that can’t be collected.

How you find out

1. Email (you have to turn it on)

The alert to the business is off by default. To turn it on, go to Settings → New-booking notifications and switch on “Email me when new bookings come in”. You can also point it at a different mailbox (reception, for example).

The email is called “New booking at …” and includes:

• The client’s name.
• Date and time.
• Services and total.
• Assigned professional.
• The booking code.
• If it’s pending, the line “This booking is pending and needs your confirmation”.
• A “View in dashboard” button.

2. Dashboard

In the panel, go to Dashboard (the first item in the menu). The Pending counter sits at the top, and further down the “Pending confirmation” section lists each booking with Confirm and Reject buttons.

3. Calendar

Go to Calendar and you’ll see pending appointments in amber (confirmed ones are green). Tapping the appointment opens its details.

Confirming a booking (manual mode)

From the Dashboard

1. Go to Dashboard.
2. Find the booking under “Pending confirmation”.
3. Tap “Confirm” to accept it.
4. Tap “Reject” if you can’t take it (it asks you to confirm first).

When you confirm:

• The appointment turns from amber to green on the calendar.
• The client gets the “Booking confirmed at …!” email. The calendar file already travelled with the first email, so this one has no attachment: the client’s event isn’t duplicated.

When you reject:

• The slot is freed immediately.
• The appointment disappears from the calendar, because rejected bookings are hidden by default (show them with the status chip under “More filters”).
• The client gets the “Booking cancelled · …” email with a button to book again.

From the calendar

1. Go to Calendar.
2. Tap the pending appointment.
3. The popup offers Confirm, Reschedule and Cancel booking.

Reject isn’t in the popup: to reject rather than cancel, use the Dashboard or open the booking’s full page. The only difference is how it’s recorded (Rejected vs. Cancelled by business); both free the slot and send the client the same email.

From the bookings list

1. Go to Bookings in the sidebar.
2. Under Status pick Pending and tap Apply filters.
3. Tap the booking to open it.
4. There you get every action: Confirm, Reject, Cancel, Reschedule, Mark as completed and Mark as no-show.

What to check before confirming

Before accepting a manual booking, it’s worth reviewing:

1. Does the time work? Check your calendar for a clash with something you never entered in Citauno (a personal appointment, an errand).
2. Do you have what you need? If the service needs specific products, make sure they’re in stock.
3. Does the client seem reliable? For a new client you’re unsure about, send a WhatsApp before confirming.

What happens after you confirm

Citauno does some of it for you automatically:

• Confirmation email to the client: it goes out on its own.
• Reminder before the appointment: it goes out once, as far ahead as you set under WhatsApp → Reminders (3 hours by default). That’s also where you choose whether it goes by email, by WhatsApp or both.
• The slot has been held since the booking came in, not since you confirmed it.

For your first client, send a personal WhatsApp

Citauno sent the email, but a personal WhatsApp builds connection and reduces no-shows. A template:

Hi María! It's Pilar from Estudio Pilar.
Thanks for booking! 🙌

Confirming your appointment for Saturday the 25th at 10:30
for the full manicure with gel polish.

Anything you need, message me here.
See you!

It sets expectations and makes a last-minute cancellation far less likely.

Save the contact

The client is already in your Citauno database (you’ll find them under Clients in the sidebar), but save them in your WhatsApp contacts too, with the business name first:

“Estudio Pilar - María Benítez”

That way, when they message you, you know where they know you from.

If you rejected by mistake

There’s no “Restore” button, but it’s a two-step fix:

1. Go to Bookings in the sidebar.
2. In the Status filter, pick Rejected and tap Apply filters.
3. Tap the booking to open it.
4. In the “Correct status” card (it only shows on bookings that are already closed) pick Confirmed and tap Save.

Numbers you’ll want to watch

At the end of the day or the week, go to Dashboard and look at the cards at the top:

• Bookings today: everything starting today, whatever its status.
• Pending: the ones waiting on your decision.
• Revenue today and Revenue this month: the sum of confirmed and completed bookings.
• Cancellation rate: if it climbs, review your policy and your confirmation mode.

For the detail — most-requested services, busiest hours, no-shows for the period — go to Analytics.

What you have now

• An understanding of the 3 confirmation modes.
• Three places to hear about bookings: email (once you turn it on), dashboard and calendar.
• A clear flow for confirming, rejecting and correcting a booking.
• Good habits after confirming (personal WhatsApp, saving the contact).

Next step

As more bookings come in, you’ll spend more of your time in the calendar. Continue with Your daily calendar: where to see everything at a glance.