When customers cancel bookings, depending on the policy at your business you may want to charge them a cancellation fee: a set amount, a percentage of the booking cost or the full booking cost. KennelBooker lets you set a cancellation fee for each service and apply it when you cancel a booking.
What happens when you cancel a booking without a cancellation fee
By default, cancelling a booking sets its status to Cancelled and the booking drops off the calendar and the customer's bookings list. It still shows on the customer's History page under Cancelled Bookings.
Where to set up cancellation fees
Cancellation fees are set separately for each service, on that service's settings page, not on the Online Booking Portal page. For boarding:
Go to Settings > Boarding and find the Boarding Cancellation Settings section.
Switch on Enable Cancellation Fee.
Choose how the fee works (see below).
Click Save.
Daycare, nightcare, grooming, training, walks, drop-in, homestay, board and train, universal and other services each have the same Cancellation Settings section on their own settings page. If you have renamed a service, the section uses your name for it.
Cancellation fee settings
Enable Cancellation Fee: when this is on, the cancel popup for that service shows the Charge Cancellation Fee option.
Auto Charge Cancellation Fee (Charge if Cancelled within X hours of check-in): pick a number of hours. If the booking is cancelled within that many hours of check-in, the Charge Cancellation Fee option is already switched on in the cancel popup. Outside that window it starts switched off, and you can still switch it on. Leave it blank to have it switched on for every cancellation. If the booking has no drop-off time, 9am is used (12pm for a "pm" drop-off).
Cancellation Fee Type:
Set Amount: the fee is the Fee Amount you enter.
Booking Fee Percentage: the fee is the Fee Percentage of the main booking cost.
Full Booking Price: the fee is the main booking cost, without extras.
Full Booking Price + Extras: the fee is the full booking total, including extras.
Including extras in the fee is optional. Choose Full Booking Price + Extras if you want them included; the other fee types are worked out from the main booking cost only.
Whatever the type, the fee is only a starting figure: staff can change the amount in the cancel popup before cancelling.
How to cancel a booking with a cancellation fee
Open the booking and cancel it as normal. The Cancel this Booking? popup opens.
Check Charge Cancellation Fee is switched on. (It's on already if the cancellation is inside your Auto Charge window.)
Check or change the amount in Cancellation Fee.
If the customer has already paid more than the fee, the popup shows Paid To Date and an option to Add (amount) as Wallet Funds, which puts the difference on their account as wallet funds.
Optionally add a Reason for Cancellation, mark it as a No Show, and switch on Send Cancellation Email if you want the customer emailed.
Click Cancel Booking.
What happens after a booking is cancelled with a fee
The booking status is set to Cancelled (Fee Adjusted).
The booking price is changed to the cancellation fee. Additional charges and products on the booking are removed, and each removal is recorded in the booking's audit log.
The booking stays in the customer's bookings list on their History page with the Cancelled (Fee Adjusted) status, so the fee shows as owed until it's paid.
Unpaid fee-adjusted bookings are included in Arrears Billing, so the fee goes on the customer's next bill if you use monthly billing.
Fee-adjusted bookings appear in your financial reports, with the cancellation fee as the booking price.
You can list these bookings in Reports with the Cancelled Bookings with Fee report.
The customer is only emailed if you switched on Send Cancellation Email.
How to collect a cancellation fee
If you use Stripe and the customer has a card saved, you can use Charge Card in the booking's payment section.
If you use monthly billing, the fee is included the next time you bill the customer from Arrears Billing.
Otherwise take payment as you normally would and record it on the booking.
Cancelling with a fee doesn't take any money by itself.
Cancellation fees when pet parents cancel online
Whether pet parents can cancel in the online booking portal is set separately, in Settings > Online Booking Portal > Cancellation Settings: Allow Online Cancellation for each service, and Cancellation Block, which stops customers cancelling within X hours of check-in. Those settings don't set a fee. When a pet parent cancels a booking online and Enable Cancellation Fee is on for that service, KennelBooker applies the fee automatically if the cancellation is within your Auto Charge window, using that service's Cancellation Fee Type. This works for boarding, daycare, grooming and the other services, each using its own Cancellation Settings.
What cancellation fees don't do
Cancellation fees don't charge the customer's card automatically. You collect the fee as described above.
A fee set on Settings > Boarding doesn't apply to daycare or other services. Set each service separately.
The settings on the Online Booking Portal page don't create a fee. They only control whether pet parents can cancel online.
Cancellation fees: frequently asked questions
Where do I turn on cancellation fees?
Cancellation fees are switched on per service, on that service's settings page. For boarding, go to Settings > Boarding > Boarding Cancellation Settings, switch on Enable Cancellation Fee and click Save.
Can I charge a percentage of the booking?
Yes. In the service's Cancellation Settings, set Cancellation Fee Type to Booking Fee Percentage and enter the Fee Percentage. The cancellation fee is that percentage of the main booking cost.
Can I only charge a fee for late cancellations?
Yes. Set Auto Charge Cancellation Fee (Charge if Cancelled within X hours of check-in) to the number of hours. Inside that window the Charge Cancellation Fee option is switched on in the cancel popup; outside it, it starts off.
Can I change the fee for one booking?
Yes. In the Cancel this Booking? popup, change the amount in Cancellation Fee before you click Cancel Booking, or switch Charge Cancellation Fee off to cancel without a fee.
Does the customer get told about the cancellation fee?
The customer is only emailed if you switch on Send Cancellation Email in the cancel popup. KennelBooker doesn't send a separate cancellation fee email or text.
What if the customer has already paid a deposit?
The cancel popup shows the Paid To Date. If they've paid more than the cancellation fee, you can switch on Add (amount) as Wallet Funds to put the difference on their account as wallet funds.
Where can I see all the cancellation fees I've charged?
Go to Reports and run the Cancelled Bookings with Fee report. Each fee-adjusted booking also shows on the customer's History page with the status Cancelled (Fee Adjusted).
Do cancellation fees show in my financial reports?
Yes. Bookings cancelled with a fee have the status Cancelled (Fee Adjusted) and appear in the financial reports, with the cancellation fee as the booking price. Bookings cancelled without a fee don't.
Can I undo a cancellation with a fee?
To undo a cancelled booking, see "Undo Cancelled Booking" in Related articles. When a booking was cancelled with a fee, the additional charges and products removed at that point can't be restored, and the booking price stays at the cancellation fee. After undoing the cancellation, open the booking and reset the booking price by hand, and add back any extras the customer still needs.
Does the cancellation fee work for daycare and grooming?
Yes. Cancellation fees work for boarding, daycare, nightcare, grooming, training, walks, drop-in, homestay, board and train, universal and other services. Each has its own Cancellation Settings section with Enable Cancellation Fee on its settings page. The fee is used when staff cancel a booking and when a pet parent cancels online.
Cancellation fees: common problems
I can't find the Charge Cancellation Fee setting
The cancellation fee setting is on each service's settings page, not on the Online Booking Portal page. For boarding it's Settings > Boarding > Boarding Cancellation Settings > Enable Cancellation Fee. The Cancellation Settings on the Online Booking Portal page only control online cancelling.
The Charge Cancellation Fee option isn't in the cancel popup
The Charge Cancellation Fee option only appears when Enable Cancellation Fee is switched on for that booking's service. Check the Cancellation Settings on that service's own settings page.
The fee wasn't switched on automatically when I cancelled
The Charge Cancellation Fee option is only switched on for you when the cancellation is within the hours set in Auto Charge Cancellation Fee, counted from the booking's check-in date and drop-off time. Outside that window, switch it on yourself in the cancel popup.
The extras have disappeared from the cancelled booking
That's expected. When a booking is cancelled with a fee, its price becomes the cancellation fee and the additional charges and products are removed. The removals are listed in the booking's audit log.
The cancelled booking still shows in the customer's bookings
Bookings cancelled with a fee keep showing in the customer's bookings list with the status Cancelled (Fee Adjusted), because the fee is still owed. Bookings cancelled without a fee move to the Cancelled Bookings list.
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