This article explains how a CBP online booking moves through system stages from creation to completion.

Understanding the state flow helps you:

• Diagnose booking issues

• Explain status differences to staff

• Understand when inventory is reduced or released

• Troubleshoot payment and cancellation behaviour

Overview of Reservation Stages

A CBP booking moves through defined reservation stages. These stages determine:

• Whether the booking is confirmed

• Whether inventory is blocked

• Whether payment has been recorded

• Whether the rental is operationally active

The main stages relevant to online booking are:

• PROVISIONAL

• CONFIRMED

• CHECKED OUT

• CHECKED IN

• CANCELLED

1. Provisional (Pre-Confirmation Stage)

This is the temporary state during checkout.

It typically occurs when:

• A customer creates the booking after filling out the checkout information

• A session is active but payment is not yet completed

At this stage:

• Availability is temporarily reduced

• The reservation is not fully confirmed

If the session expires or payment fails, the booking may remain provisional briefly before being cancelled.

2. Confirmed

A booking moves to CONFIRMED when it meets your confirmation rules.

This can happen:

• After successful payment (full or deposit), or

• Immediately at checkout if your store uses 0% deposit, or

• Based on reservation type configuration

At the CONFIRMED stage:

• Inventory is officially reduced

• An invoice number is allocated

• Confirmation emails are triggered (if enabled)

• The booking is operationally valid

This is the key stage for “confirmed booking” status.

3. Checked Out

The reservation moves to CHECKED OUT when:

• The customer collects the items

• The rental begins

At this stage:

• The rental is actively in progress

• Asset status changes accordingly

• Operational tracking begins

5. Checked In

The reservation moves to CHECKED IN when:

• The items are returned

• The rental is completed

At this stage:

• Assets return to available status

• Final payment adjustments (if any) may be processed

6. Cancelled

A reservation moves to CANCELLED if:

• The customer cancels via self service cancellations

• The session expires (if configured to cancel)

• Staff manually cancel the booking

When cancelled:

• Inventory is released

• Cancellation emails may be sent (self service or CBP Bookings only)

How Payment Interacts With Stages

Important distinction:

• Payment does not define the lifecycle — stage does.

• A booking is operationally confirmed when it reaches CONFIRMED stage.

If using deposits:

• Paid amount may be less than total

• Balance remains outstanding

• Stage is still CONFIRMED

How Availability Interacts With Stages

Availability is impacted when:

• Reservation reaches CONFIRMED

• Provisional sessions temporarily reduce availability

• Cancelled reservations release availability

Common Internal Confusion Points

“Why is this booking not confirmed?”
It has not reached CONFIRMED stage (payment may have failed or session expired).

“Why is inventory blocked?”
A reservation is in CONFIRMED or later stage using this item or a space in the product line capacity.

“Why does this booking have no items assigned?”
Auto-Allocate may be disabled; product lines exist but items are not yet assigned.

Best Practice for Store Owners

• Train staff on stage names and what they mean

• Do not equate “paid” with “confirmed” without checking stage

• Monitor provisional and cancelled bookings to detect checkout issues