The steps in this article can help if a client has made a payment, but the booking didn't come through, or if payments were made outside of Practice Better. You can easily update the payment status to keep your records accurate. This simple process ensures your booking list stays organized and reflects the true payment status of each session.
In this article:
- Creating a New Session Booking for a Client Payment
- Updating a Session's Payment Status
- Creating a New Package for a Client and Marking it Paid
- Frequently Asked Questions
Creating a New Session Booking for a Client Payment
If a client has made a payment, but the booking didn't come through to your Practice Better calendar, both you and the client will receive an email notification to inform you of instances like this. The email notification will include the client's name and contact information, as well as the details of the service, the date, and the time they intended to book.
You may either refund the client and ask them to reschedule, or follow the steps below to create the session booking and mark it as paid.
To create a client session booking:
- Go to My Practice > My Services.
- Locate the desired service or package and click Book a client.
- Click on a client's name or click the Add new client button in the pop-up.
- If you need to create a new client record at this step, complete at a minimum the client's first and last name, and email address.
- If you need to create a new client record at this step, complete at a minimum the client's first and last name, and email address.
- Complete the booking details in the pop-up, ensure you select to send the client a notification, and click the Schedule button.
Proceed with the steps below to update the session's payment status.
Updating a Session's Payment Status
You can manually mark a session as paid at any time — before or after the session occurs.
- Go to My Schedule > My Bookings, or a client’s Bookings & Packages tab
- Locate the session you want to update. Identify unpaid sessions by the “Unpaid” icon.
- Click the More Options menu (3 dots) next to the session and select Update payment status from the dropdown menu.
- Choose the appropriate payment status from the available options (Paid, Partially Paid).
- The session’s payment status will be updated.
📍 Please note: Manually updating a session's payment status won't send any notification to your client.
Creating a New Package for a Client and Marking it Paid
If a client has made a payment but the booking didn't come through to your Practice Better portal, you can either refund the client and ask them to reschedule or follow the steps below to create the package booking and mark it as paid.
To create a client Package:
- Go to My Practice > My Services > Packages tab.
- Locate the desired service or package and click Create for client.
- Click on a client's name or click the Add new client button in the pop-up.
- If you need to create a new client record at this step, complete at a minimum the client's first and last name, and email address.
- If you need to create a new client record at this step, complete at a minimum the client's first and last name, and email address.
- Verify the Package details are accurate; no changes are required at this step. Click Save near the top-right. This action won't bill the client.
- Select to send the client the confirmation email notification and click Confirm.
- Navigate to the client's Bookings & Packages section. Locate the package you just created and click the More Options menu (3 dots) > Update Payment Status.
- Choose the appropriate payment status from the available options (Paid, Partially Paid).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does manually marking a session as paid affect my financial reports or revenue tracking?
A: No, manually updating payment status doesn't impact your financial reports. This feature is designed to help you manage booking records and stay organized, but it doesn't interact with Practice Better's revenue tracking or reporting features.
Q: Can I add payment method details or transaction notes when marking a session as paid?
A: Not through the payment status update feature. Payment method details and transaction notes are only available when you create and process invoices. If you need to track specific payment information, consider creating an invoice for the session or adding an internal note to the booking.
Learn more about Creating and Managing Invoices in Practice Better →
Q: Can I mark multiple sessions as paid at the same time?
A: Currently, sessions must be marked as paid one at a time. If you have several sessions to update, you'll need to repeat the process for each booking individually.
Q: Can I change the payment status back if I need to?
A: You can reverse or change a session's payment status at any time by following the same steps you used to mark it as paid originally. Simply select the appropriate payment status from the dropdown menu, and your session’s payment status will update immediately.
Q: What about the payment status for Package Sessions?
A: You can manually update the payment status of a client's Package from the client's Bookings & Packages section by clicking the More Options menu (3 dots) > Update payment status, just like you would for a session booking.
Payment status for sessions booked through a package works a bit differently. When the package's status is Paid, Practice Better assumes all sessions within that Package are already covered by that payment. Because of this, individual Package sessions don't have the option to manually update payment status — the Package payment itself serves as confirmation that those sessions are paid.