# Add a booking for a customer

> Book a customer in by hand for phone bookings, walk-ins and comps, and record an offline payment taken on your card machine, in cash or by bank transfer.

Who can do this: admins and staff.

Admin-created bookings never charge a card, so they're free unless you apply the customer's credit, record an on-site payment, or send them a link to pay online.

<Screenshot
  shot="admin-add-booking"
  mat="cream"
  alt="The Add booking panel showing the customer search, spaces stepper, payment options and notes"
  caption="The Add booking panel - search for a customer, set the spaces, and optionally record a payment."
/>

## Open the Add booking panel

Pick the session on [Bookings](/go/admin/home) or [Sessions](/go/admin/sessions) and select **Add booking**. Once a session has bookings, or on a smaller screen, it moves into the **⋮** menu in the session header.

## Choose the customer

<Steps>
  <Step>In the **User** field, search by name or email and click a matching [customer](/docs/customers-directory).</Step>
  <Step>If there's no match, click **Add as new user** and enter their email and, optionally, their name and phone (if you [collect it](/docs/customer-profile)). They can claim the account later by signing up with the same email.</Step>
</Steps>

## Set the spaces

Use the **Spaces** stepper. For a [part-session](/docs/part-session), a **Window** picker places the booking in the right slot. There's no capacity limit when you add a booking yourself: going over [shared capacity](/docs/shared-capacity) shows a warning but won't stop you.

## Apply the customer's account credit

If the customer has credit valid for this session, an **Account credit** section appears, ticked by default. A [bundle](/docs/bundles) draws one session per covered space; a [membership's](/docs/membership) included session covers the first space if they have one left this period. Extra spaces are added free, and **Paid** is switched off while credit is applied.

## Record an offline payment or apply a voucher

<Screenshot
  shot="admin-offline-payment"
  mat="peach"
  alt="The Add booking sheet Payment section showing Not taken, Paid, and Voucher / discount code options, with Paid selected and an amount and method"
  caption="Choose Paid to record money you took on-site."
/>

Under **Payment**, choose what happened:

- **Not taken** (the default) keeps the booking free, for comps or when the customer will pay another way.
- **Paid** records the **Amount** you took, in your venue's [currency](/docs/international), and the **Method**: Card machine, Cash, Bank transfer or Other.
- **Voucher / discount code** takes a [voucher or discount code](/docs/vouchers); click **Check** to confirm it's valid. A session-pack or gift-card code draws from the customer's balance. For a percent or fixed-amount code, also enter the **Price before discount**, or leave it at 0 for a code that covers the whole booking.

**Record it later.** If you left Payment on **Not taken**, open the booking's details and use **Record payment or apply a voucher/credit**. This only works on a booking you created that hasn't been paid or covered another way. To change how an online booking was paid, the customer cancels and rebooks with the code.

An offline payment shows on the booking with its method and counts as gross revenue in [reports](/docs/reports) and [CSV exports](/docs/csv-exports). Payment reconciliation never flags it.

<Callout variant="warning">
A recorded "Paid" amount is for your records only, so Session never refunds it for you. To refund, cancel or reduce the booking, record the refund amount, then return the money the way you took it. See [refunds](/docs/refunds).
</Callout>

## Add notes, a confirmation and a waiver

Add any **Notes** for your team. **Send booking confirmation email** is on by default; untick it for a quiet comp. **Ask the customer to sign a waiver** appears when you have an active [waiver](/docs/waivers) and adds a signing link to the email. Then click **Add booking**.

## Let the customer pay online instead

Copy the link in the **Or have them pay online** section, which takes them to this exact time to pay at checkout. Add `&gv=CODE` to pre-apply a discount code. Send it, then close the panel with **Cancel**: pressing **Add booking** too would book them in twice. For a private hire at a custom time or price, see [private sessions](/docs/private-sessions#book-a-private-hire-for-a-customer-and-send-them-a-payment-link).

## Common questions

1. **Can staff record offline payments?** Yes, anyone who can add bookings can. See [admin and staff roles](/docs/team).

2. **The customer's earlier booking on this session was cancelled. Can I add them again?** Yes. If nothing was refunded, adding them restores the original booking. If money or credit was returned, it creates a fresh booking.

3. **Can I take a card tap in Session, like iZettle or SumUp?** No. Take the tap on your own reader and record it as **Paid** with the **Card machine** method.

4. **Can I edit a customer whose account started at another venue?** No. They manage their name, email and phone from their own account, but you can book them in, use their credit and collect their waiver as normal.