Customer Portal Booking Cancellation (Portal + Email Links)

OctopusPro lets customers cancel their own bookings online through your Customer Portal. You can also allow cancellations from a Cancel booking link in your booking confirmation/reminder emails (when included in the template). This reduces admin workload, improves customer experience, and ensures your team and assigned fieldworkers are notified immediately.

What this feature does

Shows a “Cancel booking” action on eligible bookings in the Customer Portal.
Prompts the customer for a cancellation note/comment (reason/details) during the confirmation step.
Updates the booking status to “Cancelled” and reflects the change in the portal.
Notifies the assigned fieldworker via push notification (and in-app Notifications).
Supports cancellation from email links (when your email template includes the cancel link).

How to enable customer cancellations (Admin)

To allow customers to cancel bookings through the Customer Portal and via portal/email links:

Go to Settings > Customer Portal > Flags & Permissions.
Under Booking Flags, enable: Allow customers to cancel bookings through customer portal and email links.
Click Save (if shown).

Enable: Allow customers to cancel bookings through customer portal and email links — Enable the portal cancellation permission under Customer Portal > Flags & Permissions.

How customers cancel from the Customer Portal

Customer logs in to the Customer Portal and opens the booking.
Customer clicks Cancel booking.
Customer enters a cancellation note/comment, then confirms the cancellation.

Customer Portal booking view showing Cancel booking button — Customers can cancel directly from the booking view page in the Customer Portal.

Cancel booking pop-up prompting for a comment and confirmation — Customers confirm cancellation and can add a note/comment (useful for your team and fieldworker).

After cancellation, the booking status updates to Cancelled. The “Cancel booking” button may be replaced with Schedule an appointment, allowing the customer to book a new visit (if online bookings are enabled for them).

Schedule an appointment button shown after cancellation — After cancellation, customers can schedule a new appointment (when enabled).

How customers cancel from an email link

If your booking confirmation or reminder emails include a Cancel booking link, customers can cancel by clicking it. The link opens the booking page in the Customer Portal, so the same rules apply (permissions, notice windows, etc.).

Booking confirmation email showing Cancel booking link — Customers can cancel via the email link (when included in your email template).

Customer Portal booking view showing Cancelled status and Schedule an appointment button — After cancellation, the booking displays as **Cancelled** in the Customer Portal.

How admins (or permitted fieldworkers) cancel a booking

Admin Portal (web)

Go to Bookings > All bookings.
Open the booking you want to cancel, then click Edit booking.
Change the booking Status to Cancelled, then save.

Admins can cancel a booking by setting the booking status to Cancelled.

Note: Fieldworkers can only cancel bookings if their role permissions allow them to edit booking status.

Optional: apply a cancellation fee

When an admin cancels a booking, OctopusPro can display a prompt asking whether to add the default cancellation fee to the invoice (if configured).

To set up the default cancellation fee, go to: Settings > Financial Settings > Tax & Fees, then set the Cancellation fee.

Financial settings showing Cancellation fee field — Set the default cancellation fee under Financial Settings > Tax & Fees.

Learn more: Managing Booking Cancellation Fees

Payments, deposits, and refunds (recommended)

If the customer already paid a deposit or full amount: decide whether you will refund, partially refund, or keep a fee based on your cancellation policy.
If you add a cancellation fee: it’s typically added as a line item to the invoice (so it can be charged or retained).
Refund workflow: use OctopusPro’s refund management process for auditability and approvals (especially if refunds are processed manually via bank or require admin approval).

Learn more: Refund Management (Bookings & Invoices)

Notifications and where cancellation notes are stored

Customer notification (email)

After a booking is cancelled (by staff or by the customer), the customer can receive a cancellation notification email with a link to view the booking.

Cancellation notification email to customer with View booking link — Example cancellation email sent to the customer.

Booking status shown to the customer

Customer Portal booking header showing Cancelled status — The booking clearly shows as **Cancelled** in the Customer Portal.

Assigned fieldworker notification

When a booking is cancelled, the assigned fieldworker receives a push notification on the mobile app and can also view it under the Notifications section on the app.

Fieldworker app notification showing booking cancellation — Fieldworkers are notified immediately about cancellations.

Where the customer’s cancellation note goes

The cancellation comment is stored against the booking so your team can understand why the customer cancelled.
It can also appear in your booking communication/audit areas (e.g., booking activity/history logs), depending on your setup.

Useful references: Booking Activity (Audit Trail) | Booking History & Change Log

Best practices (recommended settings)

1) Set a minimum cancellation notice time (cut-off window)

If you want to prevent last-minute cancellations, configure a minimum cancellation notice time (e.g., 24/48/72 hours). Once the booking is inside the cut-off window, customers won’t be able to cancel online and will see your blocked-action message.

Learn more: Minimum Cancellation Notice Time (Customer Portal)

2) Keep email templates aligned with portal permissions

By default, customers may cancel/reschedule via the portal and via links in confirmation/reminder emails (when included). If you disable cancellations, remove cancel/reschedule links from your email templates to avoid confusion.

Learn more: Send Booking Confirmations (Email, SMS & WhatsApp)

3) Use cancellation fees for short-notice cancellations (optional)

If your business charges for late cancellations or no-shows, configure cancellation fees and apply them consistently. Consider combining this with refund approvals (so staff can record what happened and who approved the refund/fee decision).

Learn more: Managing Booking Cancellation Fees

How to disable customer cancellations

To stop customers from cancelling bookings via the Customer Portal and portal/email links:

Go to Settings > Customer Portal > Flags & Permissions.
Disable: Allow customers to cancel bookings through customer portal and email links.
Save (if shown), then remove cancel/reschedule links from your booking confirmation/reminder templates.

Disable the Customer Portal cancellation permission — Disable cancellation permission when you don’t want customers cancelling online.

Troubleshooting

“Cancel booking” button isn’t visible: confirm the cancellation flag is enabled and the booking is in a cancellable status (not already Cancelled/Completed).
Customer can’t cancel even though it’s enabled: check the minimum cancellation notice time (cut-off window) and whether the booking is now inside the restricted period.
Email cancel link still appears after disabling: remove cancel/reschedule links from your email templates and ensure the cancellation flag is disabled.
No cancellation fee prompt: confirm a default cancellation fee is configured in Financial Settings and that you’re cancelling via the flow that triggers the prompt.

Related guides

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