Accept, Decline, or Pend Bookings on Behalf of Fieldworkers

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Admin Override: Accept, Decline, or Convert Booking Requests to Pending

Administrative booking management and acceptance workflow

OctopusPro supports job-request style dispatching, where fieldworkers can Accept or Decline assigned booking appointments. When a request is urgent, the fieldworker is unavailable, or your dispatcher needs to keep the schedule moving, authorised admin/office users can override the response and action the request on the fieldworker’s behalf.

This is especially useful for fast-paced teams, subcontractor fleets, after-hours coverage, and SLA-driven operations—because it prevents delays while keeping a clear record of who performed the override and when.

On this page

What this feature is for

Use admin override when you need to act on a booking request without waiting for the fieldworker to respond, while still preserving a proper audit trail.

  • Speed up confirmations: avoid customer delays when the fieldworker doesn’t respond in time.
  • Prevent no-shows: quickly decline or revert requests if a technician is no longer available.
  • Maintain accountability: override actions are recorded in booking history/activity logs for auditing and internal reviews.

How it works (quick overview)

  • Accept: confirms the request for the selected appointment row(s) and applies your usual confirmation workflow (notifications/automations depend on your configuration).
  • Decline: marks the request as declined so dispatch can reassign or re-dispatch.
  • Convert to Pending: returns the request to “needs action” (useful after reschedules/changes when you want the fieldworker to reconfirm).

Admin override is typically used alongside dispatch workflows (Manual vs Automated/First-to-Accept). Learn more here: Job Assignment & Dispatch (Manual vs Automatic).

Service Request & Resource Allocation Workflow (Manual vs Automated Dispatch)

Prerequisites & permissions (RBAC)

1) Ensure your dispatch workflow uses accept/decline requests

If fieldworkers are not allowed to decline, requests may auto-accept (depending on your settings). To manage this workflow, see: Empower Fieldworkers: Accept or Decline Job Requests.

Accept and Decline Job Requests

2) Enable the admin override permission in Roles

Go to Settings > Users > Roles and enable the credential/permission: “Accept/Decline on behalf of fieldworker” for the relevant role (e.g., Dispatcher / Operations Manager).

For more about roles & permissions, see: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) & User Permissions.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) overview in OctopusPro

Identify a Pending booking request

Open the booking, then locate the appointment inside the Services / Appointments section. Requests awaiting action typically display a Pending label.

Pending booking request label inside booking appointment row

Accept a request on behalf of a fieldworker

  1. Go to Bookings (Upcoming / Past / All) and open the booking.
  2. In Services & Appointments, select the appointment row(s) you want to accept.
  3. Click Accept All (or select specific rows), then click Save.

Accept All booking request modal and Save button

What happens next?

  • The request is marked as accepted for that fieldworker/appointment.
  • Your usual confirmation notifications may be sent (based on your notification/automation settings).
  • The action is recorded in the booking’s logs for auditing.

Booking appointment row after accepting the request

Decline a request on behalf of a fieldworker

  1. Open the booking and go to Services & Appointments.
  2. Select the appointment row(s) you want to decline.
  3. Click Decline All (or select specific rows), then click Save.

Decline booking request modal and Save button

Notes:

  • If your account has a Decline Reason form enabled, you may be prompted to choose/provide a reason (recommended for faster reassignment and reporting).
  • Once declined, dispatch can reassign immediately (or re-dispatch to other eligible fieldworkers, depending on your workflow).

Booking appointment row after declining the request

Convert a request back to Pending

Use this when the appointment details change (date/time/scope/notes) and you want the fieldworker to respond again, or if the request was accepted/declined by mistake.

  1. Open the booking and go to Services & Appointments.
  2. Select the appointment row(s) that are currently accepted or declined.
  3. Choose Convert to Pending, then click Save.

Convert booking request to pending modal and Save button

Result: The request returns to the fieldworker’s normal acceptance flow, while keeping the full audit trail intact.

Optional settings (recommended)

1) Capture a decline reason (recommended)

Decline reasons reduce back-and-forth and help you identify patterns (coverage gaps, timing conflicts, incorrect eligibility rules). Learn how to set it up here: Fieldworker Job Decline Reason Form (Decline Booking Request Form).

Fieldworker job decline reason form overview

2) Enable “Pending Accept/Decline” reminders

If you frequently get unanswered requests, enable the reminder alarm so fieldworkers are periodically prompted until they respond: Fieldworker App Alarms, Alerts & Reminders.

Overview of OctopusPro Fieldworker App alarms, alerts and reminders

3) Use Booking Activity to review what happened

For a quick timeline of job requests, confirmations, and actions taken on a booking, use the Booking Activity tab: Booking Activity: Timeline, Job Requests & Appointment Confirmation.

Service Booking Activity Overview showing booking status timeline, booking info, actions menu, and financial transactions

When to use each action (examples)

Situation Admin action Why it helps
Fieldworker unreachable & the job is urgent Accept Locks in the appointment and avoids customer churn from slow confirmations.
Fieldworker is double-booked or no longer available Decline Frees the request for reassignment and reduces no-show risk.
Appointment changed after acceptance (time/scope/notes) Convert to Pending Prompts the fieldworker to reconfirm based on the updated details.

Best practices

  • Keep override access limited: only dispatch/ops roles should have the “Accept/Decline on behalf of fieldworker” permission.
  • Prefer appointment-level accuracy: for multi-visit/recurring bookings, accept/decline the correct appointment row(s) (don’t unintentionally accept all visits).
  • Use decline reasons: structured reasons improve reassignment speed and help you fix underlying dispatch rules (service eligibility, service areas, working hours, travel radius).
  • Review logs regularly: use Booking Activity / Booking History to confirm what happened and maintain accountability.

Troubleshooting

  • I don’t see Accept/Decline/Convert to Pending options: confirm your role has the permission enabled under Settings > Users > Roles (Accept/Decline on behalf of fieldworker).
  • Requests are auto-accepted (no Pending state): check whether fieldworkers are allowed to accept/decline booking requests: Accept/Decline Job Requests (Setting).
  • We need to see who performed the override: check the booking logs: Booking Activity and/or Booking History & Audit Log.

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