> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sailia-mintlify-5b02008a.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Book a customer in person

> Add a customer to an existing session from the calendar, take payment, and confirm the booking.

When a customer calls, emails, or walks up to the desk, you can book them onto an existing session directly from the calendar — without sending them to your public booking page. This guide covers the end-to-end flow.

<Tip>
  For walk-in shop sales, food and drink, or any sale not tied to a specific session on the schedule, use the [point of sale](/point-of-sale/overview) instead.
</Tip>

## Prerequisites

* The session must already exist on your [calendar](/getting-started/calendar-view). To add sessions, see [course setup](/activities/course-setup) and [hire setup](/activities/hire-setup).
* You need the **Operator Booking** permission to create bookings.
* To take card payments at the desk, [pair a card reader](/point-of-sale/card-readers).

## Book a customer onto a session

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the session">
    Find the session on the calendar and click it to open the session popup. The popup shows the current bookings, remaining capacity, and assigned staff.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start a new booking">
    Select **New booking** in the top right of the popup. Choose how many tickets to add using the **+** and **−** buttons, then continue.

    If you need to fit a customer onto a full session, you can deliberately overbook it — see [admin capacity override](/activities/capacity-management#admin-capacity-override).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select or create the customer">
    Search by name or email to find an existing customer. If they're not in your database, select **New customer** and fill in their name, email, age, and any other required details.

    If the customer has [family members](/customers/family-accounts) on their account, you can pick which family member is attending.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a payment method">
    Pick how the customer is paying:

    | Method      | When to use it                                                                    |
    | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Card**    | Take payment now via a [card reader](/point-of-sale/card-readers) or manual entry |
    | **Cash**    | Record an in-person cash payment                                                  |
    | **Invoice** | Send an invoice — useful for corporate or large group bookings                    |
    | **Defer**   | Confirm the booking now and collect payment later                                 |
    | **Other**   | Record payment received via bank transfer or another external method              |
  </Step>

  <Step title="Accept terms and finalise">
    Tick the terms and conditions box on the customer's behalf. You can also tick the mailing-list opt-in if they've agreed to it.

    Select **Pay now** to complete the order, or **Add to basket** to keep adding items before charging.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The booking now appears on the session, the customer receives a [confirmation email](/customers/notifications#automatic-emails), and any [waivers](/customers/waivers) attached to the activity are sent to them automatically.

## After the booking

* The booking shows up in the [bookings dashboard](/activities/managing-bookings#bookings-dashboard) and on the session's register.
* The customer can view the booking by signing in to their [customer account](/customers/customer-accounts).
* If you need to amend it later — change attendees, move the session, or refund — see [managing bookings](/activities/managing-bookings) and [cancellations and refunds](/activities/cancellations-and-refunds).

## Related guides

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Managing bookings" icon="calendar-check" href="/activities/managing-bookings">
    Edit, cancel, and track every booking across sales channels.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Point of sale" icon="cash-register" href="/point-of-sale/overview">
    Sell shop products, take walk-in payments, and manage a till.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Group bookings" icon="users" href="/activities/group-bookings">
    Take and manage bookings for schools, parties, and corporate groups.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Customer accounts" icon="user" href="/customers/customer-accounts">
    Link sales to a customer account for history and family management.
  </Card>
</Columns>