This help explains the full booking flow in WPRentals when the site admin receives payments. You will see what happens when a user sends a booking request, how the property owner manages that request from the user dashboard, how invoices are issued, and when a booking becomes confirmed.
The process is different depending on whether the admin deposit fee is set to 0 or whether a deposit is required before confirmation. Both scenarios are explained below in the correct order.
Key Notes
- Admin receives all payments: This includes both the deposit and the remaining balance.
- Who can submit properties: Admin can either allow only selected users to submit properties or allow all registered users to add listings. Learn more: Allow Specific Users to Submit Properties
- Property owners manage bookings: Owners handle booking requests and calendar availability from their user dashboard. Learn more: How to Add/Delete Booked Periods
- Users must register or log in before they can send a booking request.
How a Booking Works
In this setup, the user sends a booking request first. The property owner then reviews that request from User Dashboard > My Bookings. The owner can reject the request or approve it by issuing an invoice.
If the admin deposit fee is set to 0, the booking can be confirmed directly by the owner. If the admin requires a deposit, the booking is confirmed only after the user pays the required amount to the admin.
User Sends Booking Request
- Users must register/login to send a booking request. Learn more: Why Register/Login is Required
- If WooCommerce is enabled for payments, you can set a deposit and enable Instant Booking for a listing. In that case, login/register and deposit payment happen in the same flow. Learn more: WooCommerce and Payments Setup
Owner Manages Booking Request
Booking request received
- When a user submits a booking request, the property owner receives an email notification.
- The email contains a link to the owner account, where the request can be reviewed and managed.
Example email notification:
“You have received a new booking request on [yourdomain.com]. Go to your account in the ‘Bookings’ page to see the request, issue the invoice or reject it!”
Where owners manage requests
- Property owners can view all booking requests for their properties in User Dashboard > My Bookings.
Available owner actions
- Reject the booking: If the owner does not want to accept the request, they can reject it. The booking will be deleted from both the owner dashboard and the user dashboard.
- Issue the invoice and approve the booking: If the owner approves the request, they issue an invoice. If a deposit is required by admin, that deposit must be paid before the booking becomes confirmed and the calendar is blocked.
- Cancel a confirmed booking: If a booking has already been confirmed, the owner can cancel it. The booking will be deleted from both the owner dashboard and the user dashboard.
Invoice tracking
- Once an invoice is issued, it also appears in the Admin Dashboard, so the admin can track payments received.
Important: Rejected or canceled bookings are deleted automatically from both the owner and admin area, so the calendar becomes available again.
User notification
- If a booking is rejected or canceled, the user receives an email notification.
- The booking will no longer appear in the user dashboard.
Booking Statuses Explained
Pending booking request
- This status appears after the invoice has been issued, but the user has not paid yet.
- The owner can:
- Delete the invoice and issue a new one.
- Reject the booking request, which removes it from both the owner dashboard and the user dashboard.
Confirmed bookings
- A booking can be confirmed after the deposit fee has been paid, even if the full amount has not yet been paid.
- This happens when admin requires a deposit for booking confirmation.
- The remaining balance can be paid later through the theme, and that payment goes to the site admin.
Confirmed and fully paid
- This status appears when the full booking amount has been paid to the admin.
- The booking is then confirmed and fully paid.
Owner made confirmed bookings
- Owners can add booked periods manually for their submitted properties from the user dashboard.
- Owners can also delete these booked periods at any time.
- This feature works only with daily booking, not hourly booking.
- For details, see Add/Delete Booked Periods as Owner.
Owner Approves or Rejects a Booking Request When Admin Fee and Deposit Fee Are 0
When a property owner receives a booking request, they can approve or reject it. In this example, both the admin service fee and the deposit fee are set to 0.
Booking request received
- The property owner receives a notification about the booking request.
- The owner goes to User Dashboard > My Bookings to view it.
Issue invoice or reject
- The first step is to either issue an invoice or reject the request.
What happens when admin fee and deposit fee are 0
- If both values are set to 0, the issued invoice will show a Deposit of 0.
- The booking is confirmed when the owner clicks Issue Invoice and completes the confirmation flow.
Owner actions
- The owner can approve the booking request if Instant Booking is not enabled.
- The owner logs in, goes to My Bookings, finds the request, and clicks Issue Invoice.
Optional step
- The owner can add manual extra expenses or manual discounts to the invoice if needed.
Confirm booking
- The owner confirms the booking by clicking the Confirm Booking button when no reservation fee is required.
Booking confirmation
- After page refresh, the booking status updates to Confirmed.
Owner Approves or Rejects a Booking Request When a Deposit Is Required
If an admin deposit fee is required, the property owner can still approve or reject the request, but the booking becomes confirmed only after the required deposit is paid.
Booking request received
- When a booking request is received, the owner can approve or reject it.
- If the admin requires a deposit, the owner must issue an invoice for that deposit.
Issue invoice or reject
- The owner can issue an invoice for the deposit, add invoice details, or delete the invoice and generate it again, as long as the user has not paid yet.
Deposit details
- The deposit fee can be set as either a percentage or a fixed amount.
- The deposit may or may not include the admin service fee. Learn more about deposit and service fees here.
Owner actions
- The owner logs into the account and goes to My Bookings.
- The owner finds the reservation and clicks Issue Invoice.
Optional
- The owner can add manual extra expenses or manual discounts before issuing the invoice.
Invoice details
- Once the invoice is issued, the deposit appears in the invoice details as RESERVATION FEE REQUIRED.
- The owner can still delete or modify manual discounts and extra expenses before payment is made.
Managing invoices
- The invoice can be deleted and generated again before the deposit is paid.
- All invoices issued by the property owner are visible in User Dashboard > Invoices.
- The Invoice ID is listed in the Booking Details area.
Multiple Booking Requests for the Same Period
If two or more booking requests are sent for the same property and the same dates, the theme will allow only the first payment to be processed.
This means that even if multiple invoices are issued for the same period, only the first successful payment will be accepted and the calendar will be blocked for that booking.
How the User Pays the Deposit After Owner Approval
Once the property owner approves the booking request and issues the invoice, the user who requested the booking is notified that the deposit must be paid before the booking can be confirmed.
Payment notification
- The user receives a notification that an invoice has been issued and that the deposit fee must be paid for the booking to be confirmed.
Deposit reminder
- If a deposit fee is required, the user also receives a reminder email to complete the remaining payment before the booking begins.
Remaining payment
- The remaining amount can be paid later from the My Reservations page.
- Paying the remaining invoice through the theme is optional.
- The remaining payment is sent to the admin.
Manual Bookings and Invoices
Owners can also block dates manually, without waiting for a booking request from a renter. This option is useful when the property is reserved outside the website or when the owner wants to mark certain dates as unavailable directly from the dashboard.
Manual bookings are available only for daily bookings. They are not available for hourly booking setups.
How manual bookings work
- The owner can go to My Listings, edit the listing, open Calendar Settings, select the dates, and click Book Period.
- The owner can also use the All-in-One Calendar from the dashboard to select dates and mark them as booked.
- If needed, the owner can later remove those blocked dates from My Bookings by cancelling the manual booking.
Important: Manual bookings do not generate invoices.
This happens because manual bookings are simply blocked periods added directly by the owner in the calendar. They do not go through the normal booking request flow, so there is no booking request to approve, no invoice to issue, and no payment step connected to that manual block.
If you need an invoice to be created, the booking must start as a normal booking request sent through the website, then the owner must approve that request and issue the invoice from My Bookings.
For step-by-step details about adding or deleting manual booked periods, check this guide: For Owners – How to add Manual Bookings