Credits are a useful tool to sell packages of services and to track which services your clients are most interested in. They allow you to track what your clients are selecting, from invoicing and payment through to booking scheduling and completion. Let's take a walk through the many functions and uses of credits.
Credit Types
BusyPaws has four types of credits built in, Cash Credits, Service Credits, Service Collection Credits, and Add-On Credits.
Cash Credits | Can be used against any invoice to reduce the subtotal by the credit amount. Remaining balances are left on the invoice to be processed as usual.
This form of credit can be applied manually to invoices by you and your team or used by clients during self-booking. |
Service Credits | Tied to a specific service, these credits can only be used on bookings where the service type is the same as the credit.
i.e. A client cannot use a Puppy Class credit towards a Leash Skills class, and vice versa.
This form of credit can be applied manually to bookings or by clients using the Booking Portal. |
Service Collection Credits | Tied to specific services, these credits can be used towards bookings where the service matches one of the services included in the collection for the credit.
i.e. A service collection including the Leash Skills, Recall Skills, and Manners classes. A client can apply their credit towards Leash Skills, Recall Skills, or Manners, but cannot apply it towards Puppy Class.
This form of credit can be applied manually to bookings or by clients using the Booking Portal.
For more information on collections, check out our Service Collections help guide. |
Add-On Credits | Tied to a specific add-on, these credits can only be used on booking add-ons where the add-on type is the same as the credit. Note that add-ons can only be used in conjunction with a service booking and cannot be booked on their own.
i.e. A client cannot use a Nail Trim credit towards a Daycare Pickup add-on, and vice versa.
This form of credit can be applied manually or by clients selecting add-ons in the Booking Portal. Functions much the same as Service Credits. |
Credit Status
A client's profile will list all of their associated credits including the type and status of each. To check a customer's credits, start by navigating to their Customer Profile. Once there, locate the "Credits" section at the left side of the page, just beneath their Upcoming Booked Value and Customer Lifetime value.
The Credits section includes tabs for each credit status: pending, available, reserved, used, and expired. Select any tab to see a list of credits the customer has matching that status.
Pending  | Credits that have been issued by an invoice that is currently unpaid. Pending credits cannot be used for bookings. A pending credit will be moved to the Available tab once its associated invoice has been paid. |
Available  | Credits available to be used towards bookings. |
Reserved  | Credits that are assigned to bookings. If a booking is cancelled, its credit may be moved back to the Available tab. |
Used  | Credits that have been used by a finalized booking. If the booking is deleted by a user or the client's registration is otherwise removed, its credit may be moved back to the Available tab. |
Expired  | Credits that were available but have expired as dictated by the expiry date associated with a Package, Membership, or manually gifted credit. Once a credit has expired it cannot be recovered. |
Viewing Credit Details
Each tab in the Credits section will include a list of all the credits the customer has with the given status. Credit counts are listed by their applicable service with cash credits found at the top of the list, followed by service and service collection credits, then add-on credits.
Collection credits are indicated with a collections icon next to the count. When a client has one or more collection credits, that credit value will be listed under each of the services towards which it can be applied.
In comparison, regular service credits are indicated by a count without the collections icon.
Add-on credits are indicated with the add-on icon shown next to the credit name.
Credits for an archived service will be indicated with a prohibition sign shown next to the credit name.
Click the information icon for any listed credit count to open a Credit Details pop-up. This pop-up will provide slightly different details depending on the type of credits you are looking at.
When looking at the details for pending credits, the pop-up will include information on which invoices on the client's profile generated those credits along with the quantity and type of credit generated.
When looking at details for available credits, the pop-up includes the credit origin (i.e. associated invoice, membership, or being gifted/issued "in kind"), quantity and type (regular vs. collection credits), and expiry (if any).
When looking at details for reserved or used credits, the pop-up includes the credit origin, quantity and type, and associated booking.
When looking at details for expired credits, the pop-up includes the credit origin, quantity and type, and date of expiry.
Creating Credits
There are five potential paths for creating new credits. In this section of the guide we will discuss the various options and walk you through the the basics of each process.
Manually Generating an Invoice
Every time an invoice is generated, a credit (or multiple credits) will be created for the associated account. The type(s) of credit(s) created will depend on which services, series, add-ons, service collections, and/or packages are included on the invoice. Sometimes you may want to allow your clients to purchase credits prior to booking services with you or provide a special price for once of your customers. This can be done easily by manually creating an invoice. Once that manual invoice is paid, the client will be able to reserve the credits for bookings. Note that when invoices are generated for specific bookings, credits are still generated. When those invoices are paid however, their associated credits are marked as reserved, then used when the bookings are completed.
For more information on the process of generating invoices, check out our guides on Booking Invoices and Invoicing From Customer Profiles.
Gifting Credits
Credits can also be added to a client's account manually. This method is best used if you are looking to assign credits at a 100% discount.
To start, locate the Credits list for the client in question. If a client has Available credits on their account, the amount will be listed under their available credits tab. They will also have "Edit" and "Add" buttons at the top of the Credits section.
The "Edit" button appears only if the client has one or more available credits on their profile. If you see only the "Add" button the customer has no available credits to edit.
Available credits can be created by selecting the "Add" button. That will open a pop-up with fields for credit type, quantity/value, and expiry (optional).
To add Service, Service Collection, or Add-On Credits, use the "Choose Type" drop-down to select the desired service/collection/add-on, then enter the number of credits under "Quantity". To add a Cash Credit, select "Cash Credit" from the "Choose Type" drop-down and enter the desired cash amount into the "Value" field. For either credit type, if you want the credit to be available for a limited amount of time, set the expiry date by clicking on the expiry field and selecting a date from the calendar.
Once you have completed the fields, you can use the "Add New Line" button to add a different type of credit. When finished, click "Save and Add Credits" to apply the Available credits to the client's profile.
Credits From Client Self-Registration
Whenever a client pays for a booking, credits will be generated on their profile. If you have payments set up for your client self-booking portal, clients completing and paying for their bookings will generate credits on their account. Any credits for booked services will be automatically marked as Reserved. If the client's booking is later cancelled, that credit will move to Available. Once a booking has been completed, the credit gets marked as Used.
If a client has booked but not paid for a service, no credits will be assigned to their profile. Credits are only generated when a service is paid for, or if an invoice is sent. If the client has an outstanding invoice for the booking, the credit will be listed as Pending.
For more information on setting up your Booking Portal and the Client Self-Booking process, check out our guide on Configuring Self-Serve Bookings. To see what the booking process looks like from your clients' end, see our guide on The Client Self-Booking Process.
Package Purchases
When a client purchases a package, the credits associated with that package will be added to the client's profile. If the client purchased the package when scheduling a booking, the credit for that booking will be marked Reserved, while all other credits in the package will be set as Available. If you have set an expiry date for the package, any credits not used by that date will be removed from the Available tab and marked as Expired.
Membership Purchases
Memberships may also be set up to include credits toward your services. Credits associated with memberships will always be marked as Available when assigned to a client's profile, since memberships are purchased separately from the regular booking process. The frequency, number, and type of credits applied will vary depending on the settings you have chosen for the Membership in question.
Unlike packages, memberships can include Cash Credits.
For more information, check out our Memberships guide.
Gift Cards
If you have set up one or more gift cards for your clients to purchase, clients can that have purchased a gift card will get a gift card code. Gift card codes can be redeemed through any customer's Private Client Portal login to add cash credits to their account. Gift cards are a great way to allow one client to purchase cash credits for another.
For more information, check out our help guide on Gift Cards.
Editing Existing Credits
Any existing Available credits listed on a client's profile may be adjusted manually. This method can be used should you need to remove credits from a client's account for any reason. It can also be combined with the Add Credits feature if ever you need to reassign credits from one service to another (i.e. exchanging four Puppy Class credits for two Private Lesson credits).
To adjust a client's existing credits, start by locating their Credits list. If a client has Available credits on their account, they will have "Edit" and "Add " buttons at the top of the Credits section of their profile. Select the "Edit" button to be redirected to the "Update Credits" page.
This page will list information about all of the client's Available credits including the Credit Type, Date Issued, Credit Source, number Remaining, and Expiry. Any collection credits will be indicated by the collections icon next to the remaining value.
Use the up/down arrows or type directly into the "Remaining" field for the credits you want to edit. Note that the text box cannot be left blank. If you want to zero out the credits you will need to enter a "0" into the field.
Edit or add an Expiry Date to a credit by selecting the "Expires" field and choosing a date from the calendar.
Since a single collection credit is listed under each of its applicable services, changes made to the credit under one service will automatically apply under the others. This is because the count under each service represents the same credit.
Once you have made the desired changes, select the "Update Credits" button at the bottom of the list. This will save your changes and take you back to the client's profile.
Reserving Credits
Once Available credits have been added to a client's account, there are three main paths through which those credits can be Reserved, or used. In this section of the guide, we will discuss some important notes about each.
When Creating an Individual Booking
When you or one of your team members creates a new individual service booking for a client, credits may be applied directly from the New Booking screen. If the client selected for the booking has Available credits for the selected Service on their profile, a "Reserve Credits" toggle will populate at the bottom of the Booking page, just above the "+ Add Booking" button. Switching the toggle ON (purple) will put one of the client's credits towards the booking when it is finalized. This will change the credit from Available to Reserved.
Service credits are specific to a single service. If you know your client has available credits, but the "Reserve Credit" toggle is not displaying, double check that the selected service matches their available credits. If they have available collection credits, the service being booked must match the services included in the collection.
Through a Group Booking
If a client is manually added to a group service or series booking, or if you have chosen not to require payment when self-registering for your group booking, available service credits may be manually applied by you or one of your team members. Any registered clients with available service credits will have a yellow credits icon next to their booking slot.
To apply a credit to the booking for a specific customer, click the three dots next to their credits icon.
Select "Reserve Credit" from the drop-down menu.
Their credit will then be applied to the booking, changing its status from available to reserved. A green pop-up will confirm that the credit was successfully applied, and the payment status for the booking will be marked as "Credited".
If there are multiple registered clients with available service credits, each will display with a yellow credits icon.
If a client has any available add-on credits, the credits icon will display next to that add-on in the ellipses drop-down menu. Once the add-on has been selected for the booking, the credit can be applied.
When a registration with an add-on has been only partially paid or credited (i.e. the service was purchased then the customer requested the inclusion of an add-on, or the customer had only an add-on credit but no service credit available), the payment icon will show in purple. Hover your mouse over the icon to determine which components have been credited/paid and which have not.
Additionally, once the credit has been applied to an add-on, a green credits icon will appear next to the selected add-on's name in the ellipses drop-down menu.
Credits can be applied to multiple clients in a booking at the same time by using the "Reserve Credits" option in the "Actions" button drop-down at the top-right corner of the booking page.
That will automatically reserve credits for all of the registered clients that have an available credit for the booked service.
The "Reserve Credits" option will also be present through the "Actions" button for any individual bookings (that have not yet been paid/credited) for which the booked client has at least one available credit.
Through Client Self-Registration
Clients with available credits can also use them towards bookings during the self-booking process. This is achievable through the Client Portal or the Public Booking Portal, however the client must have their password set up to access their credits.
When a customer logs into the Client Portal, they are automatically taken to their Dashboard. The client can then easily check their current list of credits by scrolling to the bottom of their Dashboard to find the "Credits" card. This card will list any existing Cash Credits on their account in addition to any Service, Service Collection, or Add-On Credits. Available service credits are shown in solid green, available collection credits are shown with a dotted green outline, and reserved credits appear in yellow. The counts for each are also listed under the associated service/add-on, with available credits shown first, followed by reserved.
While logged into the Client Booking Portal, if the client decides to book a service for which they have at least one available credit, that credit will be automatically applied to the booking after they select their pet. This will occur for any service with "Required", "Optional", or "Deposit" payment settings.
Likewise, if the customer has an available cash credit that credit will be automatically applied to their booking following pet selection. If the credit covers the booking in full they will be presented with a "Finalize Registration" button to apply the payment.
If the credit only partially covers the booking they will be required to enter payment information to cover the remaining amount due.
If a service is set up with no payment required for booking, no credit will be applied, regardless of whether the client has any Available credits for that service. Once the client is registered, you or one of your team members will need to apply the credit to the booking manually.
Bookings can also be scheduled through the Public Booking Portal. Clients booking through the Public Booking Portal are often not logged into their account. They can still apply their available credits to bookings however, provided they have previously set a password for their account. If a client using the Public Booking Portal enters an email address linked to a customer profile with available cash credit or service credits for the service being booked, an "Account Credit Found" message will display when they reach the Payment screen.
The client can then choose to enter their password and select the "Login" button to apply the credit to their booking, or use the "Skip This Step" button to be redirected to regular payment processing.
If the client has not yet set up a password for their account, the "Account Credit Found" message will not display and they will instead be taken directly to the standard payment process. Also note that service's payment settings must be set to "Required", "Optional", or "Deposit" for the credit message to display.
If the client is booking a service with add-ons and has credits available for only part of their booking (i.e. has a service credit but no add-on credit, or vice versa) they may choose to log in and apply the available credit to part of their booking. They will then be directed to the payment step to purchase the non-credited components of the booking. Submitting payment reserves the chosen credit and adds new reserved credits for the paid service and/or add-on(s).
Applying Cash Credits to Invoices
Unlike service credits, cash credits are not reserved on a booking. Instead, they are used as a payment type towards invoices. To manually apply a cash credit, start by generating or pulling up the invoice to which your client wants to apply their credit. Click the "Process Payment" button at the top of the Invoice Page.
If the client has available credit on their profile, the option "Cash Credit" will display in the "Payment Type" section. Selecting "Cash Credit" will cause the client's current credit balance to display under the "Amount" field.
If a client has no cash credit on their account, it will not be included as an option on the list of payment types.
Use the "Amount" field to enter the amount of credit you would like to use towards the invoice. The system will default to the maximum available or, if the available credit exceeds the invoice total, to the total required to pay the invoice. Type the desired value directly into the field or use the up/down arrows to adjust the amount by 0.01. Use the "Reference/Note" field to add a message about the payment, if needed. When done, click the "Process Payment" button to apply the entered amount to the invoice.
If the credit applied is less than the invoice total, the invoice will be marked "Partial Payment". The remaining total can then be processed as usual.
If the credit applied covers the entirety of the invoice, the invoice will be marked as "Paid" and the Service Credit(s) for the paid service(s) will be moved from "Pending" to "Reserved", as for any other payment type.
The customer's cash credit balance will be debited for the amount entered when the payment is processed. Their remaining total (if any) will be listed in the Credits section on their Customer Profile.
Clients cannot apply cash credits to invoices that are emailed to them. Cash credits can only be applied by clients during self-booking or by users manually applying them as invoice payment.
Proper use and management of credits is invaluable for effectively utilizing the full power of BusyPaws. Include credits in Packages and Memberships to help increase your sales, and use them to track which services your clients are booking the most.
If you are interested in configuring more advanced settings to allow clients to purchase credits that can be applied to multiple different services, check out our Service Collections help guide.