How a hold works
- Held straight away. The moment a customer puts a time in their cart, it is taken off everyone else for a window you choose.
- Kept by the cart guard. The cart guard runs on your cart page and keeps that hold alive while they check out. This is why you turn it on.
- Checked again at checkout. The time is validated once more before payment, so a slot taken in the meantime cannot be paid for.
- Released if they never pay. If the order is not paid inside the window, the time goes back on sale. An abandoned cart never blocks your diary.
- Cash and bank transfer are different. An order placed with cash on delivery or a bank transfer holds its time from the moment the order is created and keeps holding it until you mark it paid or cancel it. It does not lapse, because the customer has already ordered.
Turning it on
Double-booking protection is a single switch under Settings and covers your whole store. Turn it on once. Normal checkout and discount codes carry on as usual.
If two ever slip through
In the rare case two paid orders land on the same time, Booker marks the second as a clash on your calendar, emails you about it, and keeps that time blocked so nothing else lands on it while you sort it out.
What the customer sees
On Shopify Plus they get a branded message explaining the time has gone. On every other plan checkout is blocked the same way, with the standard Shopify message instead. The protection itself works on all plans; only the branded wording needs Plus.
Good to know
Do I need the cart guard as well?
Yes. Without it a held time can be lost between the cart and checkout.
What if someone abandons their cart?
The hold lapses after your window and the time goes back on sale.