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Changing a Booking - Modify Dates, Units & Add-Ons

5 min read Beginner For Owner, Manager, Staff Updated 4 days ago
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Quick Answer
To modify a booking, find it in Bookings → Your Bookings or Cart Orders, click Modify, make your changes (dates, units, add-ons), review the price difference, and process any additional payment or refund. To swap to a different unit, use the Swap Unit button in Modify mode — staff can swap any time before the rental window ends, and admins can swap even after it ends.

Changing a Booking

Customers often need to change their reservations—different dates, different equipment, or additional extras. RecSystems makes modifications straightforward while handling the financial adjustments automatically.

What Can Be Modified

You can change:

  • Dates and times — Reschedule to different days
  • Duration — Extend or shorten the rental
  • Unit — Switch to different equipment
  • Quantity — Add or remove units
  • Add-ons — Add or remove extras
  • Location — Change pickup point
  • Price and payment plan — Apply a custom price, split the payment, route the balance to an invoice or house account, or waive the balance (see Booking Strategy)

Finding the Booking

From Dashboard

  1. Go to Dashboard → Carts or Bookings
  2. Search by:
    • Confirmation number
    • Customer name
    • Email or phone
  3. Click on the booking

From Calendar

  1. Go to Bookings → Calendar in the navbar
  2. Find the booking bar
  3. Click to open details

Modifying a Booking

Step 1: Open Modify Mode

  1. Open the booking/cart
  2. Click Modify button
  3. The cart enters edit mode

Step 2: Make Changes

Changing Dates

  1. Find the booking item
  2. Click on dates section
  3. Select new start date
  4. Select new end date/time
  5. System validates availability

Switching Units

  1. Click Swap Unit on the booking line
  2. Pick an available replacement from the list (only units free for the same window are shown)
  3. Choose a pricing option (see Unit Swaps below)
  4. Finalize the changes

See Unit Swaps for who can swap, timing rules, and pricing options.

Adjusting Add-Ons

  1. Find add-ons section
  2. Check/uncheck add-ons
  3. Adjust quantities as needed

Changing Location

  1. Find location selection
  2. Choose new pickup location
  3. Location fee updates automatically

Step 3: Review Price Changes

The system shows:

  • Original price
  • New price
  • Difference (additional charge or refund due)
Original Total:     $350.00
New Total:          $425.00
──────────────────────────────
Additional Due:      $75.00

Step 4: Process Payment Difference

If customer owes more:

  1. Collect additional payment
  2. Process card transaction
  3. Modification complete

If customer is due a refund:

  1. Review refund amount
  2. Process refund
  3. Modification complete

If price is the same:

  1. Confirm changes
  2. No payment needed
  3. Modification complete

Step 5: Confirm

After completing:

  • Updated confirmation sent to customer
  • Calendar reflects changes
  • Payment records updated

Unit Swaps (Switching Equipment)

Unit swaps are built for the realities of the dock and counter — a dead battery, a mechanical issue, an upgrade request, or a customer preference. Front-line staff handle swaps directly; no manager escalation is needed for the common case.

Who Can Swap

Role Can Swap?
Employee Yes — until the rental window ends
Admin Yes — any time, including after the rental window ends
Account toggle Owners can disable swaps for all staff in account settings (rare; forces every swap through a manager)

When You Can Swap

  • Before pickup — any staff member
  • During the rental (status Rented) — any staff member. The rental being in progress does not block a swap.
  • After the rental window ends — admins only. Staff will see: This booking has ended. Only an admin can swap the unit after the rental window. This still lets you correct records after the fact (e.g., the crew swapped boats Saturday but nobody updated the booking until Monday).

How to Swap

  1. Open the cart and click Modify
  2. Click Swap Unit on the booking line
  3. Pick the replacement — the list only shows units available for the booking's time window
  4. Choose a pricing option
  5. Finalize

Pricing Options

When you swap, you decide what happens to the price:

Option What Happens When to Use
Keep original price Customer pays exactly what they were quoted, even if the new unit normally costs more Equipment failure, goodwill — the swap was your call, not theirs
Reprice Booking takes the new unit's current price Customer-requested upgrade or downgrade
Charge difference only Booking repriced to the new unit; you collect (or refund) just the difference Upgrades where the customer agreed to pay the gap
Manager override Pricing is cleared so a manager can set a custom price Unusual situations needing a judgment call

Any cart-wide discount or comp already applied survives the swap automatically.

Common Modification Scenarios

Equipment Failure Mid-Rental (Unit Swap)

Customer arrives, but the boat's battery is dead — get them on the water on another unit:

  1. Open the cart and click Modify
  2. Click Swap Unit on the affected booking
  3. Pick an available replacement
  4. Choose Keep original price — the failure wasn't the customer's fault
  5. Finalize — the booking, calendar, and records all update

The original unit is now free for that window; put it in maintenance mode so it doesn't get booked again before it's fixed.

Rescheduling to Later Date

Customer wants to move booking from Saturday to Sunday:

  1. Modify the booking
  2. Change dates to Sunday
  3. Check for price difference (weekend vs weekday rules)
  4. Process any difference
  5. Confirm new date with customer

Extending a Rental

Customer calls to extend by one more day:

  1. Modify the booking
  2. Change end date to add a day
  3. Price increases by one day's rate
  4. Collect additional payment
  5. Confirm extension

Upgrading to Larger Unit

Customer wants bigger boat:

  1. Modify the booking
  2. Click Swap Unit and pick the larger unit
  3. Choose Charge difference only
  4. Collect the upgrade fee
  5. Confirm new equipment

Adding an Add-On

Customer forgot to add cooler:

  1. Modify the booking
  2. Add cooler add-on
  3. Price increases by add-on cost
  4. Collect additional amount
  5. Confirm addition

Modifications and Pricing

Price Increase

When changes cost more:

  • Difference is calculated
  • Customer pays additional
  • Payment added to booking

Price Decrease

When changes cost less:

  • Difference is calculated
  • Refund processed
  • Refunded to original payment method

No Change

When price is same:

  • Just confirm changes
  • No payment needed

Restrictions on Modifications

Time Limits

Some changes may be restricted close to the booking date based on your policies.

For unit swaps, the boundary is the end of the rental window: staff can swap any time before the booking's end time; after that, only an admin can swap the unit.

Status Restrictions

Status Can Modify?
Pending Yes
Reserved Yes
Rented Yes — swaps, extensions, and add-on changes all work mid-rental
Returned Limited — date/unit corrections possible; admins only after the rental window
Completed No
Cancelled No

Availability

Modifications require the new selection to be available. If not available, the change can't be made.

Communicating with Customers

Inform Them of Changes

After modifying:

  • Recap what changed
  • Confirm new dates/equipment
  • Explain any price difference
  • Confirm they received updated email

Get Approval First

For significant changes:

  • Explain the modification
  • Quote any price difference
  • Get verbal confirmation
  • Then make the changes

Troubleshooting

Can't modify booking

  • Check booking status (must be modifiable)
  • Verify user permissions
  • May need to contact admin

New date not available

  • Check for conflicts
  • Look at blackout dates
  • Consider alternative units

Price calculation seems wrong

  • Review original vs new items
  • Check for price rules applying
  • Verify add-ons and fees

Related Articles:

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change the dates on a booking?
Find the booking, click Modify, change the dates/times, review the new price, and process any price difference (additional charge or refund).
Can I switch to a different unit?
Yes. In Modify mode, click Swap Unit on the booking line, pick an available replacement, and choose how to price it — keep the original price, reprice to the new unit, charge only the difference, or hand pricing to a manager.
What if the equipment breaks down at pickup or during the rental?
Swap the customer to another unit. Open the cart, click Modify, then Swap Unit on the affected booking. Choose "keep original price" so the customer pays exactly what they were quoted. Any staff member can do this any time before the rental window ends — no manager needed.
What if the new booking costs more?
The system calculates the difference. You'll need to collect the additional amount from the customer before completing the modification.
Can I modify a booking after check-in?
Yes. Bookings with status Rented can still be modified — unit swaps, extensions, and add-on changes are all available mid-rental. Unit swaps work until the rental window ends; after that, only an admin can swap the unit.
Can I change the unit after the rental window has ended?
Only an admin can swap the unit after the booking's end time has passed. Staff who try will see "This booking has ended. Only an admin can swap the unit after the rental window."