Manage a Booking and Client Workflow

Booking details keep the job’s status, client experience, planning, team, and connected work together.

Booking details with client information, totals, client actions, contract, payment, and gallery cards.View full size

Find the booking you need

Open Bookings, then use Upcoming, Past, or search to narrow the list. Select a booking to keep the list open beside its details. On a small screen, the details take over the page and the back action returns you to the list.

The Bookings list with Upcoming and Past tabs and bookings marked Payments up to date, Awaiting signups, and Draft.View full size

Vignette shows only the cards that matter for that booking. A simple booking may have only client and schedule details. A larger job may also show planning, team, contract, payment, gallery, and activity cards.

Understand booking status

A full-session booking has three statuses:

• Pending after the booking is created and while its required client steps remain unfinished
• Confirmed after the required confirmation, contract, and payment steps for that booking are complete
• Canceled when the booking will not move forward

The client workflow moves an eligible full-session booking from Pending to Confirmed. There is no separate Completed booking status; use the session date and Activity history to follow work after confirmation.

Read the confirmation carefully before canceling because Vignette may cancel pending contract work and archive empty, unshared galleries. When Reactivate is available, it returns a canceled booking to Pending, but it does not recreate items removed during cancellation.

Canceling and deleting are different. A canceled booking remains available as read-only history. Delete appears only when Vignette can safely remove the booking and its dependent work. Use the actions shown in the app instead of deciding from the status label alone.

Learn what each booking status label means.

Open the … menu beside Send to client to find Edit booking, Preview email, Preview as client, Cancel booking, and Delete booking.

The booking actions menu with Edit booking, Preview email, Preview as client, and Cancel booking.View full size

Update session details

Open a booking to change its date, time, duration, price, location, package, or private notes. Save changes before closing the details panel.

The Edit Session panel with the signed-contract notice, Populate from package, category, session title, client, and cover image controls.View full size

If the session time changes, review the Calendar afterward to make sure the new placement is correct.

Connect contracts and galleries

Use the booking’s workflow area to create or attach a contract and to link a gallery.

• A contract connected to the booking provides signing status in the same place.
• A linked gallery makes delivery easy to find from the job.
• Removing a link does not normally delete the contract or gallery itself.

When a booking has no contract yet, the Contract card tells you Vignette will create one from your template when you send the booking. Select Attach to use a contract you already made instead.

The Contract card showing No contract, a note that Vignette will generate one from your template, and an Attach button.View full size

When contracts are enabled in the booking editor, add the delivery timeline and deliverables, then select the contract template Vignette should use. Fields marked with the document icon are copied into the contract.

Select Manage on the Contract card to see Contracts configuration. Choose the Default template, open or send the attached contract, or select Attach existing to link a contract you already made. Changing the default never alters a contract that is already attached.

Contracts configuration with Enable contracts turned on, the default template, the attached contract marked Pending send with Open, Send, and Cancel, and Attach existing.View full size

A booking’s installments, delivery timeline, deliverables, and contract-template settings.View full size

Plan the booking

Use the Planning card to attach one event timeline and one or more questionnaires. Start from a reusable Planning template or build a booking-specific version from scratch.

The Planning card with Event timeline actions and Questionnaires Use template and Start blank links.View full size

• A new timeline stays private until you explicitly share it. Assign team members to events, review travel guidance between recognized addresses, and publish a day-of run sheet when it is ready.
• A new questionnaire stays private until you select Share with client. Shared questionnaires become tasks on the client’s existing booking link, where the client can save progress and submit responses.

Learn how to create and share a booking timeline.

Learn how to create and send a client questionnaire.

Manage the booking team

Choose an existing person with a paid team role: Second shooter, Assistant, Associate photographer, Videographer, or Content creator. If the person has several eligible roles, choose the role they are filling for this booking.

Adding someone creates a draft assignment and sends nothing. Review the booking-specific role and hourly rate, then select Send invite. The team row shows whether email is queued, retrying, sent, or failed. You can retry a failed delivery or resend a non-accepted invitation with a fresh response link.

The Booking team card with two team members, their roles and hourly rates, Not sent status, Send invite buttons, and the Add team member search.View full size

After you send an invite, the row shows Email sent and the button changes to Resend.

A team member row after sending, showing Email sent and a Resend button.View full size

When Team contracts is enabled, choose the appropriate agreement template for each role. Changing a person’s role or template does not rewrite an agreement that was already sent or signed.

Team contracts turned on, with an Agreement line under each team member and a contract template menu for each role.View full size

A team member with a verified Vignette account sees a privacy-safe assignment on their Calendar. Pending assignments block the proposed time until the person declines or is removed; accepted assignments remain confirmed.

After an independent contractor accepts, the same Team row can show payment setup and the Pay contractor action. Learn how to confirm hours and pay a team member.

Receive team files

Every active team assignment has a temporary file handoff in the Team card. Use the member row to send or resend a conditional RAW upload request. When the contributor submits files, select Download all before the displayed deletion date.

The Booking team card, with a RAW files line under each team member showing the request status.View full size

Learn how RAW file exchange and automatic deletion work.

Set up a payment plan

Enable payments on the booking, divide the total into installments, and choose due dates. Online payments require a ready payment account.

Select Manage on the Payment card to open the plan. Each payment shows its due date, amount, and Record and Waive actions.

An active payment plan with the retainer paid by check and two dated installments, each with Record, Waive, and Send payment reminder buttons.View full size

Learn about payment plans and manual payments.

Send or resend the booking

Select Send to client when the client should begin their booking workflow. Vignette checks that the required client, schedule, pricing, delivery, and contract information is ready.

If required information is missing, the booking editor opens so you can complete it. Nothing is sent until the readiness check succeeds. After the first successful send, the action changes to Resend to client.

A sent booking with its client link, the Contract card showing Sent and Awaiting signature, and the Resend to client button.View full size

In the Bookings list, the booking now shows Awaiting confirmation until the client confirms.

A booking in the Bookings list with the Awaiting confirmation status.View full size

A location is optional. When you leave it blank, Vignette shows To be determined and does not show a map. A missing location does not block sending.

Required details can include the title, client email, schedule, price, deliverables, delivery timeline, and contract template when contracts are turned on.

Preview and customize the invitation email

Open Preview email before sending a full-session booking. You can edit the subject, add a short personal message, and review the complete email.

The Client email preview with an editable subject, a personal message, and the live email preview showing the booking invitation.View full size

Select Save changes before leaving. Reset to default changes only the draft until you save it. Previewing does not send the email, create a working client link, or move the booking forward.

Learn how email previews and saved messages work.

Preview the client experience

Use the preview action to see the booking steps as the client will see them. Preview mode does not complete actions or collect real payments.

The client preview with a Last step banner and the Summary, Confirm, Sign, Questionnaire, and Pay steps beside the appointment details.View full size

A dark notice at the bottom of the preview reminds you that it is read-only. Missing information is highlighted in red. Select the notice to hide it.

The read-only preview notice explaining that missing information is highlighted in red.View full size

The real client uses one private link. Vignette remembers completed steps, so refreshing or returning later opens the correct place: confirmation, contract, payment, or completion.

The client starts by confirming the session details. The agreement unlocks after they confirm.

The client's Confirm step with a Looks good — confirm button, and the Sign step waiting until confirmation.View full size

Each finished step gets a green check, so you and the client can see what is left.

The client's booking steps with Confirm, Sign, and Questionnaire complete and Pay remaining.View full size

Walk through everything your client sees, step by step.

What Vignette does behind the scenes

Saving a draft and sending it are different checks. A draft can be incomplete so you can keep working. At send time, Vignette checks the newest saved details on the server. If something required is missing or invalid, it sends nothing and points you back to the field that needs attention.

Vignette also checks which actions are safe for the booking's current history. This is why two bookings with the same status may not show the same edit, cancel, delete, or payment actions.

Before sending anything: Confirm the client email, contract, payment amount, due dates, and session details. These items work together in the public booking experience.