Ban & archive clients

Sooner or later someone turns up you’d rather not work with again: four no-shows in a row, rudeness to your team, booking under someone else’s name. For those cases there’s a ban — it stops new bookings but keeps the whole history. This article covers exactly what a ban does, what it doesn’t, and why “archiving” a client isn’t an action in today’s interface.

In short: a ban is reversible, requires a reason, and applies to the whole workspace — not just the board you press it from.

1. Who can ban

Banning is a separate permission on the role. If your role doesn’t include it:

• in the Clients list, the ⋯ menu on the row isn’t rendered at all;
• on the client card, Ban is missing from the ⋯ menu.

That’s not a bug. See Roles & permissions.

2. How to ban

From the list:

1. Open Clients (the fourth row in the board menu).
2. Find the person.
3. Press ⋯ on the right of the row → Ban client.

From the card:

1. Open the client card.
2. Top right, ⋯ → Ban.

Either way the same dialog opens: Ban <name>.

The fields in the dialog

Field	Required	Details
Reason	Yes	An empty reason gives A reason is required. Maximum 500 characters, otherwise Reason must be at most 500 characters. The placeholder reads “Explain why this client is being banned…”
Also cancel all upcoming bookings	No	A switch. Off by default

Confirm with Ban client. You get Client banned.

The reason is required on purpose. It’s later shown on the card, along with the date and the name of the staff member who banned them. Three months on, nobody will remember why — unless it’s written down.

3. What a ban does

Effect	Detail
Stops public booking	The client can’t complete a booking on your public page. The check runs before the slot-availability check, so they never get a misleading “that time is taken”
Stops manual booking too	If a colleague tries to book them from the admin, they get This client is banned in the workspace.
Stops invitations	A banned client can’t be sent an email invitation. The Invite by email button disappears from their row
Applies workspace-wide	All your boards at once. Banned at the salon = banned at the studio
Can cancel upcoming bookings	Only if you flipped the switch (see below)
Leaves history intact	Past bookings, visits, no-shows, packages, loyalty, notes — everything is kept
Writes an audit record	Who banned them, when, and why

The «Also cancel all upcoming bookings» switch

Flip it on and, at the moment of the ban, every future booking of this client with the status Pending or Confirmed is cancelled. If any of them was paid with a package, the credit goes back to the client and a used-up package becomes active again.

Leave it off and the upcoming appointments stay. That’s the sensible choice when you’re banning over behaviour but the person has already paid for tomorrow’s slot — you serve them, and simply take no new bookings.

Cancelling does not refund money. If a deposit was paid, refunding is a separate action — see Refunds & cancellations.

4. What a banned client looks like

In the Clients list: a red Banned badge next to the name. The row stays in place and still opens normally.

On the card: a Banned card appears right at the top with:

Row	Contents
Reason	The text you wrote
Banned at	Date and time
By	The staff member who banned them (or Staff member if the name isn’t known)
Auto-cancelled	How many upcoming bookings the ban cancelled

The badge next to the name also flips from Active to Banned.

5. Lifting a ban

From the list: ⋯ → Unban client. From the card: ⋯ → Unban, or the Unban button inside the red card.

A confirmation appears:

Unban <name>? “The client will be able to make bookings again.” → Unban

Then: Client unbanned. The client returns to normal immediately.

Bookings cancelled by the ban are NOT restored. Cancelling is irreversible — if the person should have their slot back, create a new booking.

6. Booking anyway — «Book anyway»

Sometimes you ban someone, then talk to them and decide to take them once more without lifting the ban. That’s why trying to book them from Quick book gives you a choice rather than a dead end:

This client is banned in the workspace. → Book anyway

Pressing it books the appointment despite the ban, and the override is recorded in the audit log.

If your role doesn’t allow that, the answer is honest: You can’t override the ban — only a manager can.

7. What a ban does NOT do

• It deletes nothing. History, money and statistics all stay.
• It doesn’t cancel past bookings. Only upcoming ones, and only if you flipped the switch.
• It doesn’t refund. Deposits and payments are refunded by hand.
• It doesn’t block the phone number. If the person books with a different phone and name, that’s a new client and the system won’t recognise them.
• It doesn’t notify the client. No email is sent. From the outside, a ban simply looks like being unable to complete a booking.
• It isn’t per board. You can’t ban them at one venue and take them at another.

8. «Archiving» — what you need to know

Older versions of this help centre described archiving a client. There is no such action in today’s interface: no Archive button on the row, no Archived tab in the list, and no way to view archived clients.

So:

• Don’t go looking for the archive — you’ll waste your time.
• Don’t worry about a long list. It sorts and filters; a client who hasn’t been in for two years simply sinks to the bottom under Recently active.
• If you want someone to stop booking, that’s a ban, not an archive.
• If someone asks for their data to be deleted under GDPR, that’s not a self-service action in the interface. Contact support.

9. When to ban and when not to

Situation	Better answer
Two no-shows in six months	Don’t ban. Ask for a deposit next time — see Deposits & prepayment
The client keeps moving their appointments	Not a reason to ban. Talk to them
They book fake appointments to block your calendar	Ban, with cancel-upcoming on
Rudeness to your team	Ban. The reason field is also protection for your staff
You simply don’t want to work with this person	Ban — that’s your right as the owner
A duplicate profile of the same person exists	Don’t ban. One profile just goes unused

10. Troubleshooting

Symptom / message	Cause	What to do
There’s no ⋯ menu on the row	Your role doesn’t include banning	Ask the owner
A reason is required	Empty field	Write a reason
Client is already banned	A colleague banned them a moment ago	Refresh the page
Could not ban client	A network or server problem	Try again
I banned them and they booked anyway	They used another phone/profile, or a colleague used Book anyway	Ban the new profile too; check the audit
I banned them and the upcoming appointments vanished	The switch was on	Create a new booking if needed
I unbanned them but the cancelled appointments didn’t come back	Cancelling is irreversible	Create a new booking
I’m looking for the client archive	There isn’t one in the interface	See section 8

What’s next

• Your booking clients — the list you ban from.
• The client card — the card that shows the ban reason.
• Deposits & prepayment — the softer answer to no-shows.
• Roles & permissions — who is allowed to ban.