Appointment Booking Calendar - Use Case - How to Set Up User Time Credit
Use Case – How to set up user time credit
Note: This guide requires:
- Appointment Booking Calendar - This document uses version 2.2.0.
Video Use-Case
Introduction
Appointment Booking Calendar allows you to manage and display multiple calendars with open spots for visitors to book. Starting since the version 2.2.0 it is possible to set up Time Credit for specific registered users.
Note: Currently booking appointments using Time Credit doesn't support Multiple Bookings Choice.
Use Case Front-End
Spending Time Credit for booking an appointment:
![Spending Time Credit for booking an appointment - WordPress Scheduling Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172aaff12c07c18afddfffd/file-YphWTQbUyx.jpg)
Not enough Time Credit for booking an appointment:
![Message about lack of Time Credit for booking an appointment - Appointment Scheduling Plugin WordPress](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172ab740332cb5b9e9b66b5/file-wVOksIolis.png)
Use Case Assumptions
Want to Learn From The Start?
If you still haven't configured your first calendar, check this use case:
Appointment Booking Calendar - Use Case - How to Create a Calendar Booking System in WordPress
In this example use case guide, we'll cover how to set up Time Credit for specific users, how to create a user dashboard for them and how this feature works for the user side.
We consider that you have already bought the Appointment Booking Calendar plugin, but not installed yet.
It follows:
- Installing the plugin
- Setting Up Calendars Recap
- How This Feature Works
- Setting Up Allowed Time for Rejection
- Enabling Time Credit for Specific Users
- User Dashboard
- Reject Booking - Admin View
- Booking - User View
- End Result
Installing the Plugin
The process is the same for all CM plugins and add-ons.
![CreativeMinds Customer Account Dashboard - Downloads tab](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/5ea2abc604286364bc98ef13/file-FEHseeA7Qu.png)
- Download the plugin from your customer dashboard.
- Log in to WordPress and navigate to the WordPress Admin → Plugins settings.
- Click on Add New.
- Activate it and add the license.
Learn more: Getting Started - Plugin Overview
Setting Up Calendars Recap
Recap
If you still have questions about
- Setting up a calendar
- Showing calendars on your site
- Improving the calendar
- Managing bookings
- Email notifications
- The discussion form
Head back to the use case Appointment Booking Calendar - Use Case - How to Create a Calendar Booking System in WordPress
How This Feature Works
The user will be able to book the appointments only for definite amount of time according to the defined for him limit. The admin can add or deduct Time Credit. The user has a dashboard, where he can view available Time Credit, view all admin operations with adding and deducting Time Credit, view all his Time Credit Bookings and reject them. Rejecting the appointment returns the Time Credit that were spent for it to the user.
Now let's consider configuring and how it all works step by step.
Setting Up Allowed Time for Rejection
First thing we need to configure is the time before the Time Credit Booking when the user is able to reject it. To do this, navigate to Admin Dashboard → CM Appointments Booking Pro → Options.
![Navigation to the plugin settings - Event Booking Calendar WordPress Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171c9c8efc78d0553e52258/file-UgObAhnBJd.jpg)
Head to the Plugin Options tab.
![Plugin Options tab - WordPress Calendar Booking Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171c9d39ccf62287e5ee621/file-WBw9GQuBMv.jpg)
Find there the option Send email to reject booked credit time before [hours]. In this field you need to put the amount of hours that the user will have before the beginning of an appointment to reject it. We will talk about the rejection further in this guide.
![Setting up the time before the appointment when the booking can be rejected - Booking Plugin WordPress](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171ca24efc78d0553e5225f/file-JUoYsvykoU.jpg)
When you configured this option, click the button Save Changes on the bottom of the page.
![Saving the changes - WordPress Plugin for Scheduling Consultations](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171cadc2b380503dfdfce76/file-YezFeKnHgu.jpg)
Enabling Time Credit for Specific Users
Time Credit feature is enabled and defined individually for chosen registered users. To do this, navigate to Admin Dashboard → Users → All Users.
![Navigation to the page with all users - Best WordPress Scheduling Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171cba79ccf62287e5ee62b/file-eWzZEIzzwo.jpg)
Hover on the needed user and click Edit.
![Editing the user - Appointment Booking Calendar](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171cc99efc78d0553e5226d/file-w6lKeecNFt.jpg)
Find there the section Time Credits User Control and enable the option Allow Credit Time for User. A few new options will appear there.
![Enabling the Time Credit feature for a user - WordPress Scheduling Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171cd6c12c07c18afddfd24/file-gRiu4hUnab.gif)
- Enter Time (minutes) - Choose the amount of minutes that you want to add or deduct from the user. You can choose between 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.
- Add Time To Credit - Click this button to add chosen amount of minutes to the user.
- Deduct Time From Credit - Click this button to deduct chosen amount of minutes from the user.
- Time Credit Amount (minutes) - This field shows total amount of time that was added to the user. This value increases when the admin adds minutes, and decreases when the admin deducts minutes.
- Time Balance (minutes) - This field shows the amount of time that is currently available for the user. This value increases when the admin adds minutes, and decreases when the admin deducts minutes or when the user spends this time for booking appointments.
![Adding and deducting Time Credit - Appointment Scheduling Plugin WordPress](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171d45e9ccf62287e5ee654/file-3gbtxpzNVU.gif)
When you finished operations with the Time Credit, click the button Update User on the bottom of the page.
![Updating the user - Event Booking Calendar WordPress Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171d4ed0332cb5b9e9b63d1/file-QDz2Bxrqut.jpg)
Note
When the admin adds Time Credit for the first time, when the user hasn't used that time for bookings yet, the values Time Credit Amount and Time Balance will be equal. But when the user starts booking the appointments and spend his Time Credit, the value Time Balance will be, consequently, less than Time Credit Amount.
![Total and current Time Credit - WordPress Calendar Booking Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171f44e12c07c18afddfdfd/file-yvLYbWBep5.jpg)
User Dashboard
Logged in users with enabled Time Credit can access the dashboard with detailed info about all actions.
Creating a Page With the User Dashboard
The User Dashboard page can be generated in two ways:
When you install and activate the plugin, the User Dashboard page is generated automatically.
Time Credit User Dashboard page You can create your own page and place there the shortcode
[cm_user_credit_time_stat_report]
.Using a shortcode for displaying user dashboard
TIP: Add User Dashboard to the Menu
For the convenience of your users, you can add the page to the menu of your site:
![Adding the page to the site menu - Best WordPress Scheduling Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171d8760332cb5b9e9b63e8/file-a33EQfSqMv.jpg)
Front-end:
![Result on the front-end - Appointment Booking Calendar](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171d9eb0332cb5b9e9b63f4/file-55XWnw9vNf.jpg)
User Dashboard - User View
Only users with turned on Time Credit feature can access the user dashboard.
The dashboard consists of two parts:
![User Dashboard - WordPress Scheduling Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172a92aefc78d0553e52563/file-vkfvvbNg2I.png)
- Upper part - General info about the user and info about his Time Credit. The user can see there the following:
- User Login
- User Email
- User roles
- Current credit - Total amount of Time Credit that was added by the admin.
- Current balance - Available amount of Time Credit that the user can spend for booking.
- Lower part - Two tabs Bookings and Credits.
Bookings Tab
In the Bookings tab the user can see all bookings he made using Time Credit:
![Bookings tab - Appointment Scheduling Plugin WordPress](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172a958efc78d0553e52564/file-mI4Vtn8yWK.png)
There are 4 columns in the table:
- Event Date/Time - The date and time of the booked appointment.
- Duration (minutes) - The duration of the booked appointment.
- Event Status - The status of the booked appointment. Can be either Accepted, Passed, Rejected, trash (when the appointment is deleted) and other.
- Event Reject Link - This column contains the Reject link. The link won't be displayed in three cases:
- If the appointment is already rejected or deleted.
- If the time when the user could reject the appointment has passed. The time before the appointment when the user is able to reject it is defined by the admin in plugin settings.
- If the appointment date and time has already passed. After rejecting the appointment, the user will be added the amount of minutes that were spent for this booking. We will talk about the reject link more detailed lower in this guide.
Credits Tab
In the second tab Credits the user can see all information about admin operations with adding and deducting Time Credit to the user.
Above the table there are two lines with general information about Time Credit:
- Total of Credits - Total amount of Time Credit that was added by the admin.
- Current Balance - Available amount of Time Credit that the user can spend for booking.
![Credits tab - Event Booking Calendar WordPress Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6171e74b2b380503dfdfcf36/file-IhSDIalXSq.jpg)
The columns in the table are:
- Date / Time - The date and time of the transaction.
- Operation - The operation that the admin has committed - either Added minutes or Removed minutes.
- Amount (minutes) - The amount of minutes that was added or deducted.
- Credit (minutes) - Total amount of minutes that the user received from the admin.
- Balance (minutes) - Available amount of minutes that the user can spend for booking.
Reject Booking - Admin View
When the user clicks the Reject link, the link will be replaced by the message "Rejection in progress".
![Rejection in progress status - WordPress Calendar Booking Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/61729d4d9ccf62287e5ee8e5/file-AR5CwYPayD.png)
The admin gets an email notification that the user wants to reject the appointment. The admin can also see that message on the booking editing page.
![Email notification - Booking Plugin WordPress](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/61729dd2efc78d0553e5251d/file-8BMcB4yGfw.jpg)
TIP: Change the Email Template
The admin can change the subject and body of the email notification in plugin settings in the Email Templates tab. Learn more about it in this guide: Appointment Booking Calendar - Appointments - Email Notifications To User and Admin
![Editing the email template - WordPress Plugin for Scheduling Consultations](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/61729e82efc78d0553e52524/file-c6vFdyXxsA.jpg)
There are two ways how the admin can reject the booking.
To reject the appointment, the admin needs to click the Reject button in the metabox Status and click the Update button.
Rejecting the booking In the list of all bookings, the admin can use either the button Quick Edit while hovering on needed booking or the relevant button Reject.
Rejecting the booking
As a result, the status of the booking will be changed on the User Dashboard, and the user will be added the amount of minutes that were spent for this booking.
![Example of the rejected booking - WordPress Scheduling Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172aa63efc78d0553e5256c/file-aQUXxLl1qA.png)
Booking - User View
When the user tries to book an appointment, there can be two cases.
First case, when the user has enough Time Credit for a booking. Above the submitting form the user can see:
- The amount of minutes that will be spent for this booking.
- Current amount of minutes that he can spend.
- The amount of minutes that will remain after making this booking.
![Spending Time Credit for booking an appointment - Appointment Scheduling Plugin WordPress](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172aaff12c07c18afddfffd/file-YphWTQbUyx.jpg)
Second case, when the user doesn't have enough Time Credit for a booking. Above the submitting form the user can see a message that he doesn't have enough Time Credit to book an appointment:
![Message about lack of Time Credit for booking an appointment - Event Booking Calendar WordPress Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172ab740332cb5b9e9b66b5/file-wVOksIolis.png)
End Result
Following instructions found in the plugin and guides, you should be able to set up Time Credit for specific registered users.
Front-End Use Case:
Spending Time Credit for booking an appointment:
![Spending Time Credit for booking an appointment - WordPress Calendar Booking Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172aaff12c07c18afddfffd/file-YphWTQbUyx.jpg)
Not enough Time Credit for booking an appointment:
![Message about lack of Time Credit for booking an appointment - Booking Plugin WordPress](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/6172ab740332cb5b9e9b66b5/file-wVOksIolis.png)
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