Event Booking Payments

Cognivox allows payments received for an event reservation to be recorded against the booking.

This is particularly useful when payment has been received outside Cognivox.

For example, a customer may have:

• Paid by card over the telephone
• Made a bank transfer
• Paid by cash
• Paid by cheque
• Paid using another external payment method

Recording the payment ensures that the booking contains an accurate payment history and allows a fully paid reservation to progress from Awaiting Payment to Confirmed.

Opening an Event Booking

Open Event Bookings and locate the required reservation.

Use the booking reference, customer information or event details to identify the correct booking.

Open the booking to view its full details.

Before recording a payment, check that you have selected the correct customer and booking.

Booking Payment Information

The booking displays the financial position of the reservation.

This includes information such as:

• Total booking price
• Amount already paid
• Remaining balance
• Currency
• Payment history
• Booking status

For example:

Total: £500.00
Paid: £200.00
Balance: £300.00

The remaining balance is the amount still required before the booking is fully paid.

Recording a Payment

When a payment has been received, use the payment facility on the booking to record it.

Enter the details of the payment that was actually received.

Payment information can include:

• Amount
• Payment method
• Payment reference
• Payment date
• Notes

The payment is then stored against the event booking.

Payment Amount

Enter the amount actually received.

For example:

250.00

The payment should represent money that has genuinely been received.

Do not record a payment merely because the customer has said that they intend to pay.

Currency

The payment is associated with the currency of the booking.

For example:

GBP

The payment and booking financial information should remain consistent with the currency configured for the reservation.

Payment Method

Record the method by which the payment was received.

Depending on the circumstances, this might include:

• Card
• Bank Transfer
• Cash
• Cheque
• Other

Use the payment method that accurately describes how the money was received.

Card Payments Taken by Telephone

If a card payment has been processed separately by telephone, the resulting payment can be recorded against the Cognivox booking.

For example:

Method: Card

Where the external card processor provides a transaction or payment reference, record that reference as well.

Cognivox should contain a record of the payment, but sensitive card information should not be entered into payment notes or references.

Do not record:

• Full card numbers
• Card security codes
• PINs
• Other sensitive card credentials

Bank Transfers

When payment is received by bank transfer, record the payment against the appropriate booking.

For example:

Method: Bank Transfer

A suitable bank or transaction reference can be entered in the Payment Reference field where available.

Make sure the funds have actually been received before recording the payment as paid.

Cash and Cheque Payments

Payments received by cash or cheque can also be recorded against the booking where these methods are accepted by the business.

Select the appropriate payment method and enter any useful reference or notes.

For cheque payments, your business procedures should determine when the payment is considered received.

Payment Reference

The Payment Reference provides a way of linking the Cognivox payment record to the transaction received elsewhere.

Examples could include:

• Card processor transaction reference
• Bank transfer reference
• Receipt number
• Internal payment reference
• Cheque reference

Use a reference that will help identify the transaction if it needs to be checked later.

Payment Date

Record the date associated with the payment.

This allows the payment history to show when money was received.

Accurate payment dates are also useful when reviewing payments through the Money Received area.

Payment Notes

Notes can be used to record useful administrative information about the payment.

For example:

Payment received by telephone.

or:

Bank transfer confirmed by accounts.

Keep payment notes concise and relevant.

Do not store sensitive payment credentials in the Notes field.

Partial Payments

A payment does not necessarily have to cover the entire booking balance.

For example:

Booking Total: £500.00
Payment Received: £200.00

After recording the payment:

Paid: £200.00
Balance: £300.00

The booking is not fully paid because £300.00 remains outstanding.

Further payments can be recorded against the same booking.

Multiple Payments

A booking can contain more than one payment.

For example:

Each payment remains part of the booking's payment history.

This provides an audit trail of how the total booking amount was received.

Full Payment

When the total amount received reaches the amount required for the booking, the reservation becomes fully paid.

For example:

Total: £500.00
Paid: £500.00
Balance: £0.00

An Awaiting Payment reservation can then progress to:

Confirmed

Awaiting Payment to Confirmed

Before full payment:

Status: Awaiting Payment

The required capacity is being held as Reserved occupancy.

When full payment is recorded:

Status: Confirmed

The booking's capacity moves from Reserved occupancy to Confirmed occupancy.

For example:

Before payment

Reserved Attendees: 2
Confirmed Attendees: 20

After full payment

Reserved Attendees: 0
Confirmed Attendees: 22

The total number of occupied attendee places remains the same.

The booking has changed from a temporary reservation to a confirmed booking.

Option Occupancy After Payment

The same transition occurs for the selected booking option.

For example, before payment:

Single Room Reserved: 1
Single Room Confirmed: 5

After full payment:

Single Room Reserved: 0
Single Room Confirmed: 6

The room was already being held, so payment does not consume another room.

It changes the occupancy from Reserved to Confirmed.

Payment Confirmation Email

When payment causes the booking to become fully paid and confirmed, Cognivox can send a payment confirmation email to the customer where an email address is available.

The confirmation can include:

• Customer name
• Event
• Package
• Option
• Booking reference
• Booking total
• Amount paid
• Payment information
• Confirmation that the booking is now confirmed

This is separate from the original reservation email.

The reservation email explains that payment is required.

The payment confirmation email confirms that the required payment has been received.

Email Failure Does Not Reverse Payment

Payment recording and email delivery are separate operations.

If the confirmation email cannot be sent, this does not mean that a successfully recorded payment should be removed.

The booking and payment record remain authoritative.

The email can be dealt with separately if necessary.

Payment History

Payments recorded against a booking form part of its payment history.

This allows administrators to see how the booking was paid.

For each payment, information can include:

• Amount
• Currency
• Method
• Reference
• Payment date
• Notes
• Date recorded

This is particularly useful when a booking has been paid in several instalments.

Do Not Record External Bookings as Payments

There is an important distinction between an external attendee and an external payment.

External Attendees represent attendee places booked outside the Cognivox booking records.

A payment recorded against a Cognivox booking represents money received for an existing Cognivox reservation.

For example, if Cognivox created a reservation and the customer subsequently pays by bank transfer:

Record the bank transfer as a payment against the Cognivox booking.

Do not also add those attendees to External Attendees.

Doing both would cause the attendees to be counted twice.

Checking the Booking After Payment

After recording a payment, check the booking details.

Confirm that:

• The payment amount is correct
• The payment method is correct
• The payment reference is correct
• The amount paid has increased correctly
• The remaining balance is correct
• The payment appears in the payment history
• The booking status is correct

If the booking has been fully paid, it should show the appropriate confirmed state.

Payments and Reservation Expiry

An Awaiting Payment reservation has a reservation expiry time.

Payment should therefore be recorded against the correct active reservation.

If a reservation has already expired, its capacity may have been released.

Do not assume that an expired reservation still holds event or option capacity.

The booking should be reviewed before recording a late payment.

Current Payment Processing

Cognivox currently supports recording payments that have been received through another source.

Automated online payment processing can be integrated separately.

Until an automated payment provider is configured, recording an external payment allows the booking and payment records to remain accurate when money has been taken through an existing payment process.

Payment Audit Trail

Payment information should be entered accurately because it provides part of the financial history of the event booking.

When recording a payment, make sure:

• The correct booking has been selected
• The amount matches the money received
• The correct method is selected
• The reference is entered where available
• The payment date is correct
• Any notes are relevant

Next Step

Once payments have been recorded, administrators can review money received across event bookings from a central payment view.

The next help article explains the Money Received page, including payment transactions, booking references, customers, events, payment methods, amounts and filtering.