If a client fails to show up for an appointment or cancels ahead you can mark it as DNA (Did Not Attend). This will allow you to keep record of the event while re-opening the slot in the diary should you wish.
You can choose to raise charges, such as cancellation fees for DNAs and also report on them separately to regular appointments. The following guide will take you through configuring DNAs in your system as well as using them on appointments in the diary.
Section 1 - Reasons for Non-Attendance
You can define DNA entries using Reasons for Non-Attendance. This also allows you to assign particular charges to different cancellation reasons and also define how the appointment should be treated in each instance.
a. To add or modify reasons head to Tools > Look Up Tables and double click on Reason for Non-Attendance.
b. A list of any existing DNA reasons will be found here. Select existing instances and choose Modify to make changes or choose Add to add a new reason.
c. In the Add/Modify screen you can configure the Reason for Non-Attendance. Begin by giving the reason a name.
d. In the Default Charge Code section you can select a charge on your system that should be associated to this reason. When marking an appointment as DNA with this reason you will then be prompted to raise this charge. This can be a cancellation fee of a certain amount or a zero-value charge that can be modified at the time of raising to match the cost of the appointment. The charge will need to be set up on the system before allocating to the reason via Tools > Look Up Tables > Standard Charges and Stock Items. Find more information on setting up charges here: Standard Charges & Stock Items
e. Should you wish to send a correspondence out to clients who DNA using this reason after the date their appointment was due to take place then you can set this up here. Choose when the follow-up should go and which template should be used. The use of follow-ups here will need to be in line with client contact preferences on the system.
f. When an appointment is marked as DNA it can remain in its place in the diary or that slot can be re-opened so that a new appointment can be booked in its place. The DNA record will remain on the diary and in the client log but the slot will be available for further bookings. Choosing the Re-Open option here will set the appointment to be re-opened when marking as DNA using this reason but this can be changed at the time should you wish.
g. Finally choose a colour to set this reason apart in the diary. If no colour is selected here then the default red will be applied. Click Save once complete.
Section 2 - Marking an appointment as DNA.
a. When you have an appointment in the diary that needs to be marked as DNA you can do so in two ways. Select the relevant appointment in the diary and choose the red DNA icon in the top corner or double click the appointment to view the appointment options and choose Client Did Not Attend.
b. In the Client Did Not Attend screen check the appointment details are correct, enter any relevant notes and then choose your DNA reason if required. The Re-Open option will be selected or not depending on what was set up in Section 1, but you can modify this at this time or later should you need to. Click OK to complete.
c. If you chose to associate a charge to the reason you have used then you will receive the below message. Choose Yes to go through to the Create a Charge screen where the standard charge you associated to the reason will be ready to raise.
d. If you chose to re-open the appointment slot then it will appear as the examples below in the diary depending on which diary view you're using. The appointment will also still appear in the client's log.
