Schedule
Understand tentative and service plan events
Learn why some Schedule events look striped or tentative, what service plans create automatically, and what your team can change.
What you will accomplish
You will understand events on Schedule that look different from normal confirmed visits—often with striped styling or a tentative status—and know what your team is allowed to change.
Expected outcome: You stop second-guessing whether a visit is confirmed, avoid editing system-generated plan work the wrong way, and route customers to the right next step.
Two common reasons an event looks tentative
Online booking needs your approval — A customer requested a time on your website. The event waits in Needs Approval until staff approve, decline, or suggest a new time. Guide: Approve or decline a customer booking request.
Service plan generated the visit — Your facility uses vehicle service plans (battery checks, fluid top-offs, seasonal inspections). The app can place future visits on the calendar automatically so nothing is forgotten. Setup: Set up vehicle service plans.
How service plan events behave
Service plan visits are helpful placeholders. They remind your team that maintenance is due—they are not always a promise to the customer until your process says so.
- They often appear ahead of time on the calendar so managers can staff the week.
- They may look tentative (striped styling) compared with a phone booking you entered yourself.
- Some fields may be restricted—for example assignee or status—because the plan still owns the schedule logic.
- Completing the real work still happens through Open Event (photos, checklists) when your team is on the floor.
What staff can usually do
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Customer confirms they want the visit | Treat it like any appointment—assign staff, add notes, communicate the time. |
| Visit should move to another day | Use Edit Event if allowed, or reschedule following Update, assign, or reschedule an event. Read any warning before you save. |
| Work is not needed this cycle | Ask a manager whether to cancel this occurrence or adjust the service plan on the car record. |
| Customer never booked online but event is striped | Check Needs Approval first— it may still be a portal request. |
What to check before calling a customer
- Look at the status label
Open the event and read the status near the title (Scheduled, Tentative, Needs Approval, and so on).
- Check Needs Approval filter
On Schedule, click Needs Approval if the button shows a number badge.
Expected result: If the event appears here, follow the approval guide before you promise the time.
- Read notes and the vehicle record
Open the linked car in Cars and review Service / plan sections when you are unsure why the visit exists.
- Use plain language with the customer
For plan visits say: “We have your battery check on the calendar for next Tuesday—we will confirm the exact time the day before.” For unapproved portal requests say: “We received your request and will confirm shortly.”
Icons that often appear together
Striped tentative styling may sit beside other badges. For a full legend, read Read calendar icons and badges.
Common mistakes to avoid
Troubleshooting
What to do next
- Approve portal bookings: Approve or decline a customer booking request
- Configure plans: Set up vehicle service plans
- Run the visit: Run event workflow from Schedule