Booking Requests & Proposals

From Request to Confirmed Event: The Whole Flow

Every booking follows the same path. This is the map — each step links to the detail. The six milestones Request → Offer → Payment → Confirmed → Event → Complete You'll see this bar on the Progress tab of any booking. Step by step 1. A client sends a request. They've filled in a form on your profile with their date, time, location, occasion, and any extras they want. Status: Event Requested. Your move: Accept or Decline. See Accepting or Declining a Request. 2. You accept. A conversation opens with the client and the proposal builder becomes available. Status: Create Offer. Your move: build and send the proposal. See Building a Proposal: The Five Steps. 3. You send the proposal. Status: Offer Sent. Your move: none. The client reviews it. It expires on the date you set. 4. The client accepts. A payment is created. Status: Awaiting Payment. Your move: none — but the date isn't yours yet. Nothing is held until they pay. 5. The client pays. Status: Event Confirmed. The date is blocked on your calendar and can't be double-booked. Your move: prepare. Sort out arrival time, load-in, and the running order in the conversation. 6. The event runs. Status flips to Event In Progress automatically at the start time. Your move: handle any extension request. See Event Extensions: Approving Extra Time. 7. It completes. Status: Event Complete. We ask the client for a review, your completed event count goes up, and the money follows your plan's payout schedule. Where it can stop - Event Declined — you turned it down - Offer Rejected — the client didn't accept your terms. You can revise and resend - Expired — your offer lapsed. You can send a new one - Event Dropped — the client withdrew. No charges applied - Event Canceled — the client cancelled a confirmed event after the cancellation window See Every Proposal Status, Explained. Where the money sits A payment is created when the client accepts, collected when they pay, and released to your bank after your plan's payout delay. On a deposit booking, the remainder falls due 7 days before the event. See How Money Moves Through DJfindr. The two steps that decide most bookings Responding fast to a request, and sending a clear itemised proposal. Clients usually approach several DJs, and the proposal they act on is often simply the first good one to arrive.

What a Client Sends You in a Booking Request

Knowing exactly what a client fills in helps you read a request quickly and spot what's missing. What they provide | Field | What it is | |---|---| | Occasion | Their event type, from the same fourteen you picked on your profile | | Event Name | Their own label, like "Sarah & Tom's Wedding" | | Date & Time | Start, end, and timezone | | Location | The venue address, picked from an address lookup | | Event Extras | Which of your extras they'd like | | Comments | Free text — anything else | What they don't provide Worth knowing so you ask rather than assume: - Guest count isn't collected - Budget isn't collected — it only exists as a search filter on their side - Venue contact details aren't collected - Indoor or outdoor isn't collected - Whether they need you on the mic isn't collected If any of those change your price, ask in the conversation after accepting. About the extras they picked The form tells them extras may cost more or may be unavailable, and that you'll do your best to honour the request. So a ticked extra is a request, not an expectation of a fixed price. You price each one on the proposal, or leave it off and explain why. About the hours They enter a start and end time. What they may not have understood is whether those are your performance hours or the whole event. It's worth confirming — a client whose reception runs 6pm to midnight with a band until 8pm sometimes enters 6pm. The Estimated Cost they saw Before sending, they were shown a rough figure: their hours multiplied by your average hourly rate, excluding extras, taxes, and fees. It's labelled as an estimate that could differ. Still, it anchors them. If your proposal is going to land well above it — a long drive, several extras, a peak date — say why in the Note step rather than letting the number speak for itself. Availability If you were already blocked on their date, they saw a warning and sent it anyway. Worth a look at your calendar before accepting. Reading a good request A client who wrote three sentences in Comments is usually a client who'll be easy to work with. A one-line request isn't a bad sign, but it does mean you'll need to ask more before quoting.

Accepting or Declining a Request

When a client sends a request, it appears under Bookings → Proposals and the status reads Event Requested. Nothing is committed yet — this is a request for you to consider. Review it first Open the proposal and check the Event Details tab before you respond: - Date & Time, Duration, and the timezone - Location — is it inside your service areas, and how far is the drive? - Occasion - Extras Requested — can you actually supply them? - Client's Note — anything unusual about the event Cross-check the date against Calendar while you're there. Accepting On the Progress tab you'll see New event request received with Accept and Decline. Select Accept and the status moves to Create Offer. This does two things: it opens a conversation with the client, and it puts the proposal builder in front of you. Accepting isn't a commitment to a price — it means you're interested and you'll send terms. See Building a Proposal: The Five Steps. Declining Select Decline and you'll be offered a Decline Reason box. It's optional — there's a No thanks button — but a reason is worth giving. The client sees it, and a short honest one ("already booked that date", "outside my service area") saves them time and leaves the door open. The status becomes Event Declined and no further action is possible on that proposal. Responding quickly Clients usually contact several DJs at once. The proposal they act on is often simply the first one that arrives. If you're unsure about the date, accepting and asking a question in the conversation keeps you in play while you work it out — you can still decline later. If you don't respond Requests don't sit open forever. A client can drop the request at any point, and the status becomes Event Dropped. Nothing is charged either way.

Building a Proposal: The Five Steps

The proposal is the offer a client accepts and pays against. The builder has five steps — Basic, Terms, Documents, Note, Review — and you can move back and forth with Previous and Next before sending. Step 1 — Basic Date & Time carries over from the client's request. Check it matches what you've discussed. Costs & Fees - Hourly Rate — your rate for this event, not necessarily your profile average - Payment Structure — Deposit or Full Amount. See Deposit vs Full Amount - Deposit Type, then either Deposit Amount or Deposit Percentage - Travel Cost — type it in, or turn on Use Travel Calculator to work it out from a starting address Use My Default appears next to several fields and fills in the values you saved under Manage Defaults. Enhancements - Extras — the add-ons the client asked for, each with its own price - Additional Items — Add Item, then an Item Name and a cost, for anything that isn't a standard extra Other - Equipment — what you're bringing. Use My Default pulls in your saved text. Step 2 — Terms - Requisites — what you need the client or venue to provide - Expires On — the date this offer stops being valid - Cancelable Until — the last date the client can cancel for a full refund Both dates are required. See Your Proposal Window: Expires On and Cancelable Until. Step 3 — Documents Attach the agreements the client signs. The table lists each document's Name, Status, Acceptance Type, and Completion Date, and New Document adds one. See Adding Documents to a Proposal. Step 4 — Note A free-text message to the client. Use it for anything the line items don't say — what you'll do during the ceremony, when you'll arrive to set up, what you'd like to know before the day. Step 5 — Review The full proposal exactly as the client will read it: the Service Breakdown table, the totals, and the Proposal Terms. Read it once before sending, then select Send Offer. After sending The status becomes Offer Sent and the client gets a notification. You can download a PDF of what you sent from the Progress tab. Writing a proposal that gets accepted Itemise rather than quoting one number. A single figure invites negotiation; a breakdown showing performance time, travel, and each extra shows the client what they're paying for. Set Expires On far enough out to be reasonable but close enough to prompt a decision — most DJs use one to two weeks.

Setting Your Rate, Deposit, and Travel Cost

Three fields in the Basic step of the proposal builder do most of the work. Hourly Rate This is your rate for this booking, not the average on your profile. The builder starts from your profile figure, and you can change it. Reasons to price above your average: a peak date, a long or awkward load-in, a demanding format, a client who's asked for a lot of preparation, or a late finish. Reasons to price below: a quiet week, a venue you want to work with, or a client who might bring repeat business. Just know your profile average is what clients filter on, so pricing this booking low doesn't affect who finds you. Deposit If you've chosen the Deposit payment structure, set either a Deposit Amount or a Deposit Percentage. Use My Default fills in whatever you saved under Manage Defaults. A deposit should cover what you'd actually lose if the client cancelled late — the held date, work you turned down, anything you hired in. 25–50% is common. Remember the remainder falls due 7 days before the event, and if it isn't paid the event is canceled and the deposit forfeited. See Deposit vs Full Amount. Travel Cost A single figure covering getting yourself and your kit there and back. It shows on the proposal as Travel & Logistics. Type it in, or turn on Use Travel Calculator to work out distance and drive time from a starting address. See Using the Travel Calculator. What to build in beyond fuel: - The hours. A two-hour round trip is a third of a working night - Tolls and parking - Whether you can get home, or whether it's an overnight - Two trips if you're dropping kit in advance A travel cost of zero on a distant venue reads as generous but costs you every time. Showing the breakdown All three appear as separate lines on the client's proposal. That's deliberate — a client who can see performance, travel, and each extra priced separately is much less likely to treat the total as a single negotiable number. Saving defaults If you find yourself typing the same deposit percentage every time, save it under Manage Defaults on the Bookings → Proposals page. See Saving Your Proposal Defaults.

Using the Travel Calculator

The travel calculator works out how far a venue actually is, so you're pricing travel on real numbers rather than a guess at the map. Using it 1. In the Basic step of the proposal builder, find Travel Cost. 2. Turn on Use Travel Calculator. 3. Enter your starting address. 4. Select Calculate. You get back: - From — your starting address - To — the venue - Distance - Duration — drive time by car Turning that into a price The calculator gives you the journey, not the charge. What to weigh: Double it. The result is one way. You're going home too. Cost your time. Drive time is working time. A 45-minute each-way trip is an hour and a half you can't sell to anyone else. Most DJs undercharge here, and it's the main reason a distant booking feels worse than it looked. Add tolls and parking. City venues in particular. Consider the hour. A 40-minute drive at 2am is not the same as one at 6pm. If the finish is late, that's worth reflecting. Check whether you can get home at all. If not, the overnight goes in — as travel cost, or as an additional item so the client can see what it is. Which starting address Where you and your equipment actually leave from. If your kit lives at a studio or lock-up, use that. Sanity-checking the venue The calculator is also a quick check that the address the client entered is a real place near where they said. A result that comes back much further than expected usually means the address lookup landed on the wrong town — worth confirming in the conversation before you quote. When to skip it Local bookings where you already know the drive. Typing the figure in directly is faster. Setting expectations Drive time is based on typical traffic. If you're playing a Saturday evening in a city centre, plan your own arrival with more margin than the number suggests.

Deposit vs Full Amount

Every proposal uses one of two payment structures. You choose it in the Basic step of the proposal builder. Full Amount The client pays the whole cost to confirm the booking. One payment, and the event is confirmed as soon as it clears. Use it for: short-notice bookings, smaller events, and anything close enough to the date that a two-stage schedule doesn't make sense. Deposit The client pays a deposit to confirm, and the remaining balance falls due 7 days before the event start date. You set the deposit as either a fixed Deposit Amount or a Deposit Percentage of the total. Use it for: bookings made months out, and larger events where asking for the full amount upfront would cost you the job. What happens if the remainder isn't paid This is the part worth understanding before you choose. If the client doesn't pay the remaining balance by the due date, the event is canceled and the deposit is forfeited. Both you and the client see a Heads up... notice on the confirmed event stating this, with the exact due date. So a deposit structure protects you, but it doesn't guarantee the full fee. If a client goes quiet as the date approaches, message them well before the seven-day mark rather than waiting. Setting a default Use Manage Defaults on the Bookings → Proposals page to save a standard Deposit Percentage or Deposit Amount. Use My Default in the builder then fills it in, and you can still override it per proposal. Choosing a deposit size A deposit should cover what you'd actually lose if the client cancelled late — held date, refused other work, any kit hired in. Percentages in the 25–50% range are common. Too small and it doesn't protect the date; too large and it starts to feel like paying in full. Changing it later The payment structure is fixed once the client accepts. If it needs to change before then, edit the proposal and resend it while the status is still Offer Sent.

Adding Extras and Additional Items

Extras and additional items are the two ways to put something on a proposal beyond your performance time and travel. Both are in the Basic step of the proposal builder, under Enhancements. Extras These are the standard add-ons you listed on your profile. There are thirteen: MC Services · Wireless Microphone · Spotlight Lighting · Dance Lighting · Early Arrival · Photobooth · Sound System · Karaoke · Fog Machine · Visual Projection · Customized Playlist Creation · Themed Event Decor · Interactive Games/Activities When a client sends a request they can flag which extras they want, and those come through on the Event Details tab as Extras Requested. In the builder, each extra you add gets its own price field. Additional items For anything the thirteen don't cover. Select Add Item, give it an Item Name, and set a cost. Use these for things specific to the booking — a second setup in another room, a rented item you're sourcing, an overnight stay for a distant venue, ceremony sound as a separate line from the reception. How they appear to the client The proposal shows a Service Breakdown table grouped as: | Group | What's in it | |---|---| | Core Items | DJ Performance, Travel & Logistics | | Additional Items | Your custom line items | | Extras | The add-ons, priced individually | | State Tax (%) | If applicable | Then Deposit, Due Later, and Total Due. Pricing them separately is the point A client comparing two DJs at similar totals will pick the one whose proposal shows what the money buys. Rolling everything into your hourly rate hides the value of the lighting rig and the extra hour of setup. Breaking it out also gives the client something to adjust if the total is too high — they can drop a photobooth instead of dropping you. If you can't supply something The client's request form tells them extras may cost more or be unavailable. If you can't do one they asked for, leave it off the proposal and say so in the Note step. Don't add it at a price meant to discourage them. Naming additional items The client reads these with no context. "Ceremony sound — separate system, garden" works. "Extra 2" doesn't.

Setting Requisites and Equipment

Two fields cover the practical side of a booking: Equipment is what you bring, Requisites are what you need from the client or venue. Requisites In the Terms step of the proposal builder, select Select next to Requisites. There are thirteen: Meal/Snacks · Electricity · Water/Softdrinks · Parking · Lighting · Microphone/PA System · Technical Support · Event Schedule · Storage Room · WiFi/Internet · Stage/Platform · Security Assistance · Marketing Collateral Use My Default fills in the ones you set on your profile. Choose them per booking Your defaults are a starting point, not an answer. A four-hour bar set doesn't need a meal. An eight-hour wedding in a field needs power, parking, and probably storage. Requisites you list are things the client agrees to provide. Listing thirteen every time trains clients to skim them, which defeats the point. The ones that actually cause problems Electricity. Obvious indoors, not obvious in a marquee or a garden. If you need a specific supply, say so here and again in the conversation. Parking. Where you'll be carrying heavy kit a long way otherwise. Worth being specific about needing it close, not just present. Stage/Platform and Storage Room. Easy for a venue to arrange with notice, impossible on the day. Event Schedule. Getting the running order in advance is the difference between a smooth night and improvising around speeches you didn't know about. Equipment A free-text field in the Basic step describing what you're bringing. Use My Default pulls in the text you saved under Manage Defaults. Be specific enough that the client can tell whether they need to hire anything else. "Full PA suitable for 150 guests, two speakers on stands, subwoofer, wireless microphone, and basic dance floor lighting" answers the question. "Professional DJ equipment" doesn't. Mention what you're not bringing if it's commonly assumed — uplighting, a second setup for a ceremony in another room, a microphone for speeches. Why this saves you money Every unlisted assumption is a conversation on the day, and on the day you're the one who has to solve it. A client who agreed in writing to provide parking and a power supply is a client who arranged them. Documents For anything you want formally agreed rather than stated, use a document. The Equipment & Tech Policy and Parking & Venue Access templates cover exactly this ground. See The 8 Document Templates, and What Each Covers.

Your Proposal Window: Expires On and Cancelable Until

Two dates are required in the Terms step of the proposal builder. Both are stated on the client's proposal, and both have real consequences. Expires On How long your offer stands. Pass the date without a response and the booking moves to Expired. You can send a new proposal, but you're starting the decision over. Choosing it One to two weeks suits most bookings. Long enough that a client can talk to a partner or check a budget, short enough that it prompts a decision. Shorter for a contested date. If two clients are asking about the same Saturday, a shorter window tells you sooner which one is real. Longer for a big event far out. Someone planning a wedding eighteen months ahead is comparing several DJs and won't be rushed. Three or four weeks is reasonable. Too short reads as pressure and loses bookings. Too long means holding a date for someone who was never going to book. Cancelable Until The last date the client can cancel and get a full refund. After it, what they've paid may be forfeited — the deposit on a deposit booking, or the full amount on a full-amount one. Use My Default fills this from the Cancellation Period on your profile. Choosing it The question to ask: by what date would it be too late for me to fill this slot? Two to four weeks out works for most bookings. Enough notice that you could still pick something up. Further out for peak dates. A Saturday in December that cancels ten days ahead is a date you won't refill. A longer window is justified — and clients accept it when it's clear upfront. Shorter for quiet periods. A midweek booking in February is easier to be relaxed about. It's not a punishment The cancellation window exists because you turned down other work. Set it to reflect what you'd actually lose, not to discourage cancelling. A window a client finds unreasonable costs you the booking now, not later. Where the client sees them Both are in Proposal Terms, phrased plainly: This event proposal is valid until [date] and If accepted, this event can be canceled until [date], for a full refund. Backing it up The Cancellation & Refund Policy document template puts the same terms in a document the client signs. Worth attaching for anything substantial. See Adding Documents to a Proposal.

Adding Documents to a Proposal

Documents are the agreements attached to a proposal. The client completes them as part of accepting your offer, and each completion is recorded with a timestamp. You add them in the Documents step of the proposal builder. Adding a document Select New Document. You get three ways to start: - Start with a template — pick from our library, built for DJ bookings. See The 8 Document Templates, and What Each Covers. - Import an existing document — upload a PDF and we turn it into an editable document. - Create from scratch — a blank editor. Importing and creating from scratch are available on Pro and Platinum. Templates are available on every plan. Then set: - Name — what the client sees in their document list - Acceptance Type — how they complete it - Document Details — the body Acceptance types | Type | What the client does | Use it for | |---|---|---| | Signature | Draws a signature | Anything you'd want to rely on later — cancellation terms, liability | | Checkbox | Ticks a box confirming they've read and accept it | Standard policies and agreements | | View | Opens it and marks it read | Information you want on record but aren't asking them to agree to | Document statuses | Status | Meaning | |---|---| | Action Required | Waiting on the client | | Processing | Completion is being recorded | | Completed | Done | The table in the builder shows each document's Name, Status, Acceptance Type, and Completion Date. What gets recorded On completion we capture the date, the name and email of the person who completed it, their IP address, and — for signatures — the signature itself. A PDF of the completed document is generated and available to both of you. Using variables Rather than typing the client's name and event date into each document, use the merge tags in the editor. They fill in automatically. See Using Universal Variables in Documents. How many to attach Enough to cover what actually goes wrong at your events, and no more. A cancellation policy and one equipment or venue-access agreement covers most bookings. Eight documents on a two-hour birthday party is friction that costs you the job. Editing after sending Once the client has completed a document, it's a record — edit it and you lose that. If terms need changing after the fact, add a new document rather than altering a completed one.

The 8 Document Templates, and What Each Covers

Eight templates are available on every plan, written for DJ bookings. Add them from the Documents step of the proposal builder using New Document → Start with a template. The templates Cancellation & Refund Policy — the cancellation deadline, what fee applies to a late cancellation, and how long refunds take. Comes set to Signature. The most important one. It puts the cancellation terms in a document the client signs rather than a line they scrolled past. Use it on anything substantial. Safe Environment Agreement — expectations for a secure, respectful space: crowd control, protecting your equipment, and how you'll communicate if something goes wrong. Comes set to Checkbox. Worth using for club nights, bars, university events, and anywhere alcohol and a large crowd are involved. Music Requests Policy — how guest requests are handled, when a must-play list needs to reach you, and limits on inappropriate or last-minute requests. The quiet source of a lot of friction at weddings. Agreeing upfront that requests come through the couple, or that the do-not-play list is final by a certain date, prevents an argument at 11pm. Equipment & Tech Policy — what you're providing and what the venue must supply, plus setup and breakdown times. Use it when you're relying on the venue for anything, or when your setup needs are specific. Force Majeure / Emergency Policy — what happens if weather, an emergency, or a restriction stops the event: rescheduling, refunds, or an alternative DJ. Worth attaching for outdoor events, winter dates, and anything booked far out. Insurance & Liability Waiver — insurance coverage limits and who is responsible for what. Use it for larger events, venues that ask about your insurance, and anything with equipment in a public space. Social Media & Recording Release — permission to record and share content from the event, and anything the client doesn't want shared. Use it if you post from events. Private clients often care about this more than you'd expect, and asking makes you look professional rather than intrusive. Parking & Venue Access — load-in access and parking. Small, but it's what turns "there's parking" into an agreed arrangement. Which to use A reasonable default for most bookings is two or three: Cancellation & Refund Policy, plus Equipment & Tech Policy or Parking & Venue Access if the venue is a factor. Add more when the event justifies it. Eight documents on a two-hour birthday party is friction that loses you the booking. Editing them Every template is editable before you send. Change the wording, and set the merge tags for your own details. See Using Universal Variables in Documents. Your own documents On Pro and Platinum you can upload a PDF or write from scratch instead. See Uploading Your Own Document.

Uploading Your Own Document

If you already have a contract you trust, you can use it instead of our templates. Available on Pro and Platinum. Two ways in In the Documents step of the proposal builder, select New Document: Import an existing document — upload a PDF and we turn it into an editable document. Create from scratch — start with a blank editor and write it yourself. Either way you then set a Name, an Acceptance Type, and the body. Importing a PDF The import converts your PDF into editable text. Read it through afterwards — complex layouts, tables, and unusual fonts don't always survive cleanly. Fix anything that came across wrong before you send it. Once imported, it's a DJfindr document like any other: the client completes it in the app, and completion is recorded with a timestamp and their details. Making it dynamic The advantage over emailing a PDF is that you stop retyping the same details. Replace the client's name, the event date, the venue, and your own details with merge tags and they fill in per booking. See Using Universal Variables in Documents. This is worth the setup time once. A contract with tags is one you never edit again. Acceptance type Pick how the client completes it: - Signature for anything contractual - Checkbox for policies you want acknowledged - View for information you want on record What we record The same as any document: date, name, email, IP address, and the signature. A completed PDF is generated for both of you. Your contract, your responsibility We don't review documents you upload. If it's a contract you had drawn up, that's between you and whoever wrote it. Our templates are a starting point rather than legal advice, and the same applies to anything you import. Mixing them You can attach your own contract alongside our templates on the same proposal — your terms plus our Parking & Venue Access, for instance. Nothing forces you to pick one approach. Reusing it Set it up once with merge tags, then add it to each proposal from the same New Document flow.

Using Universal Variables in Documents

Universal variables are placeholders that fill themselves in per booking. Write a document once, and every proposal gets the right names, dates, and venue without you retyping them. Using them In the document editor, open the Universal Variables palette and insert the tag you want. It's replaced with the real value when the client opens the document. The tags They're grouped into four categories. Event - Event Name - Event Occasion - Event Start Date & Time - Event End Date & Time - Event Location - Event Duration - Event Proposal ID - Event Proposal Requisites - Event Dashboard Link Me - My First Name - My Last Name - My Profile Display Name - My Default Requisites Client - Client First Name - Client Last Name System - Current Date - Platform Legal Name - Platform Support Email - Platform Website Why bother Two reasons. You stop making mistakes. The most common error in a hand-edited contract is the previous client's name left in one paragraph. It's embarrassing, and it makes the document look like a form rather than an agreement. You stop editing documents. Set a template up properly once and you attach it to every proposal without touching it again. Where they earn their keep A cancellation policy referring to Event Start Date & Time rather than a typed date is correct on every booking, forever. A venue access document using Event Location always names the right venue. Checking your work Use the template preview before sending, and read the first real one the client receives. A tag that didn't get inserted properly shows as literal text, which is obvious once you look and invisible if you don't. Your own contracts Merge tags work in documents you import or write from scratch, not just our templates. If you're bringing your own contract across, replacing the fill-in-the-blank fields with tags is the single most useful thing you can do to it. See Uploading Your Own Document.

Saving Your Proposal Defaults

If you're typing the same equipment description and deposit percentage into every proposal, save them once instead. Setting them 1. Go to Bookings → Proposals. 2. Select Manage Defaults. 3. Fill in: - Equipment — your standard setup description - Deposit Percentage - Deposit Amount 4. Select Save. Using them Use My Default appears next to the matching fields in the proposal builder. Select it and the saved value drops in — and you can still change it for that booking. They're a starting point, not a lock. Your other defaults Some defaults live on your profile rather than here, and feed proposals the same way: - Requisites — from Content → Profile → Policies - Cancellation Period — seeds Cancelable Until - Travel Cost - Average Hourly Rate — seeds the rate on a new proposal Writing a good equipment default This is the one worth spending ten minutes on, since it goes to every client. Aim for enough detail that a client or venue can tell whether anything else needs hiring: Full PA suitable for up to 150 guests — two powered speakers on stands, subwoofer, DJ controller, and one wireless handheld microphone. Basic dance floor lighting included. Uplighting and additional microphones available as extras. That answers the questions you'd otherwise get asked. "Professional DJ setup" doesn't. Mention what you don't bring if it's commonly assumed. Deposit amount or percentage A percentage scales with the booking, which is usually what you want — a bigger booking risks more if it cancels. A fixed amount makes sense if you have a minimum you'd need regardless, or if your bookings are all similar sizes. You can save both and pick per proposal. Keeping them current Worth reviewing when you buy new equipment, change your rates, or notice you're overriding the same default every time. If you always change it, the default is wrong.

Sourced Events: Inviting an Off-Platform Client

A sourced event is one you start yourself, for a client who found you somewhere other than DJfindr. You fill in their details and the event, and we invite them in to review your proposal, sign documents, and pay — the same flow as any other booking. Creating one 1. Go to Bookings → Proposals and select Create Proposal. 2. Under Client Details, enter their First Name, Last Name, Email, and Phone Number. 3. Under Event Details, fill in the Name, Occasion, Location, Date & Time, and any Extras. 4. Select Create & Invite. The client gets an invite by email. When they open it and set up their account, the event is already there with everything you entered. Sourced statuses The Source tab on the proposal — visible only to you — tracks where the invite is up to. | Status | Meaning | |---|---| | Draft | Created but not yet sent | | Invited | The invite has gone out | | Claimed | The client has opened it and set up their account | | Expired | The invite wasn't claimed in time | | Archived | No longer active | Once the status is Claimed, the booking behaves like any other — build the proposal and send it. When to use this A client who called you directly, found you on social, or was referred by another DJ. Anyone you'd otherwise be running through messages and a bank transfer. The advantage isn't administrative. It's that the client signs your cancellation terms, the payment schedule is enforced rather than remembered, and the whole thing ends up in a record you can point at if there's a disagreement. What to tell the client Saying "I'll send the contract and invoice through my booking system" lands better than asking them to sign up for something. From their side it's an email with your proposal in it. Fees Sourced events collect payment the same way, so the same platform fee applies. If you only need to take a payment and don't need a proposal, documents, or a schedule, a PayLink is the simpler tool. See Creating a PayLink.

Every Proposal Status, Explained

Every booking sits at one of twelve statuses. This is the full list in the order a booking normally travels, with what you see and what you can do. The normal path | Status | What it means | Your next move | |---|---|---| | Event Requested | A client has asked you to play. Nothing committed. | Accept or Decline | | Create Offer | You accepted. The client is waiting on your terms. | Build and send the proposal | | Offer Sent | Your proposal is with the client. | Wait. You can download a PDF of what you sent | | Awaiting Payment | They accepted. Payment hasn't cleared. | Wait — the booking isn't confirmed yet | | Event Confirmed | Payment received. The date is yours. | Prepare. The event is on your calendar | | Event In Progress | The event is running now. | Handle extension requests if any come in | | Event Complete | It's over. We've asked the client for a review. | Nothing required | The ones that stop a booking | Status | What it means | |---|---| | Event Declined | You turned the request down. No further action possible. | | Offer Rejected | The client didn't accept your terms. You can revise and resend, or decline the event. | | Expired | Your offer passed its Expires On date without a response. You can send a new one. | | Event Dropped | The client withdrew before paying. No charges were applied. | | Event Canceled | The client cancelled after the cancellation window closed. What you keep depends on the payment structure. | Dropped is not the same as canceled This is the distinction that matters most. Dropped happens before money changes hands, or within the cancellation window. Nothing is charged, or anything paid is refunded. Canceled happens after the cancellation window has closed on a confirmed event. Payments are retained — on a full-amount proposal the client forfeits what they paid, and the proposal shows you the retained figure. See When a Client Drops or Cancels. What the client sees The labels differ on their side, for the same underlying status. Your Create Offer is their Awaiting Offer. Your Offer Sent is their Review Offer. Your Awaiting Payment is their Payment Due. Your Event Complete is their Leave Review. Same booking, phrased for whoever is looking at it. Where to see it The status chip is on every row of Bookings → Proposals, and at the top of the sidebar when you open a proposal. The Progress tab explains the current state and shows the actions available.

When Your Proposal Is Rejected or Expires

Not every proposal is accepted. Both outcomes leave the door open — how you respond decides whether it stays open. Rejected The client turned down your terms. Status: Offer Rejected, and you'll see Your proposal was declined — you can update it and resend, or decline the event. Importantly, the client is told to message you with feedback so you can send a revised offer. So a rejection is usually a negotiation opening, not an ending. What to do Ask what didn't work. Message them. Price, hours, a missing extra, the deposit — you can't fix what you don't know. Most clients will tell you if asked directly. Revise and resend if you can meet them. Change what needs changing and send a new proposal. Hold your price if it was right. A rejection isn't automatically a signal to discount. If your number reflects the work, a client who won't pay it was going to be a difficult booking. You can send a reduced-scope proposal instead — fewer hours, fewer extras — which keeps the rate intact. Decline the event if you're done. It closes cleanly rather than sitting open. Expired Your Expires On date passed with no response. Status: Expired, with Your proposal has expired — you can create and send a new one, or decline the event. What to do Send a new proposal with Send New Proposal if the date is still free and you still want it. Message first if anything has changed — your price, your availability, whether you'd still take it. Better than sending a proposal that's now wrong. Decline if the date is gone or you've moved on. Why proposals expire Usually not a rejection. Clients get busy, are waiting on a venue, or are comparing several DJs. Plenty of expired proposals become bookings after a single message. Learning from the pattern One rejection is noise. A run of them is information. Lots of rejections after the proposal — your price is landing wrong against the expectation set by your profile rate, or the proposal isn't showing the value clearly. Itemise more. See Adding Extras and Additional Items. Lots of expiries — your window may be too short, or you're slow enough sending proposals that the client has already booked elsewhere. Rejections on the terms rather than the price — look at your deposit size and cancellation window. Your calendar Neither outcome blocks your date. It was never held — only a confirmed, paid booking blocks your calendar.

When a Client Drops or Cancels

A client can end a booking in two ways, and they have very different consequences for you. Dropped The client withdrew before the booking was locked in — or while it was still inside the cancellation window you set. The status becomes Event Dropped. - No charges are applied, or anything already paid is refunded - Any completed documents are voided - You're released from any obligation to perform - The date frees up on your calendar - No further action is possible on that proposal A client can drop a request at any point before paying, so an unanswered request that disappears is normal rather than a fault. Canceled The client cancelled a confirmed event after the cancellation window closed. The status becomes Event Canceled, and the Progress tab shows: - Cancellation Window and the date it closed - Cancellation Reason — what the client wrote - Payments Retained — what you keep On a full-amount proposal, the client forfeits what they paid and the proposal states the retained figure. On a deposit proposal, the deposit is forfeited, and any remainder they'd already paid is refunded. The cancellation window is yours to set Cancelable Until is a required field in the Terms step of the proposal builder, seeded from the Cancellation Period on your profile. Everything above follows from that date, so it's worth setting deliberately per booking rather than always taking the default. A wedding booked a year out justifies a longer window than a bar gig next Friday. What to do next Free the date properly. A dropped or canceled event releases your calendar automatically, but check Calendar if you'd also blocked travel time around it. Don't chase it in messages. If a client cancels inside their rights, the terms have done their job. Arguing rarely recovers the booking and does show up in reviews. If something was wrong — the client was abusive, or you think the cancellation was made in bad faith — report it rather than absorbing it. See Reporting a Problem With a Client. Scheduled payouts If a cancellation happens before a payout has been released, that scheduled transfer is cancelled with it. Money already paid out to your bank isn't clawed back. See What Happens to Scheduled Payouts When an Event Is Canceled.

Event Extensions: Approving Extra Time

An extension is extra time added while an event is actually running. The client requests it, you set the rate and approve it, they pay, and the end time moves. It's only available while the status is Event In Progress. Turning extensions on Extensions are off unless you enable them. Set your rate under Content → Profile → Services in the Booking Extensions field, and switch them on. If they're off, both you and the client see Event extension unavailable on the event, with an Enable Extensions button on your side. When a request comes in The Progress tab shows Extension request received, along with: - Current End — the scheduled end time - Proposed End (+N hours) — what the client is asking for You have two buttons: Accept and Decline. Setting the rate Select Accept and the Accept Extension dialog asks you to set the rate for this extension. Your profile extension rate is the starting point, but you can change it here — the client is told upfront that you may adjust the rate before approving. This is deliberate. An extra hour at 1am in a venue an hour from home is not the same as an extra hour at 9pm, and you can price it accordingly. The statuses | Status | What it means | |---|---| | Requested | The client has asked. Waiting on you | | Accepted/Awaiting Payment | You've approved it and set a rate. Not confirmed until they pay | | Confirmed | Paid. The event end time has moved | | Declined | You turned it down. They can ask again | | Canceled | The client withdrew the request before you responded | You're not committed until it's paid At Accepted/Awaiting Payment the extension exists but isn't confirmed. The client sees a note saying you aren't required to honour the extension until payment is received. Once it clears, the status becomes Confirmed and the Updated End Date & Time shows on the event. In practice you'll often keep playing while the payment goes through. Just know that until it's confirmed, you're not obliged to. Declining Select Decline if you can't stay — another booking, venue curfew, a long drive. The client is told, and can request again if circumstances change. Getting paid An extension creates its own payment, of type Extension, and follows your normal payout timing and platform fee. It appears alongside the event's other payments under Finance → Payments.