Marking gigs as booked

Every lead you get through GigSalad that turns into a booking needs to be finalized through our platform. The intended process is that a quote is sent on GigSalad, and then the client accepts and pays through the site.

However, we understand that there may be special circumstances in which clients need to book you through other means. In those cases, once you've collected payment off-site, you must return to GigSalad and mark the gig as booked.

All members are required to mark leads as booked when gigs are finalized off-site. Failure to do so may result in your account being disabled.

Once you mark a gig as booked, the client will see the status change on their side to "booked" for the amount you input. For this reason, it's essential that you provide accurate information and confirm you've received payment before marking the event as booked.

To mark a gig as booked:

1

Log in to your control panel and go to your Inbox.

2

Choose the lead that you booked off-site.

3

Select the option at the top of the thread that says "I already booked this gig with the client directly." Then click Continue.

4

Enter the booking details (the total fee and deposit amount for the gig)* to calculate the service fee.

5

The service fee for the gig will appear at the top of the credit card form. Enter your card information or use a saved card to pay the fee.

6

Click Mark as Booked.

*Attention Canadian members: 

When marking gigs as booked, the service fee charge will always be in USD due to the payment processor used for these transactions. When entering the total fee for your gig, you will need to use the USD equivalent instead of the CAD amount in order to pay an accurate service fee. 

Service fee

With regular on-site bookings, both you and the client pay separate service fees, which cover the costs of maintaining our platform. With off-site bookings, we only collect payment from you, so the service fee is slightly higher.

In simpler terms, paid members cover the client's fee, while our free members cover the client's fee plus an additional 2.5% processing fee.

Booking details

When marking gigs as booked, you will be asked to include the pricing details for the gig. Enter the total fee you collected from the client and the portion you required as a deposit. You must provide accurate pricing information for a number of reasons:

To calculate the service fee. We use the total fee you provide, along with your membership level, to calculate the service fee required to mark the gig as booked. Because we delivered the lead, it's reasonable and fair for us to collect a modest but proportional fee for that paid gig. Paying service fees also helps us stay in the business of getting you gigs!

To display accurate booking stats. Your Dashboard includes a running total of booking dollars earned. These stats can help you evaluate your success on GigSalad, so you want them to be representative of every booking you've received through the site.

To collect data. There are places where we display average prices for various categories and locations. We calculate those averages using data from quotes sent through our site and final booking totals. Providing inaccurate prices could skew that data, hurting both event planners seeking the information and providers who may lose out on a gig opportunity because of it.

To prepare for future changes. In the future, total booking dollars may affect placement in search results or our lead distribution algorithm. Those with more verified bookings and higher booking totals would get a bit more exposure. When this happens, we will take past booking totals into account, so it's important to start building up those numbers now! 

Pro-bono or charity events

If the event was for charity and/or you donated your time at no cost, you can mark it as booked and just pay the minimum service fee ($10). The form won't let you enter $0 for the total fee/deposit, so just enter $15. 

Benefits of verified bookings

When you mark a gig as booked, it becomes a verified booking. There are many benefits of having verified bookings, including:

More leads. Booking activity plays a significant role in how members receive leads from GigSalad. These leads make up about 85% of the total leads coming through our site, so it's extremely important to do everything you can to increase your chances of receiving them.

Verified reviews. We’ll request reviews on your behalf if you mark your gig as booked before the event. Reviews associated with verified bookings are also verified and carry significantly greater weight in your overall rating. They also look great to potential clients.

Credibility. Your total number of verified bookings is displayed on your profile in GigSalad search results. In our user testing, we've found an increase in profile views among users with verified bookings. Planners also reported having more confidence in booking providers with more experience.

Top Performer. Verified bookings are one of the criteria for achieving Top Performer status. Being a Top Performer can attract potential clients and boost your placement in search results.