Reservations
Reservations tracks a temporary operational hold on a lot while a buyer completes the next required steps. A reservation can connect to a lead, application, customer, payment, or contract and may include expiry, expected deposit, assignee, notes, readiness, and status information.
A reservation helps coordinate Sales and Administration. It is not a payment, contract, or permanent transfer of the lot.
Before creating a reservation
Confirm:
- the correct buyer or lead;
- the correct project and lot;
- the lot's current core status;
- active reservation context and possible conflicts;
- the approved reservation period;
- the expected deposit or required next step;
- the assigned staff owner;
- the buyer has received accurate expectations; and
- the process for expiry, release, or conversion is understood.
Do not create a reservation merely because a buyer expressed interest or scheduled a site visit.
Information to record
A useful reservation record should include, where supported:
- linked buyer/lead/application/customer;
- project and lot;
- reservation start date;
- expiry date;
- expected deposit amount;
- deposit-readiness or proof context;
- assigned owner;
- status;
- notes and activities;
- linked payment or contract, when they later exist; and
- release, cancellation, expiry, or conversion reason.
Reservation status
Use the live status that accurately represents the current hold. The exact labels should be verified, but the operational meaning should distinguish among conditions such as:
- active hold;
- awaiting buyer action or proof;
- expired;
- released;
- cancelled; and
- converted or completed through the approved downstream process.
A reservation should not remain active indefinitely after its expiry date without an authorized extension and documented reason.
Deposit readiness
Deposit readiness may track whether a deposit is expected, proof has been requested, proof was received, or the expected date passed. It helps staff coordinate follow-up.
It does not:
- create a payment entry;
- confirm funds have settled;
- alter a customer balance;
- produce a receipt; or
- prove that the contract is active.
Finance must verify and record the transaction separately in Payments.
Monitoring active reservations
Review active reservations daily for:
- expiry today or soon;
- missing buyer action;
- expected proof not received;
- proof received but payment not verified;
- lot-status conflict;
- duplicate or overlapping reservations;
- missing owner or next action; and
- approved extensions that have not been recorded.
Extending a reservation
An extension should require a clear business reason and authorized decision.
- Review the buyer's activity and commitment.
- Confirm no conflicting buyer or management instruction exists.
- Obtain approval according to the business process.
- Enter the new expiry date.
- Record the reason and authorizer.
- Update the next follow-up.
- Communicate the revised deadline clearly to the buyer.
Do not repeatedly extend a reservation just to avoid releasing the lot.
Expiry and release
When a reservation reaches expiry:
- review the latest buyer activity and payment context;
- confirm whether an approved extension exists;
- verify any proof or payment separately;
- contact or escalate according to the process;
- record the final outcome;
- expire, release, cancel, or convert the reservation through the supported action;
- confirm the lot's operational availability; and
- update linked lead/application follow-up.
Release should preserve the reservation history and reason.
Reservation conflicts
A conflict may exist when:
- two active reservations refer to the same lot;
- the lot is Sold or Reserved under another active record;
- the reservation is active but the lot appears Available;
- the application or lead points to a different lot;
- the buyer's payment is linked to the wrong reservation/customer; or
- an expired reservation still blocks inventory.
Stop new promises, review all linked records, and escalate before changing the lot or reservation status.
Example: proof received on the expiry date
A fictional buyer, Tanya Training, has a reservation expiring today and sends a transfer screenshot.
- Sales records that proof was received.
- The reservation remains an operational hold according to the approved process while Finance reviews the transaction.
- Finance searches for an existing payment and verifies the transfer/reference.
- If verified, Finance records the payment.
- Sales/Administration update reservation and downstream contract work separately.
- If the transfer cannot be verified, the responsible manager decides whether an extension or release is appropriate.
- Every decision and communication is recorded.
The screenshot alone does not convert the reservation into a completed deposit.
Common mistakes
- Creating a reservation after only a casual inquiry.
- Failing to check for another active hold.
- Leaving the expiry date blank or unrealistic.
- Treating proof as payment.
- Changing the lot status without updating or reviewing the reservation.
- Extending without approval or reason.
- Releasing a reservation without updating the buyer's lead/application.
- Deleting the reservation history after cancellation.