This guide is for System Admins and Course Owners whose customers cannot book a course, class, event or session, see Join Waitlist or a full date when places are left, or cannot pay at checkout. Most checks are for a date on an On set dates or Blended course. For an On-demand course, the course, payment and booking settings checks apply. Start in the Admin dashboard with access to the course.
A date is one scheduled session. A block groups sessions into one booking, such as a cohort. An offer is a price option, such as General Admission or Student. Check the exact date or block the customer wants, not just the course default.
First establish whether the person wants a new booking or access to a booking they already have: an existing learner needs their course access route, not another purchase. Keep intentional privacy, prices and booking limits unchanged while you find the cause.
Work through the checks in this order:
The course: is it published, and what does its public page show?
The date or block: is it public, has it started, and is it sold on its own or only as part of a block?
Places: is there room for the number of places requested, in the block and in every session?
Offers: is the offer the customer needs on that date, and is it inside its sale window?
The course’s booking settings: an external booking website, a membership requirement, restricted access, or no payment method the customer can use.
If none of them explains the problem, use the last section to contact Cademy Support.
Website Says Join Waitlist or Full When the Course Has Places
When the course’s waitlist is on, Join Waitlist appears if the public page has no bookable dates, or if none of its listed dates has places left. It also appears on a single date that has no places left. With the waitlist off, a page whose listed dates are all full shows Sold Out, and a page with no bookable dates shows Request a Date or Request Group Booking if Date requests or Group requests are on, or No upcoming dates otherwise. None of these shows how many people are booked. To turn the waitlist on or off, see Set Up and Manage a Course Waitlist (Waiting List). The places that count are the selected date’s own places left, not the number in the course default.
Newly Published Class Shows as Full and Asks to Join the Waitlist
Open the date’s editor (see “Open the Exact Date or Block the Customer Wants” below) and check Max Spaces under Booking. A saved 0 allows no places. The editor also shows 0 when no limit is saved; then the date uses its block’s limit, or the course default. Enter the total you want and select Save. For a date in a block, check the block and every session too.
Course Has Upcoming Dates but the Website Says Join Waitlist
Join Waitlist with upcoming dates means none of the listed dates can be booked now. Check each date: a Private date is left off the page; a date stops being offered when it starts, unless Bookable after the start date is on for its block; a date with no places left shows No spaces left; and a date whose own offers have all ended is left off the page. See “Check Visibility, Timing and What Is Sold” and “Check the Date’s Offers and Their Sale Window” below.
Course Link Says Join Waitlist Although Cohorts Have Spare Spaces
A whole-block booking needs a place in the top block and in every session, including sessions that have already taken place. If one session has a lower saved limit and is full, nobody can book the block, even though the top block card shows spare places.
For example, a block is set to 50 and has 30 places booked, but one session allows only 30: that session is full, so nobody else can book the block. A session can also show 0 while people can book the block: 0 is displayed when the session has no limit of its own, and it then uses the block’s limit. Check each session’s Max Spaces and booked count, and see “Check Room for the Requested Places (Max Spaces)” below.
Invoice Is the Only Payment Option When Buying a Course
If customers reach checkout but cannot pay, or invoice is the only option, check the payment methods. For a booking with a price, checkout offers only the methods that are switched on for your account and ticked for this course.
Select Edit Course, then Settings > Payments > Payment Methods. The list shows the methods set up on your account: Card / Apple Pay / Google Pay (via Stripe), PayPal, Klarna, Invoice and Manual Payment Handling.
Card payments are offered only when Stripe is connected to your account. If only Invoice shows, connect Stripe or tick the card option for the course: see “Choose whether a course offers card payments” in Connect Stripe to Take Card Payments.
PayPal and Klarna are not offered for a course priced in MYR or ZAR. If no method is left, the customer has no way to pay. A free booking needs no payment method.
This applies to every course format, including On-demand courses. A course that has a price cannot be published until your account has a payment method.
Customer Having Problems Booking an Event or Course: Start With the Public Page
Ask which course and date or block the customer wants, how many places they need, which page or link they used, and the exact message or button they see. Note the time and time zone if the problem depends on timing.
In the Admin dashboard, select Courses and open the course. Select Share in the course header to read its publication state.
If the course is published, close Share and select the header’s Open in new tab icon. Check whether the intended date or block is listed on the public course page. If it is missing, continue with the checks below.
Unpublished: customers cannot open the course page or its checkout. A checkout link for one of its dates sends them to your main page instead. People already enrolled can still have access. Choose Public or Private in Share when the course is ready. If Cademy refuses to publish it, the reason is shown; see Publish and Share a Course. If the reason is that your email address is not confirmed, ask Cademy Support.
Public: the course is published for public viewing. The date, places and offer checks below still apply.
Private: the course is published but left out of your course listings; customers can use its direct link. Do not change an intentionally private course to Public just to troubleshoot that link.
Starting checkout or trying a booking is a separate action and can create saved checkout information. To try the course as a customer would, see Test a Course Before Launch.
Customer Had Trouble Booking a One-to-One Session (On-request Course)
On an On-request course, customers choose or request a time instead of booking one of your scheduled dates. Depending on its price and calendar settings, they either send a request for you to review or make an instant booking. The course, payment and booking settings checks in this guide still apply; for its request and calendar settings, see Create an On-request Course for One-to-One or Private Sessions and Accept or Decline a Booking Request or Application. If the session is a date on an On set dates course, use the date checks below.
Open the Exact Date or Block the Customer Wants
Return to the course dashboard. Select View All Dates if the date list is hidden.
Find the intended date or block under Upcoming or Past. For a session inside a block, select Expand sessions.
On that card, open the three-dot Date actions menu and select Edit. Check the date or block shown at the top of the window.
When you have only been reading, close the window with the X at the top. Select Save only when you intend to change the date.
Use the top block card for a whole-block booking. Use the session card for a session sold separately. If a block spans past and future sessions, check both date tabs.
Make changes to a saved date through Date actions > Edit. Under Edit Course > Dates, a block’s row and ticked dates open a shared window for all the dates in it. That window opens with Visibility set to Public, whatever the dates have; only the settings you change there are saved to every date. A date changed to Public loses its Linked Organisation and Key Contact. See “Change Several Separate Dates at Once (Shared Edit)” in Add or Change Course Dates and Multi-Session Blocks.
Check Visibility, Timing and What Is Sold
Under Booking, check the date’s own Visibility. A Private date is left out of the public course page and of the date list in checkout. This is different from a Private course, which can be reached by direct link.
Under Schedule, check the start, end and time zone. A date stops being offered for new bookings when it starts.
For a block that should accept late arrivals, check Bookable after the start date under Schedule on the top block. It must be on for a started block to remain offered, and the block must not have ended.
For a session inside a block, check Individually bookable under Booking. When it is off, the customer needs the whole block. Do not turn it on unless you intend to sell that session separately.
A private date is not locked: anyone with that date’s checkout link can book it, subject to the other checks. To show the date on the course page, change Visibility to Public and select Save. Making a date Public removes its Linked Organisation and Key Contact. Changing Visibility needs the Private Course Dates feature on your plan; see Offer a Private Course Date for One Group or Company.
The top block’s time fields are worked out from its sessions and cannot be edited there. To change a date or time, or to allow bookings after a block starts, follow Add or Change Course Dates and Multi-Session Blocks. For time zones, see Set Time Zones for Course Dates.
Check Room for the Requested Places (Max Spaces)
Max Spaces, under Booking, is the total number of places, including booked places. Check the saved date’s limit and booked count. Changing a course default does not replace limits already saved on dates.
A whole-block booking needs room in the top block and in every session, including earlier sessions.
A session sold separately must fit within its own limit and the block’s limit. Other bookings for single sessions reduce what remains.
Places, not people: an offer whose Spaces to block is 5 needs five places each time it is selected. An order holds its places before every attendee is named, including while it is awaiting payment.
A displayed 0: the editor shows 0 both for a saved limit of zero and for a session with no limit saved. A saved zero allows no places; with no limit saved, Cademy uses the block’s limit, or the course default.
To change the limit, enter the total in Max Spaces in the date’s editor and select Save; for a block, do the same on every session that needs it. The full steps, with a worked example, are in “Change Places for a Whole Block of Sessions” in Set Places and Prices for All Dates or Just One Date. If the booked count itself looks wrong, see Why Don't Booked Places Match My Registrations?
Do not raise the limit merely to remove a booking message. Admins can add an order or a registration to a full date, so an admin being able to add someone does not prove that a customer can book.
Check the Date’s Offers and Their Sale Window
In the date or block’s Edit window, find Pricing. A session that is not individually bookable has no Pricing section; check its block’s price instead.
If you see one Price field, select Custom Offers & Add-ons to show the offer list. Select the offer the customer needs.
Select More Options if the sale fields are not visible, then read Available from (optional) and Available until (optional). Check both date and time. These fields use your browser’s local time zone, which can differ from the schedule’s time zone.
After reading an offer, select Cancel to return to the date editor without updating the offer.
An offer outside its sale window cannot be bought. The note under each field says the offer will be hidden, but in checkout it stays listed with Sales start on or Sales ended on and its date, and it cannot be added. A date with its own offer list is left off the public course page once every offer in that list has ended.
A date with its own offer list keeps that list: it does not receive an offer you add to the course later, and a changed course price does not replace the date’s own price.
To correct an offer, change it in this window, select Update Price, then select Save in the date editor: Update Price alone does not save the date. Reopen the same date to check. For sale-window settings, see Offer Different Prices for One Course (Price Offers); for a date’s own prices, see “Change the Price or Number of Places for One Course Date or Cohort” in Set Places and Prices for All Dates or Just One Date.
Check the Course’s Booking Settings
Some settings apply to every date of the course. To read them, select Edit Course on the course, then Settings. Leave without changing anything unless you intend to: moving between sections of the course editor attempts to save unsaved edits.
Booking Options: this card is shown for On set dates, Blended and On-demand courses. On an On-demand course it has only Duplicate Registrations and External Bookings.
Booking Options > External Bookings: when set to an external website, booking buttons open that website in a new tab instead of Cademy checkout, and a booking problem there is checked on that website. See Send Customers to an External Booking Website.
Booking Options > Accept bookings (On set dates and Blended): with Via Application, the button says Apply and the customer sends an application instead of booking. With Manually, Cademy waits for your approval before taking payment.
Memberships: this card appears when your account has memberships. If a membership gives this course the Members only access benefit, the course page tells customers “Subscribe before you can book:” or “You need a membership to book this course.” See Create a Membership for Your Courses.
Payments > Payment Methods: see “Invoice Is the Only Payment Option When Buying a Course” above.
Advanced Settings > Restrict access to this course: this switch appears only on some accounts. When it is on, only a logged-in person who has been given permission can start checkout. If it is on and you did not expect it, contact Cademy Support.
Check What the Booking Error Message or Button Means
Join Waitlist or Sold Out: see “Website Says Join Waitlist or Full When the Course Has Places” above. No upcoming dates appears when no date is listed and the course has no waitlist or request button.
Sales start on or Sales ended on, in checkout, means the offer is outside its sale window.
Some dates no longer have enough spaces, at the payment step, means the places ran out before the order was created, in the date, its block or one of the block’s sessions.
Date unavailable, shown in place of a date, means the page could not read that date’s start or end time. Reopen the date’s editor and check its Schedule; if it looks right, contact Cademy Support.
The booking button can say Book, Apply or your own label. Read the surrounding date and price information, not just the button wording.
Course Shows an Error Message After Changing the Dates
Look up the exact message in the list above. Then open each changed date with Date actions > Edit and check its Visibility, Schedule, Max Spaces and offers. A checkout link copied before you deleted and re-added a date does not select the new date: copy a new link from the new date’s card.
Only One Person Cannot Book: “Already Registered for This Course”
The message “This person is already registered for this course.” means a duplicate registration, not a full date. A customer booking for themselves sees “You are already registered for this course.”, or “You already have access to this course.” for a course they can already open. Open the course editor’s Settings > Booking Options and check Duplicate Registrations without changing it just to test. With Prevent duplicate registrations selected, a current place on another upcoming date of the same course also prevents a second checkout. An unpaid invoice booking still counts.
Check the participant’s email and existing registration. A scheduled place stops counting once its date finishes. A blended place can continue counting after that date while online access remains valid. A cancelled registration does not count, but another current place can still prevent rebooking. If the person needs another date, use a permitted reschedule of their existing place rather than asking them to book twice. A learner offered Open Course can return to their existing online course. See Stop Someone Booking the Same Course Twice.
Date Checkout Link Copies the Entire Course Instead of Just That Date
To get a checkout link for one date, open its card’s Date actions menu on the course dashboard and select Copy Checkout Link. Use the top block’s card for a whole block; use a session’s card only when that session is sold separately.
The link asks checkout to select that date. It does not create a list with only that date, and it does not bypass the checks in this guide. A session that is not individually bookable, or a date with no places left, is dropped from the link, and the customer is shown the other dates to choose from. A date that has started and is no longer offered cannot be selected either. If you deleted a date and added it again, the new date has a new link: copy it from the new card.
Help Someone Who Has Already Booked Get Back to Their Course
For an existing booking, use the learner’s access route instead of asking them to book again: a checkout link starts a new booking. Learner instructions are in Log In to See Your Courses and Bookings and Can't Access Your Course or a Lesson? What to Check.
To send a personal access email:
Open the course, select the date or block and open Registrants.
Tick the person, then select Send Email.
Enter the Subject and message, using Mail Merge > Course access button.
Select Preview to check the recipient. The preview uses a placeholder sign-in link.
Select Send only when you intend to send that email.
See Send an Email to Course Participants or Contacts and Personalise Emails with Mail Merge Tags. Keep personal access links private to their recipient.
If the Settings Do Not Explain the Problem
Contact Cademy Support with the course link, intended date or block, exact message, time and time zone, and number of places requested. Say whether this is a new booking or access to an existing one, and which checks you completed. Avoid changing several settings together.
Do not delete and re-create a date to fix a booking problem. Cademy does not offer an undo after a date is deleted, and one session of a block is deleted at once even when people have booked the whole block. Read Cancel or Delete a Course Date or Block before deleting anything. If a save fails or its result is unclear, reopen the record and check what was saved before trying again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning on Bookable after the start date reopen an ended block?
No. The block must still be running, and its places and the other checks in this guide still apply. A full earlier session can also prevent another whole-block booking.
Can someone book a private date?
Yes. A private date is hidden from the public course page and from the date list in checkout, but anyone with that date’s checkout link can book it. The link is not tied to a named person.