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Introduction to products and the product builder

Begin building your first products with this introduction to our Product Builder feature, which includes preparing to create your first product, accessing the Product Builder, and adding new products. We also point you to resources for importing products.

 

Accessing the features mentioned in this article


Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

  • Inventory > Products > Products
     

What more do I need to use this feature?

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic items, classic products, or both?

  • Your account must have access to classic products (Inventory > Products), a key feature of our classic products version of Checkfront. This feature is not available for use with classic items (Inventory > Items) in our classic items version. → Learn more about products. 
     

 

What is a product?

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A product in our system represents the goods, experiences, or services you sell. You can configure the product to suit your needs, including product details, inventory, availability, pricing, and more!

 

Preparing to build your first product

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You can quickly and easily set up your product offerings in Checkfront using our step-by-step Product Builder.

Before you start, here is an overview of the product creation steps, with preparation tips and links to more detailed instructions.

 

Steps Preparation Learn More
1 Set up your product details

What products do you want to offer?

  • Put together a list of offerings, including names and descriptions.
  • Think about how you want to categorize and tag these products, which influences how the Booking Page presents them.
  • Do you have unique numbers (SKUs) to track your products? If so, have them ready.

What kind of product do you want to sell?

  • Do you want to create a standard product (tour, activity, rental, accommodation) or an upsell (lunch, merchandise) to add to another standard product?

Who do you want your product to be visible to?

  • Consider whether you want the product visible to everyone, Staff only, or as an upsell to other products.

What photos, videos, and websites do you want to include with your product offering to help show, demonstrate, and sell your products?

  • Have image files and links to hosted videos and websites available.
2 Establish inventory for your product

Who is the product available to?

  • Consider whether Customers or Staff need to book the product by Guest type (Adult, Youth, Child...)

What types of inventory and resources are needed?

  • Prepare inventory numbers (where limits apply).
  • Consider the resources/assets (equipment, spaces, transport...) you need.
3 Determine the availability of your product

How is the product booked?

  • Think about how you want to allocate the product (all day, nightly, timeslots, or more flexible options).

When is the product available?

  • Consider dates and times, including any special event pricing, custom rates for longer bookings, booking rules, and minimum/maximum requirements for guest types.

Who is the product visible to?

  • Consider whether guest types (Adult, Youth, Child...) are visible to Customers and/or Staff. 
4   Configure pricing for your product

What is the pricing structure?

  • Plan out the design for your product pricing, including group pricing where applicable.

What taxes do I need to apply to my product?

  • Consider what taxes you need to configure and apply to your product. You need to configure these in advance.

Do you require a booking deposit?

  • Think about whether you require a deposit or full payment at the time of booking.

Can partners earn a commission on bookings?

  • Consider applying partner commissions to your product.
5 Manage advanced settings for your product

What add-ons do you want to offer with your products? 

  • We call these upsells, and you need to configure them as separate products before linking them to other products.

Do you want to integrate your product with another application or feature?

  • Consider whether you want to sync your bookings with QuickBooks Online or myallocator.
  • Prepare any waivers or other documents you need to add to your products (with supported plans).

Do you need to add extra booking details to your confirmation email?

  • Plan the message out in advance.

 

 

Accessing the product builder

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Checkfront dashboard home page with the Inventory menu expanded and an arrow pointing to Products for accessing product management.

To access the Product Builder, open the Inventory menu and select the Products listing.

 

Adding new products

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Checkfront dashboard showing the Products page with options to add a new product using the New Product button or the Add Product button in the center.

To initiate the Product Builder and start adding a new product, click the Add New > + New Product button in the top right-hand corner of your Inventory page. 

 

Callout icon of a pencil, indicating an important note.

Test your setup before you go live

We suggest you start with one product before you go live. You can then preview that product or, better yet, run a test booking through the system.

Once Customers or Staff create a booking, you can check how that booking displays in booking tools (e.g., Daily Manifest) and reports (e.g., Booking Index), as well as in the Booking Invoice, and then adjust your product configuration to suit your needs. 

 

Importing products

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Callout icon of a cap and certificate, indicating additional learning resources.

Learn more about preparing your products for import

You can import Product inventory using our provided template. Find out more about this process here:

 

Next Steps

Once you're comfortable with the basics above, check out these deeper-dive articles:

 

Please review the following article in the series for guidance on navigating the product builder.

 

|   Navigating the product builder >

 

 

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