Introduction to items and the Item Builder (Classic Items)

The Item Builder is your starting point for creating and managing inventory in Checkfront. This guide introduces the basics—from preparing your offerings to building your first item—so you can set up your booking system quickly and confidently.

 

Accessing the features mentioned in this article

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

• Inventory > Items
   

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions or restricted permissions to View items, products, and assets and Manage items, products, and assets.
   

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - Classic Items, Classic Products, or both?

• Your account must have access to classic items (Inventory > Items), a key feature of our Classic Items version of Checkfront. 
   

Learn more about items For a detailed look at a complete list of all the help content related to item-supported features, check out the following article: Accessing help articles related to items (Classic Items)

With the Item Builder, you can:

• Create items, packages, and add-ons to display on your booking page.
• Add categories, tags, descriptions, photos, and videos.
• Set inventory counts and customize distribution with item parameters (e.g., Adult vs. Child).
• Configure allocation (per day, night, time, or timeslot).
• Control visibility (public, staff-only, package-only).
• Apply complex pricing structures with group pricing and availability events.
• Add taxes, discounts, deposits, and commissions.
• Enforce rules and restrictions at booking. 

This series of articles explains the Inventory Builder and the above features in more detail.

Allow ample time to configure, test, and optimize your Items before going live!

Before you build your items, please prepare the following information and artifacts to ease the process:

• List of categorized offerings - including packages and add-ons.
• List of tags (optional).
• Names and summary descriptions of offerings.
• Photos or links to videos to associate with the offerings.
• Inventory numbers (where limits apply), including human resources (Staff, Guides, Instructors, etc.) that limit availability.
• Item allocation - per day, night, time, or timeslot.
• Item availability - seasonal, special pricing events, closure dates.
• Pricing structure - including deposits or taxes
• Booking policies or restrictions on inventory at the time of booking.

Don't worry! You can always save your item to edit later and experiment with different configurations until you are satisfied with the results.

To add a new item, click the + New Item button in the top left-hand corner of your Inventory page.

You then start the first of five stages in the Checkfront Inventory Builder as described in this series.

Restricted item and category permissions Users with restricted item and category permissions may not automatically have permission to access newly created items and categories. Review the permissions in advance to ensure Users have the correct permissions. Find out more about permissions here: Managing Staff account permissions Managing partner account permission settings

Next Steps

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

• Setup basics
  • Adding descriptions to items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
  • Adding photos and video to items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
• Configuration
  • Configuring inventory and parameters for items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
  • Configuring allocation and visibility for items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
  • Configuring additional options for items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
  • Configuring pricing for items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
  • Configuring the default calendar and item events for items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
  • Configuring taxes, deposits, and additional options for items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
• Advanced Options
  • Configuring packages with items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)
  • Configuring product grouping with items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)

Each article walks you step-by-step through that specific feature.

Refer to the next article in this series for instructions on adding descriptions to items. 

Adding descriptions to items using the Item Builder >