Adding asset pools and assets from the asset builder

Adding asset pools and assets in the Asset Builder enables you to organize and define the resources your business relies on, helping you manage inventory more effectively and ensure bookings align with real-world availability.

Learn how to create an asset pool, including naming it, selecting categories, and determining the quantity and capacity.

New to the Asset Builder?  Read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Product feature.

Accessing the features mentioned in this article

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

• Inventory > Assets > Assets tab > Add Asset (Pool with Assets)
   

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions to manage inventory or restricted permissions to View products and assets and Manage products and assets.
   

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. 

In this article, we walk you through how to add an asset pool with assets, including:

• Naming your asset pool
• Creating and selecting asset categories
• Specifying the quantity and capacity of assets and any maintenance time required

The Create Assets modal allows you to add a new pool of assets. You add one or more assets by specifying the quantity.

Learn more about creating assets from the product builder You can create assets from the Assets list or the Product Builder: Inventory tab as described here: Establishing inventory on products

Let's review each component of this modal together.

Specify the Name of your asset pool in the field provided, such as Mountain Bikes, Single Kayaks, Kayak Paddles (200cm), or Small Life Jackets. This name applies to all assets in the pool but can be changed once saved.

Select the Asset category for the asset pool. 

Asset categories (e.g., Bikes, Buses, Kayaks, Kayak Paddles, Life Jackets) allow you to generally classify your asset pools (e.g., Mountain Bikes, Shuttle Buses, Single Kayaks, Kayak Paddles - 200cm, or Life Jackets - Small), which helps to organize your assets and minimize the complexity of applying assets to products. You may need to create your first asset category when you add your asset pool, as described below.

Learn more about asset categories Manage your asset categories centrally with the Categories list (Inventory > Categories > Assets). Learn more here: Introduction to asset categories

1. Type the asset category name into the Asset Category field provided, and the option to Click Here or hit Enter to Create "{your asset category}" appears. 
2. Click that option or hit enter on your keyboard, and the system saves the asset category and name.
3. Once saved, the system adds your new asset category to the list of available options.

Specify the number of assets included in this asset pool, for example, 10 Mountain Bikes, 5 Single Kayaks, 4 Shuttle Buses, 25 Kayak Paddles - 200cm, or 25 Life Jackets - Small.

You can configure products based on the quantity of assets available so they are priced per asset and private to each booking. 

For example, a Guest can book a single kayak for private use. 

Maximum quantity of asset pools The maximum quantity for an asset pool is 10,000.

You can specify an asset's capacity in the asset pool. Asset capacity is the total capacity of an asset, including the number of seats or spaces it can support.

Assets with a capacity greater than 1 can support more than 1 Guest booking, for example, Shuttle Buses (10), whereas single-rider Mountain Bikes (1) can support only 1 Guest booking.

You can configure products based on each asset's capacity, allowing the system to price them per seat and allocate them across bookings.

For example, a shuttle bus has a total capacity of 15 people. Fifteen people can each book a seat on the bus for a wine tour.

Warning You cannot change the capacity of an asset pool after you save it.

The system bases Total asset availability on the quantity of assets multiplied by each asset's capacity within the asset pool.

The system calculates this number from the Quantity and Capacity fields, so the Total field is read-only.

Allow time at the beginning and end of each booking for asset maintenance, such as inflating bike tires, washing kayaks, servicing buses, or sanitizing life jackets.

1. Select the setting Enable Maintenance Time. This setting enables time controls.
2. Specify the number of Hours and/or Minutes that you need.

3. Click Save to apply your changes. 

    

Next Steps

In the following article, we examine how to view your asset pools and assets from the asset builder.

< Introduction to asset and the asset builder | Viewing your asset pools and assets list >