Additional options let you fine-tune how your items behave in Checkfront. From adding maintenance time to linking items together, or enabling simple goods, these settings help you adapt the item.
Learn how to configure additional options for items, including setting maintenance time, aliasing to another item, and configuring simple items and date-based inventory.
New to the Item Builder? You can read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Item Builder.
Accessing the features mentioned in this article
Where can I find this feature using the top menu?
- Inventory > Items > Add New/Edit Item > Attributes
What more do I need to use this feature?
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Admin 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.
Click the Additional Options link to reveal further optional settings.
Adding maintenance time
Maintenance time serves as a buffer between bookings. It ensures your staff, equipment, or space has the breathing room they need before the next customer arrives.
The system automatically adds this time to both the start and end of a booking, blocking it off so you can't double-book it. The interval you enter matches your allocation setting, so if you have allocated the item per day, maintenance is in days; if allocated per hour, maintenance is in hours.
For example, a kayak rental might include 30 minutes of maintenance between sessions, while a multi-day cabin rental might include a full day between bookings.
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Maintenance time and timeslots Maintenance time does not apply to timeslots. Yis not pulled from aliased items, so each item in the configuration must have maintenance time configured under its |ou can manually configure them to skip timeslots. |
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Maintenance time and aliased items The system does not pull maintenance time from aliased items, so each item in the configuration must have maintenance time configured under its attributes. |
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Learn more For a detailed look at how to add maintenance time to products or product assets instead, check out the following articles: |
Aliasing items together (with video)
Aliasing links two or more items so they share the same inventory. When a Customer or Staff member books an aliased item, the system reduces availability for all linked items.
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Packages example This option is especially useful for packaged offerings. Imagine you have only one Queen room, shared between two different package options. If Customers have booked the first package option, the system reserves the room, and the inventory for both package items is reduced to zero, preventing overbooking. |
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Learn more For a detailed look at Staff accounts, check out the following article: Are you searching for the equivalent of aliasing for products instead? Learn more here: |
To alias to another item, enter the name of the other item in the search field and then select from the matching items returned.
If you change your mind, click the Remove Alias button to delete the connection.
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Do not remove aliased items after receiving bookings We suggest that you do NOT remove aliased items after you have received bookings to avoid inventory overbooking issues. Please contact Technical Support before doing so to avoid issues if you need to change mid-season. |
Configuring simple items
Not everything you sell is a rental, tour, or accommodation. Some items are fixed goods, like merchandise or food and beverages. For these, you can toggle on Simple Item.
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Simple items cannot use parameters and events Simple items cannot use parameters or seasonal and dynamic pricing (using events and discounts). Simple items can be date-based, depending on your business needs. |
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Simple item example Examples include T-shirts, bottled water, or snack packages sold alongside tours. |
Enabling date based inventory control
Most Operators tie Checkfront items to dates - tours, activities, rentals, and accommodations all need to appear on the Inventory Calendar. That’s why the system defaults to date-based inventory.
Turning off this feature removes inventory tracking and custom availability options for this item, including allocation settings.
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Turning off date-based inventory With this setting disabled, Customers must still reserve items by selecting a particular day from the Customer Booking page. |
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Merchandise example Merchandise is an example of an item that may NOT be date-based inventory. For example, you may offer bottled water to your Customers, but you do not need to make a date-based booking for this selection. You can track inventory outside of Checkfront. |
Next Steps
Once you’ve configured any additional options, click Next in the bottom-right corner of the Item Builder to move on to pricing. You can also click Save to record your progress and return later.
Refer to the next article in this series for instructions on configuring item pricing.
< Configuring allocation and visibility for items | Configuring pricing for items >