Configuring packages with items using the Item Builder (Classic Items) – Checkfront

Packages allow you to combine items, enabling Customers to book them in one step. For example, you might pair accommodation with an activity, or add equipment to a tour.

With packages, child items can be optional, pre-selected, or required, and you can control their pricing, booking dates, and parameter settings.

Learn how to set up item packages, including the price, opt-ins, dates, and parameter settings.

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 > Packages > Item Add-Ons

What more do I need to use this feature?

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.

Attaching items to packages

1. Click the Attach an Item button to add a new item to your package.

Edit item packages section with a button to attach an item as an add-on.

2. A pop-up window appears with a drop-down menu from which you can select the item you wish to include in the package.

Package item dialog box with an option to search and attach items from inventory with cancel and submit buttons.

3. Once you select your item from the list, the pop-up window extends to reveal additional options. These include various ways to customize how the system handles the child item in the package.

Configuring price percentage

When you attach a child item, you define its Price Percentage by entering the percentage in the field provided.

For example, you add the Segway City Tour as a package add-on.

If you set the price percentage to 0, the system includes the tour for free.
If you set the percentage to 200, the system doubles the price of the tour.
If you set the percentage to 100, the system includes the tour at the original price.

In many cases, offering a slight price decrease to tempt the Customer to purchase is normal. In our example, we charged 75% of the original price.

Price percentage field set at seventy five percent with explanation of how custom percentage alters attachment cost.

Configuring opt-in rules

The Opt-In setting controls whether the system includes child items by default. You have four options that you can select from the Opt-in drop-down menu:

Optional: The item is not pre-selected and can be added to the booking by the Customer.
Pre-Selected: The item is pre-selected for inclusion, but the Customer can remove it before finalizing the booking.
Required: The item is pre-selected for inclusion but cannot be removed from the booking by the Customer
Required - Hidden: The item is free and pre-selected for inclusion. The system requires it for the booking, but it cannot be removed/seen by the Customer.

Configuring date rules

You can allow Customers to choose their preferred dates when adding the package add-on to their booking. The Dates setting determines how flexible those dates can be.

Choose from the following options:

Dropdown menu under Dates showing options to use parent’s dates, allow settings within parent’s dates, or set custom dates.

Using Parent's Dates

With the Use Parent's Dates option of the Dates setting, you can have the booking date of the child item match that of the parent item.

For example, a Customer books the Valley Lodge from March 5th to March 11th, and the purchase includes a Mountain Bike Adventure as a package add-on. The system also schedules the child's item for the first date in the range of March 5th.

Note, if you have set up the item with time slots, the customer may choose a time slot, but they cannot change the booking date.

Booking summary showing Valley Lodge, Horse Back Adventure, and Mountain Bike Adventure scheduled for March 5, 2017 with item rates and total cost.

Allowing child item dates within parent item dates

With the Allow Setting with Parent's Dates option of the Dates setting, the Customer can choose dates for the child item, but only within the parent’s booking range.

Booking interface for a mountain bike adventure with a date and time selector and calendar view.

Our previous example showed a booking at the Valley Lodge between March 5th and March 11th.

In this case, the Customer can still add the Mountain Bike Adventure as an add-on to the booking, only this time, they can choose a date other than the first date of the room booking, provided it is within the total booking range of the parent item.

In this case, the Customer could book the mountain bike add-on on March 10th.

Customizing booking dates

With the Custom option of the Dates setting, you can define how many days before or after the parent booking, the child can be scheduled.

Custom date settings with fields allowing start two days after parent start date and ending two days before parent end date.

In the above example, we set the start and end dates 2 days after the parent booking started and 2 days before the parent booking ended.

Customers cannot book the add-on item until 2 days after the main parent item's booking, and until 2 days before the main parent booking ends. This configuration creates a 3-day booking window in the middle of the parent booking date range.

Booking calendar showing Mountain Bike Adventure selected for March 7, 2017 with highlighted available dates in green.

Allowing parameter adjustment

In addition to date settings, you can allow customers to adjust parameters using the Allow Parameter Adjustment setting.

Toggle switch for allow parameter adjustment set to off with a note about inheriting parameters from parent.

With the option turned off, the child item's quantity mirrors the parent item's.

As you can see in the screenshot above, the Customer has not yet added the package add-on to the booking, but the quantity (3) matches the parent item. The Customer cannot edit this. Of course, they might not want 3 helmets, so this is where the parameter adjustment comes in very useful.

Booking form for Adult Helmet with quantity set to three at ten dollars each totaling thirty dollars.

With the parameter switch turned on, Customers can select the number of helmets they require for the booking (see screenshot above).

As you can see above, the Customer could book 3 kayaks for the afternoon, but only 1 helmet was required.

Requesting parameter mapping

With the Request Parameter Mapping setting, you can map parent item parameters to child item parameters, allowing selections made on the parent item to be mapped into the child item fields automatically.

For example, if the item you attach as a packaged item (child) to the main item (parent) uses different booking parameters, you can map them to ensure the system allocates them as desired. This feature displays automatically during the attachment process if such a scenario occurs.

Request parameter mapping screen allowing selection of parent item parameters to map to child item inputs.

You can start by choosing the parent parameter from the Parent drop-down that most closely matches the child item labeled to its right.

In the example above, we select Adult for the parent item and an Adult for the child item.

Viewing item add-ons

Once you add your packaged item(s), they are visible just above the Attach an Item button.

Item add-ons section with a souvenir photo option priced at 75 percent as an optional selection.

You can configure the package options by clicking the Edit button, or remove the child item by clicking the drop-down button next to this and selecting Detach Item.

Item add-on section showing souvenir photo priced at seventy five percent with option to detach item.

Showing package starting price

To display a package's starting price in the booking portal, enable the Show Package Starting Price option and enter the price in the corresponding field.