Send personalized, one-time emails directly from a Booking Invoice, including payment links, booking details, or attachments, without using automated notifications.
This feature is useful for handling exceptions, resending invoices, or adding custom communication to a booking.
This article guides you on creating a straightforward message with the basic message tool and formatting it using variables. In the following article, we cover how to email a Customer using one of your notification templates.
Learn how to send a direct email message to a Customer, including how to customize the email message (e.g., with payment links), include the Booking Invoice , and send the email.
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New to the Booking Invoice? Read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Booking Invoice. |
Accessing the features mentioned in this article
Where can I find this feature using the top menu?
Booking Index report (Reports > Booking Index > Booking ID > Booking Invoice > Email).
You can also enter the Booking ID in the Search field found in the main menu to bring up the Booking Invoice.
What more do I need to use this feature?
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Admin permissions to manage inventory or restricted permissions for Reports & Booking Data and Email Customer.
Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic items, classic products, or both?
- This feature is available in both our classic version, which uses classic items (Inventory > Items), and our classic version, which uses classic products (Inventory > Products). → Learn more about products
Accessing the email option from the booking invoice
Automatic Notifications are an efficient way to streamline invoices, receipts, and follow-up emails. However, there may be an occasion where you need to quickly email a Customer to let them know of updated booking details.
You can send an email directly to the Customer from the invoice by clicking the Email button in the sidebar while viewing a booking!
- Open the Booking Invoice.
- Select the Email option from the left-hand menu.
- The Email Customer modal opens, allowing you to compose and send a message directly to the Customer.
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Is the invoice email button turned off? The system turns off the Email option if the Customer does not provide an email address during the booking process. If you have the email address, add it to the Customer's profile before emailing them through the system. |
Composing an email
By default, the system gives you the option to compose a free-form message under the Compose Email tab.
From the Compose Email tab, you can specify the following:
- Message recipient (To) email address
- Message sender (From) email address
- Message Reply-To email address
- Message Subject
- CC recipient to copy
- Message Text area
We go into further detail within the following sections.
Providing the 'recipient (to)' email address
You can choose the email recipient from the To dropdown menu.
By default, the system selects the Customer as the recipient of the notification email. However, you can also:
- Enter a custom recipient by clicking the Edit Recipient option under the Custom Recipient heading.
- Choose one of your Staff members if you'd prefer to send an in-house notification for the booking.
Providing the 'from' email address
The email is sent from the primary company email, as configured in your account settings. This value is not editable.
Entering the 'reply-to' address for the email
You can enter the Reply-to address to specify where to send a reply when the Customer clicks reply to your message.
The Subject field is pre-populated with some details on the booking in question. You can replace this with whatever text you like. It's best to keep it short and to the point!
You can also add variables to the Subject field to personalize the subject line. See the table within the Customizing the message section for more information.
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Pre-populated subject field The pre-populated Subject field, by default, includes the booked inventory title(s), booking start and end dates, and the booking ID. Highlight the subject text to customize it as needed. Do you want to send automated booking emails based on the booking status instead? Learn more here: |
Providing the carbon copy recipient (CC)
If there's someone else you'd like to add to the notification, you can enter their email address in the CC field. You need to separate multiple addresses with commas.
Customizing the email message
Type the message directly into the Message field provided.
You can personalize the message by adding the following variables. The variable is replaced with the specific data once sent.
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What is a variable? An email message variable is a placeholder in an email message template that the system replaces with specific information, such as a customer's name, email address, or booking ID, when you send the message. |
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Example: Adding a payment link to your messages Include either of the following variables to add payment links to your messages:
The Pay Now button also displays in the invoice. |
| Variable | Description |
{$COMPANY_NAME} |
Name of your company. |
{$CHECKFRONT_URL} |
URL of your Checkfront account, e.g., myaccount.checkfront.com. |
{$ACCOUNT_ID} |
ID of the staff account that someone used to make the booking. |
{$CREATED_BY} |
The source of the booking, e.g., Staff or website. |
{$CUSTOMER_NAME} |
Name of the Customer. |
{$CUSTOMER_FIRST_NAME} |
First name of the Customer. |
{$CUSTOMER_LAST_NAME} |
Last name of the Customer. |
{$CUSTOMER_EMAIL} |
Email address of the Customer. |
{$BOOKING_ID} |
Unique booking ID. |
{$BOOKING_TOTAL} |
Total amount for the booking. Includes currency formatting. |
{$BOOKING_STATUS} |
Current status of the booking, such as Deposit or Paid. |
{$BOOKING_QTY} |
Quantity booked on the invoice. |
{$BOOKING_ITEMS} |
The name of the booking item(s) or product(s). Multiple items or products are comma-separated. |
{$BOOKING_DATE} |
Date of booking. May include a date range or time, depending on the booking. |
{$BOOKING_START_DATE} |
Starting date of the booking. |
{$BOOKING_END_DATE} |
Ending date of the booking. |
{$BOOKING_TIME} |
The time the person made the booking. |
{$BOOKING_START_TIME} |
Starting time of the booking. |
{$BOOKING_END_TIME} |
Ending time of the booking. |
{$BOOKING_DETAILS} |
The details of the booking item(s) or product(s). This information is from the details box provided in the item or product setup. The system separates multiple items or products by a new line and includes the item or product name. |
{$BOOKING_EXTRA_DETAILS} |
Extra details added to your items or products. |
{$BOOKING_ITEMS_URL} |
URL to the individual items or products included in the booking. |
{$BOOKING_RATES} |
List of items or products booked with their respective rates. |
{$BOOKING_DISCOUNT_CODES} |
Name of any discount code(s) applied to the booking. Multiple codes are comma-separated. |
{%BOOKING_ADMIN_URL} |
Link to the booking in the backend of your Checkfront account. |
{$BOOKING_PAYMENT_URL} |
Link to the payment page for this booking. If no balance is due, this redirects to the receipt (BOOKING_URL) page. |
{$BOOKING_PAY_FULL_URL} |
Link to the payment page for this booking. It requests the full payment from the Customer, even if they still owe you the deposit. If no balance is due, this redirects to the receipt (BOOKING_URL) page. |
{$BOOKING_CANCEL_URL} |
Direct link for the Customer to cancel their booking. |
{$BOOKING_PDF_URL} |
Direct link to a PDF of the booking. |
{$BOOKING_GUESTS_URL} |
URL to the Guest Details page of the booking. Must have the Guest Forms feature enabled to use. |
{$BOOKING_URL} |
URL to the booking receipt, along with links to PDF and Payment pages. |
{$BOOKING_URL}&view=documents |
Link to the 'Required Waiver Documents' page. |
{$BOOKING_QR_CODE} |
Inserts the QR code into the email so you can customize its placement in the notification body. |
{$BOOKING_LOCATION_LINKS} |
Displays the name of each item or product in the booking, with a hyperlinked address that opens Google Maps to the location. |
{$SINGLE_ITEM_LOCATION_LINK} |
Link to the item's or product's location in Google Maps. It displays the first item or product in the booking's location only. |
{$SINGLE_ITEM_ADDRESS} |
Hyperlinked address to the item's or product's location in Google Maps. It displays the first item or product in the booking's location only. |
{$SINGLE_ITEM_LOCATION_URL} |
Displays a clickable URL linking to the item's or product's location in Google Maps. |
{%EMBED_INVOICE} |
This macro embeds a full invoice into the email. Differs depending on Text or HTML. |
Including booking invoices in the e-mail
If you'd like to include a copy of the invoice with the email, check the Include invoice in e-mail box at the bottom of the window. The system includes any invoice below any content you add to the message field.
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Pay Now button display The Pay Now button does not display in a Staff or Customer PDF invoice view. Instead, the button displays when you embed the invoice in an email to a Staff member or Customer. |
Sending the message
Finally, click the Send button at the bottom of the modal to send your message!
Next Steps
In the following article in this series, we look at viewing Customer details from the Booking Invoice.
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