iOS Mobile Booking App

More and more these days, tourism businesses are moving away from traditional brick and mortar home offices to location-based satellite offices, often with very little in the way of computers and booking facilities. Wouldn't it be great if you could make bookings and manage customers from your mobile phone while renting out surfboards on the beach? Well, with Checkfront, you can do just that!

After downloading and installing the iOS Mobile Booking App onto your mobile device, you will have instant access to your bookings and customer information. What's more, you can create new bookings directly from your device, taking your business with you wherever you go. The best part is, you don't need to be located next to a computer terminal. As long as your mobile device has battery power and an internet connection, you're good to go. You can even use the device's camera to scan the QR Code on your customer's invoice, instantly checking them in for their booking.

Awesome, right? If this all sounds like the perfect compliment to your business strategy, then read on and we'll show you how to use the FREE iOS Mobile Booking app. Version 2.0 of our iOS booking app can be downloaded from the App Store and works with your iPhone, iPad or iPad Touch running iOS 9 or greater. Anybody downloading the app onto a device running an earlier version of iOS will receive the previous version of the software.

Installing the App

In order to install the Checkfront Mobile App, you'll need to visit the App Store on your iOS device. Select the search feature and type Checkfront into the search field. There should only be one result, so tap on it to learn more about the app.

From here, tap on the Get button to begin the download. Once the installation is complete, the app will be found on your device's Home Screen. Simply tap on the icon to launch the app.

Logging In

Once the app has been launched from the home screen of your device, the first thing you will see is the login screen. Enter your username and password, as you do for the desktop site, plus the Host URL for your Checkfront account. This is the URL you use to access your account online and will be something along the lines of companyname.checkfront.com

You will only need to do this one time. On your subsequent visits, you will notice the login details have been saved in the section labelled Log In As... Tap on the login details to proceed. You'll still need to input your password in order to continue, but the rest of the information will be entered automatically for you.

App Home Screen

Now that you're inside the app, you will be presented with the Home Screen. This is a summary of your bookings, organized into groups to enable quick access to the most relevant upcoming information.

Tapping on one of these groups will open up a new screen containing a list of all the matching bookings. These bookings can then be viewed based on the customer who has made the booking, or the items that belong to the bookings. Make your choice by tapping on either the Customers or Items button at the top of the screen.

Booking Filters

New:

A list of all new bookings in your Checkfront account, since the last user login.

Tomorrow:

Bookings that will begin the following day.

Today:

Bookings that start on the current day.

Open:

Currently active bookings. This includes bookings that start today, plus already ongoing bookings.

Ending:

Bookings that are ending on the current day.

Upcoming:

Bookings that begin on the current day or the next 7 days.

Bookmarks:

Bookings that you have bookmarked in your account for quick access.

Find by Calendar:

Tap this option to access a monthly calendar. Any days that contain a booking will be circled. Tap on any of these to access a list of the bookings for that day.

You can filter the calendar by hiding/showing bookings that are Starting, In Progress, or Ending. Tap on a status with blue text to remove those bookings from the calendar results (the text will turn grey). Tap it again to add the bookings back to the results (the text will turn blue again).

Viewing a Booking

Once you've located the booking you're searching for, simply tap on it from the list to open up the booking details screen.

At the top of the booking screen, you will see the name of the customer, their contact information, the booking ID and the date of the booking. Directly below that is the Checked In status.

Check-in / Check-out

The check-in/out status of a booking is controlled by a switch on the right. By default, the switch will be turned off, indicating an open booking. Tapping on the switch will cause it to slide across and turn green. This indicates that the customer is currently checked in.

Further evidence of this can be found in the notes section towards the bottom of the screen. The notes are updated whenever a customer is checked in or checked out. These notes include the name of the staff member who made the change and the date it occurred. Incidentally, notes can be also be recorded manually by tapping on the Add Note button and then typing out the message you wish to leave. This can be viewed by any other staff members who view the booking.

Auto Check-In

There is an auto check-in feature available through the settings menu at the bottom right side of the app home screen. If the switch is turned on, a customer will be checked in automatically when the QR code on their invoice is scanned.

Recording a Payment

Below the check-in/out button is an overview of the items that have been reserved, including a total and balance due. Directly below this is a Payments button. Tap on this to continue.

On the following screen (above right) you will see a list of transactions that have already been applied to the invoice (highlighted by yellow in the screenshot), as well as the current balance due on the booking. Below this are two buttons, Take Payment (1) and Record Payment (2).

Take Payment:

Please note, the Take Payment button will only be displayed if you have the Square Payment Gateway active in your Checkfront Booking Manager.

Take Payment

The Take Payment button enables you to process a live credit card transaction through the app, via the Square mobile booking app, which you must also have installed on your device. To find out more about this process, please review our knowledge base article on Square mobile payments. If you have not activated the Square payment gateway in your Checkfront Booking Manager, this button will not be displayed.

After tapping on the Take Payment button you will be provided with an opportunity to attach a note to the booking and also whether or not you wish to show that on the invoice. If you do, simply touch the switch to turn it on. The note you enter here will then be added to the invoice.

The full balance due will automatically be entered in the Amount field, but this can be changed to whatever value you wish. When you are ready, tap on the Pay (Amount Due) On Credit button below to continue with the Square payment. At this point, you will be redirected to the Square app on your device (you may be prompted t open "Point of Sale"). Make sure you are signed into your Square app or the redirect will fail.

Select the Credit Card option and on the next screen either enter the card details manually or swipe the card if you are set up to do that. Follow the rest of the process in Square and when you return to the Checkfront app you will see the payment recorded on the booking's Payment screen.

Tap on the recorded payment to open the Payment Details screen. From here, you can issue a refund via Square if you so wish. That refund will then be added to the payments screen in the Checkfront app and you will also be able to view it in the Square app.

Record Payment

The Record Payment button is slightly different in that it allows you to simply record a payment that has already been taken outside the app, such as a POS cash transaction.

Enter the value of the payment you wish to record, choose a payment type from the drop-down menu and hit the Record <amount> button.

You will then see the Payments screen again and the transaction you just entered will be added to the transactions list. If no balance is due on the invoice, the blue payment buttons will be greyed out as in the image above.

Current Payment Methods Include:

• Square - Live Credit Card Payments

• POS - Cash

• POS - Visa

• POS - Mastercard

• POS - AMEX

• POS - Credit

• POS - Debit

• POS - Voucher

• Cheque

• Bank Transfer

• Gift Certificate

• Costco Gift Certificate

Recording a Refund

Recording a refund is straightforward. Simply tap on a payment in the transactions list on the Payments screen. This will show you the Payment Details of that transaction.

At the bottom is a button labeled Record as Refunded. You cannot refund a transaction that was processed outside the mobile booking app, such as a Visa POS payment. That must be done externally and then simply recorded in the app to keep your records up-to-date. You can also process refunds in the desktop browser on your computer. Once the refund has been recorded, it will be added to your transactions list on the Payments screen.

Changing the Booking Status

Down at the bottom of the reservation screen, in the left-hand corner, is the current status of the booking.

Tap on this to open a menu of possible status changes. Select the status you want by tapping on it. The status is now changed!

Contacting the Customer

Next to the status button is the Contact Customer button, with a paper airplane icon. Tapping on this will bring up a menu of possible customer interactions. Select the one you want from the list and your device will automatically perform the required function. For example, if you select Email, your device's default email app will be opened, ready for your input. The email will be pre-populated with the customer's email address and a subject that includes the booking ID. For example... Booking: XXYT-190815

Bookmarking the Reservation

If you'd like to be able to quickly access the booking again, without needing to search through the app for it, you can tap the Bookmark button which is depicted by a star and located next to the Contact button.

When the star is yellow, it is bookmarked. Once you're finished with the booking, you can tap the star again to return it to its original state. This also removes the reservation from your bookmarks list. Your bookmarked bookings can be accessed directly from the app home screen and from within your desktop browser.

Viewing the Invoice

The final button at the bottom of the reservation page is to view the original invoice, just like you would on the desktop site.

Code Scanner

The QR Code scanner is located at the bottom of the app home screen, on the left-hand side.

Once activated, a staff member simply needs to scan the QR Barcode on a customer's invoice to instantly pull up the booking in their app. This saves valuable time compared to locating the booking manually, even if all you have to do is visit the Today group of bookings. Being able to scan like this, gets you through a line of eager customers very quickly indeed. In order to complete the scan, point your device's camera at the QR code on the customer's invoice. You should be able to see the QR code image on your screen. Once the app recognizes the QR code, it will automatically pull up the booking details for you.

Once the booking pops up on the screen, the staff member can tap the Check-In Switch and the customer is checked in. "Next!". For additional details on QR codes, including how to activate the add-on through the desktop site, please go here.

Creating a New Booking

One of the biggest and most popular features in the Checkfront Mobile Booking App is the ability to create new bookings while on the go. At the bottom of the app home screen again, you will see another icon. This time, we're looking at the one in the middle, the plus sign.

Tapping on this will open the Create Booking screen. Fill out your customer details in the fields provided (1).

Looking at the top of the screen, you'll see a link labeled Add Item (2). Tap on this to begin adding items to the booking.

Another screen will open up allowing you to select an item. Choose the category first and then an item within. That will bring you to the details screen (above right). From here, you may select the start and end date for the booking as well as the quantity required. A promo code may also be added if applicable. Finally, click the Add to Booking button (3). This will bring you back to the original Create Booking screen.

From here, you will now see the item and relevant pricing with booking details. If you'd like to add another item, you can go ahead and tap on the Add Item link again. Alternatively, if you'd like to remove an item from the booking, simply hold your finger on the item and slide to the left (above right). This will reveal a Delete button. Tap on that to remove the item from the booking.

Once you're happy with the items you have added, fill out the booking form underneath if you haven't already done so and tap Create Booking at the bottom. Your booking is now complete and you can go ahead and add a payment if you like. Any notifications configured in the desktop site will automatically be sent to the relevant recipients.

App Settings

There are a couple of configurable settings available through the mobile booking app. These can be accessed via the settings button at the bottom right corner of the app home screen.

Auto Check-in

Auto check-in is a feature which enables a customer to be automatically checked in when the QR code on their booking invoice is scanned by the app. This further speeds up the process of checking customers in, especially if you are using Checkfront for tours and have a lot of people arriving at the same time to redeem their reservation. Simply point the device camera at the QR code and that's it. The booking will appear on the screen and the check-in switch will be active.

Email Support

Tap this link to create a new email to our support team. This is an in-app email and so you will not be redirected to your device's default email program.

Phone Support

Tap here on your iPhone to connect with our support team via telephone. Support hours of operation can be found here.

Rate Checkfront on the AppStore

If you'd like to provide a rating and some feedback on the Checkfront Mobile App for iOS, tap on this button to leave a review in the AppStore..

Logout

When you're finished working within the app, click on this link to log yourself out.

Articles in this section

Installing the App

Logging In

App Home Screen

Booking Filters