[Early Access Program] Product Builder: Inventory

---

Plan Availability: ✓ Soho | ✓ Pro | ✓ Plus | ✓ Enterprise | ✓ Flex |
Locate: Inventory > Products > Products > Add Product/Add New Product/Edit Product > Inventory
Prerequisites:  

• Admin permissions to manage inventory or restricted permissions to View products and assets and Manage products and assets.
• Your account is a member of our Early Access Program. Please reach out to Checkfront Technical Support to learn more!

New to the Product Builder? Check out the first article in this series: [Early Access Program] Product Builder: Introduction.

Early Access Program This feature is currently part of our Early Access Program, which means it is available to select Customers to try out and provide us with feedback. To learn more about becoming part of our Early Access Program check out our related blog post or contact our Technical Support team. Find our complete set of help articles related to the Early Access Program here: Early Access Program.

 

---

Within this step of the Product Builder, you can...

• Specify whether your inventory is unlimited, of a fixed amount or depends on other assets (equipment, vehicles, rooms...) to be booked.
• Determine whether your product is priced by each asset and private to each booking, or priced per seat and assets are shared across bookings. 
• Associate new or existing inventory assets with your product as primary assets or additional assets.

 

---

 

Specify how your inventory is booked and whether it relies on other assets or not.

 

My inventory is unlimited

Guests are not asked to specify a quantity when booking and there are no limits on the number of Guests that can book.

 

My inventory is a fixed amount

You need to specify the Inventory Amount when configuring the product. Guests are asked to specify a quantity when booking. Bookings are limited based on the inventory amount specified.

 

My inventory is based on assets

Select a Primary Asset or Create a New asset pool with assets to associate with your product. See the next two sections for more information.

 

Primary assets are resources that your product is dependant on to provide the experience to Guests, such as equipment, transport, or spaces.

Specify the assets to associate with your product. Here, you have the option to create a new asset pool with associated assets or find an existing asset category and asset pool with assets to link to the product.

 

Learn more about creating and editing asset pools and assets here... [Early Access Program] Asset Builder: Introduction [Early Access Program] Asset Builder: Add Asset Pools and Assets [Early Access Program] Asset Builder: Edit Asset Pools and Assets

 

Asset pools represent sets of assets that are bookable (mountain bikes, single kayaks, rooms, cabins, shuttle buses...). 

1. Click on the + Create New button to initiate the creation of a new asset pool and open the Create Assets modal.
2. From here you can specify the Name, Asset Category, Quantity: Total assets, Capacity: Total seats, and Maintenance Time for the Asset Pool (e.g. single kayaks).
3. Once you have created the new Asset Pool (e.g. single kayaks), the associated asset is prepopulated as your Primary Asset.

 

Learn more about the Create Assets modal here... [Early Access Program] Asset Builder: Add Asset Pools and Assets

 

Asset categories (Bikes, Kayaks, Cabins, Buses...) are a way of generally identifying and classifying similar asset pools.

1. Already have asset pools created? Then, simply click the Select an Asset Category field to select an existing asset category (e.g. kayaks) from the list. This would be the asset category associated with the asset pool (e.g. single kayak) you would like to link to your product. 
2. This enables the Primary Asset settings from which you can select the desired asset pools (e.g. single kayak)
3.  Next, determine whether the asset associated with the product is priced by each asset and private to each booking (Quantity), or priced per seat and a shared booking (Capacity). These inventory numbers are configured with the Asset Pool (Inventory > Assets). 

Click on +Add to provide additional options (e.g. double kayaks). Primary asset settings are described in more detail next.

 

Once you have selected the asset category (e.g. kayaks), the Primary Asset settings display. From there, you can select an asset pool as your primary asset (e.g. single kayaks).

 

-- Quantity vs Capacity

Toggle the Quantity and Capacity setting to determine if your product is priced by each asset and private to each booking (Quantity), or priced per seat and assets are shared across bookings (Capacity). Configured inventory numbers display for each.

 

The inventory numbers are read-only. Asset inventory can be managed from the Assets list (Inventory > Items > Assets). [Early Access Program] Inventory - Asset Builder

 

Quantity
This represents the base number of assets available. Priced per asset, these are private to each booking. 

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

 

Capacity
This represents the total capacity of the assets considering how many seats or spaces the asset can support. Priced per seat, the assets are shared across bookings.

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

 

Additional Assets are used for secondary resources that your product might depend on for the experience, such as life jackets or paddles.

You can add one or more categories of assets, which in turn, can have one or more asset pools linked.

 

For example, you can add Kayak Paddles (200 cm, 210 cm, or 220 cm) and Life Jackets (Small, Medium, or Large). A Guest who has booked a kayak rental could then be assigned a 220cm paddle with a large life jacket during check-in.

 

To add your first additional asset...

1. Click Select an Asset Category to open the corresponding menu.
2. Then, select an existing asset category (e.g. Kayak Equipment) from the list which is associated with the asset pool (e.g. Life Jackets) you would like to link to your product. 
3. This enables the Additional Asset settings from which you can select asset pools and their associated assets. 

You can also + Create a New asset pool if need be! This opens the Create Assets modal, as described above.

As with the Primary Asset, you can toggle the Quantity and Capacity setting to determine if your product is priced by each asset and private to each booking (Quantity), or priced per seat and assets are shared across bookings (Capacity). Configured inventory numbers display for each.

 

Once you have added your first additional asset for a particular asset category, you can then +Add more assets of the same category providing they have been created already or repeat the above process for selecting or creating new additional assets from new categories (e.g. Life Jackets/Life Jackets - Small).

 

Do you need to add more assets to the same category, but you don't see the +Add button? You can go directly to the Assets list and add another category there. Learn more here... Inventory - Asset Builder

 

To the Guest, your product appears as a simple product (e.g. Kayak Rental), but any assets configured and are attached, and can be manually or automatically assigned behind the scenes by Staff via the Daily Manifest (Booking > Daily Manifest > Assign). For example, your Staff can determine what size of kayak paddles or life jackets are needed during check-in.

 

To disconnect a Primary Asset Pool, click on the remove (X) icon at the far right of the asset pool name. This does not delete the asset pool from your account but does remove it from your product.

 

To disconnect a primary asset category from your product, click on the trash can icon at the far right of the asset category name. This does not delete the asset category from your account but does remove it from your product.

Removing the primary asset category removes all attached assets and associated settings, including any additional assets.

 

---

 

Once you Save the initial details (Name, SKU, and Category) of your product, you can navigate between the steps in the product builder via the links listed in the top navigation menu (Details, Inventory, Availablity, Pricing, Advanced) or in the footer of the page.

 

---

The following options are available from the Actions menu at the top-right of the Product Builder.

 

Need to copy your product? Select this option from the Actions menu in the top-right corner of the Product Builder.

Click Copy to instantly create a duplicate, draft copy of the product in focus. Be sure to Save your copy via the navigation options in the footer of the Product Builder! 

Once saved, the copy can be found within the Products list prefixed with Copy of in the name of the product, for example, Copy of Kayak Rental. The copied product has a status of Draft, so be sure to filter the Products list accordingly. A new SKU has been generated automatically, so you may need to update that value to match your identification system.

 

If your product is already Active, then you are presented with the option to Deactivate your Product.

 

The Deactivate Product option removes the product from your booking page. No new bookings can be accepted, but any future bookings already made for this product remain intact unless manually cancelled or changed.

 

Need to archive your product? Select this option from the Actions menu in the top-right corner of the Product Builder.

 

Archiving a product removes it from your booking page, and prevents you from changing its configuration. No new bookings can be created, but any existing bookings for the product remain intact unless manually cancelled or changed.

 

Once Archived, the product can be found within the Products List with a status of Archived.

You can unarchive the product by editing the product and selecting the option to Unarchive from the warning at the top of the page or the Actions menu.

When a product is unarchived, it is given a status of Draft. This gives you a chance to update the product before setting it to Active.

 

---

 

Use this navigation option to move back a step in the Product Builder.

 

The Preview option allows you to view the product from the Customer's perspective within the Customer-facing booking page once the product is Active.

 

Allows you to save the progress you have made so far when building a product or any edits to your product.

This option becomes available, once the minimum required product information has been added.

 

Need to activate your product? Click the button the Activate Product button in the footer menu. Once your product is Active, it is displayed on the Customer Booking Page and bookings can be booked according to how you have configured your product.

 

What is the minimum amount of information I need to activate my product? This depends on your business needs, but the most basic product includes a product Name, SKU, Category with unlimited Inventory and a Base Rate for your product. The Activate Product button becomes enabled once you have saved your initial updates. You can then click on the Activate Product button to receive additional guidance on what you need to configure before going live. Look for the warning icon (!) next to the Actions menu. Click on this to view a list of outstanding information. Once activated, the product is then bookable based on your settings including visibility - visible to everyone, staff only or as an upsell.

 

You can deactivate your product via the Actions menu.

 

Navigate forward through the steps of the Product Builder. The Continue button becomes enabled once the minimum required product details have been provided.

 

 

---

< Inventory - Product Builder: Details  |   Inventory - Product Builder: Availability >

---