Establishing inventory on products

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Learn how to set up product inventory, including inventory type, resources, asset pools, asset category, and quantity or capacity.

New to the Product Builder? Read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Product feature.

 

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Which plans include this feature?

Legacy:  Soho, Pro, Plus, Enterprise, Flex
New:  Starter, Growth, Managed  |  Learn more about our new plans or how to change your plan.

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

Inventory > Products > Products > Add Product/Add New Product/Edit Product > Inventory

What prerequisites are there?

• Admin permissions to manage inventory or restricted permissions to View products and assets and Manage products and assets.
  
  

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic, new, or both?

• Your account must have access to products (Inventory > Products), a key feature of our newest version of Checkfront.
  

 

New to Checkfront - Products ✨ With our newest version of Checkfront, we have added Products (Inventory > Products) as the successor to items (Inventory > Items). Are you interested in migrating to our newest version? Please reach out to our Technical Support team for more information. What are the differences between the Item Builder and the new Product Builder? Accessing help articles related to products (new version) Understanding product terminology Discover more product-related help articles here!

 

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

• Specify whether your inventory is unlimited, based on a fixed amount, or dynamically based on the number of resources available (equipment, transport, rooms...).
• Determine whether your product is priced by each asset and private to each booking (quantity) or priced per seat and assets are shared across bookings (capacity). 
• Associate new or existing inventory assets with your product as primary assets or additional assets.

 

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Specify how your inventory is booked and whether it relies on other assets or not (e.g. equipment, transport, or spaces).

 

Unlimited - Inventory is unlimited

Is your inventory unlimited? This setting allows you to configure the product without fixed inventory amounts. Guests are not asked to specify a quantity when booking, and there are no limits on the number of inventory Guests can book, when considering inventory numbers alone.

 

Simple - Inventory is static based on a fixed amount

Is your inventory static based on a fixed amount? This setting allows you 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. This is a good option if you don't have to assign assets out or have multiple products using the same assets.

 

Simple inventory is limited to a quantity of 10,000.

 

Assets - Inventory is dynamic based on the number of resources available

Is your product dependent on the number of resources available (equipment, transport, rooms...)? Select resources to associate with your product. See the following sections for more information.

 

Resources are the assets that your product depends on to provide guests with the experience, such as equipment, transport, or spaces.

You can configure one or more assets to associate with your product.  You can also offer a selection of products to choose from when Staff are assigning the product, for example, multiple sizes of life jackets or paddles.

 

In this example, we configure a kayak rental to require a kayak, paddles AND a life jacket. Once the product is booked, Staff can assign the size of the kayak, paddle and life jackets from the Daily Manifest, most commonly when the Guest checks in. For example, Staff will assign a small, medium OR large life jacket.

 

To start, you can create a new asset pool with associated assets or find an existing asset category and asset pool with assets to link to the product.

 

Asset pools and assets can also be configured directly with the Asset Builder. Are you adding multiple assets to your product? The best practice is to create them in advance. Learn more here... Introduction to assets and the asset builder Adding asset pools and assets Editing asset pools and assets

 

Asset pools represent bookable asset sets (mountain bikes, single kayaks, rooms, cabins, shuttle buses...). 

1. Click the + Create New button to create a new asset pool and open the Create Assets modal.
2. 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 into your list of resources.

 

Learn more about the Create Assets modal here... Adding asset pools and assets

 

Do you need to add new asset pools to an asset category? You can do so from the Asset Builder. You can then select all the resources you need to build your product. Introduction to assets and the asset builder Adding asset pools and assets Editing asset pools and assets

 

Asset categories (bikes, kayaks, cabins, buses...) generally identify and classify similar asset pools.

1. Already have asset pools created? 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  Select asset(s) drop-down from which you can select the desired asset pools (e.g. single kayak). See the screenshot below.
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). 

These steps are described in more detail below.

 

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

Clicking Select asset(s) opens a drop-down menu listing available asset pools. Select the asset(s) you want to associate with your product.

 

Assigning assets by quantity vs capacity

The Assign asset by setting determines 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.

Select Quantity or Capacity from the Assign assets by drop-down menu depending on the product offered. 

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.

 

The inventory numbers displayed are read-only. Asset inventory can be managed from the Assets list (Inventory > Items > Assets).  Learn more about managing assets here: Asset Builder

 

Adding an asset pool from same asset category

Click the +Add button to add subsequent, existing asset pools from the same asset category (e.g. double kayaks). The Guest could then be assigned a single kayak OR double kayak. If you don't see the +Add button, you need to go to the Asset Builder to add more options to your inventory.

 

Your product might depend on multiple categories of resources for the experience, such as kayaks, life jackets and paddles.

You can click + Add Another Resource to add additional categories of assets, which in turn, can have one or more asset pools linked.

 

Notice how the asset categories have 'AND' relationships, and the asset pools within that have 'OR' relationships. 

 

For example, you can add Kayak Paddles (200 cm, 210 cm, OR 220 cm) AND Life Jackets (Small, Medium, OR Large). The product booking includes the kayak, kayak paddles AND life jackets. A Guest who has booked a kayak rental could then be assigned a 220cm paddle AND a large life jacket during check-in.

 

To the Guest, your product appears as a simple product (e.g. Kayak Rental). Any assets configured and attached are 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, kayak paddles and life jackets are needed during check-in.

 

To disconnect an Asset Pool, click 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.

 

Removing resource asset categories

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 additional assets.

 

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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.

 

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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 product's name, for example, Copy of Kayak Rental. The copied product has a Draft status, so 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.

 

How do I copy a product?

 

If your product is already Active, you are presented with the option to Deactivate the 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 the Archive or Unarchive 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 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 the status of Draft. This allows you to update the product before setting it to Active.

 

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

 

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

 

The Save & Continue and Save options allow you to save the progress you have made 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.

This button is not visible if your product is already active.

 

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, availability event, and a base rate. The Activate Product button becomes enabled once you have saved your initial updates. You can click the Activate Product button for additional guidance on what you need to configure before going live. Look for the warning icon (!) beside the guidance button. Once activated, the product is 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.

 

 

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< Setting up details, visibility, and media on products  |   Determining availability on products >

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