Learn how to download the Booking Import template, including how to optimize your file for import.
New to Booking Import? Read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Booking Import feature.
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Where can I find this feature using the top menu?
Reports > Booking Index > Import
What prerequisites are there?
- Admin permissions or restricted permissions to View all reports or the Booking Index.
Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic, new, or both?
- The Booking Import feature is available to both those using items (Inventory > Items), a key feature of our classic version of Checkfront, and those using products (Inventory > Products), a key feature of our newest version of Checkfront.
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New to Checkfront - Products ✨ Products (Inventory > Products) is the successor feature to (Inventory > Items) and is available in our newest version of Checkfront. Not yet on our newest version and interested in upgrading? Please get in touch with our Technical Support team for more information. Discover more product-related help articles here: Products (New). |
Downloading the import template
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Once you arrive at the Booking Import page, you see a Download Template button. Clicking on this downloads a CSV file containing a sample booking which you can use as a template for your external bookings.
Once you download the template, open it up and add your booking details. You can delete the sample row before saving the document or override its contents with your information.
Most fields are self-explanatory and match the fields you have chosen to show on your Booking Form (Manage > Layout > Booking Form). There are a few things to note, but we look at those below.
Inputting the item/product id
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Looking at the inventory image above, you see the indicated example IDs.
This field is critical and matches the item(s)/product(s) included in the booking.
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A booking cannot be imported without a matching item or product ID. |
Returning to the CSV file we are editing, you see the second column is labelled Item ID. You input the ID we just looked at in the inventory.
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A space in the Item ID field must separate multiple item/product IDs. A comma is not acceptable and prevents the booking from importing correctly. |
Formatting date fields
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When entering your information, it is important to use the correct formatting on columns such as Start Date and End Date. Date formats can be in MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY/MM/DD.
The date columns should also have a time associated with them. If you're not sure of what time the original booking was created, you can estimate the time.
In this case, the example booking contains two products: London Walking Tour and Guided Walking Tour.
Working with checkbox fields
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In the screenshot above, the custom field labelled Stay up to date on our newsletter is a checkbox.
On the booking form, a Customer must check the box to receive future newsletters from the company they are booking with.
When adding bookings via the spreadsheet, this option should be input as either a '0' or a '1'. A '0' means the option has been left unchecked, while a '1' means the option has been selected.
In the next article, we look at the booking import process itself.
< Introduction to importing bookings | Importing your bookings file >