Learn how to categorize, tag, and name your item. We also look at adding a summary description, configuring additional options, adding item details, adding email notification details, adding a more info URL, and sorting your items for display.
New to the Item Builder? You can read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Item Builder.
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 > Items > Add New Item (or Edit Item) > Description.
What more do I need to use this feature?
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Admin or restricted permissions to View items, products, and assets and Manage items, products, and assets.
Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic, new or both?
- Your account must have access to items (Inventory > Items), a key feature of our classic version of Checkfront.
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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. |
Description Overview
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This is the first step in creating (or editing) an item within your inventory. The following areas of content are customizable.
Assigning a category to your item
Back to topCategories allow you to group inventory with shared characteristics. Categories help your Customers find what they need on the Customer Booking Page (Customers > Customer Booking Page or add /reserve to your account URL) and aid Admin and Staff with reporting.
Creating new categories
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If you want to create a new category, click the + Create New Category button to the right of the drop-down.
Next, enter a name for the new category and click the blue checkmark button [ ✓ ] to save the new category and selection. The new category selects for use with your item. When creating future items, the category is part of the existing list of options.
Searching and selecting existing categories
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You can select or search for an existing category using the drop-down menu.
After clicking the drop-down category menu, a list of previously created categories displays. If the category you're looking for is in that list, you can select it.
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While we don't have the concept of sub-categories in Checkfront, you can use tags to categorize your offerings further. You can learn more directly below and within... |
Adding tags to your items
Back to topTags allow you to further group inventory with shared attributes. Tags help Guests find what they need on the Customer Booking Page (Customers > Customer Booking Page or add /reserve to your account URL) or Booking Widget.
For example, tags can classify items by fitness level, Easy, Moderate and Challenging. Guests can then easily find activities suitable for their fitness level.
Tags can be used in combination with categories to group items.
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Learn more about tags within Checkfront Labs: |
Creating tags
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To add one or more new tags, click the + Create New Tag button and enter the name of your tag. Save your entry by clicking the blue checkmark [ ✓ ] next to the field.
Alternatively, you can start entering the name of the new tag and then choose to Create New Tag from the drop-down menu. Repeat this for each tag you need, as items can have multiple tags.
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Newly created tags are visible to Staff only by default. For more information on how to edit an Item Tag's visibility, please look at Editing inventory tags from the tags manager. |
Searching and selecting item tags
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As with categories, you can search for and select an existing tag to associate with the item or open the drop-down menu and select the tag from the list presented.
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For information on how tags work and display on the Customer Booking Page (Customers > Customer Booking Page or add /reserve to your account URL) or Booking Widget, please visit Using inventory tags on the booking pages. Learn how to manage your tags here: Introduction to inventory tags. |
Naming your item
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Enter a new name for your item. Keep it simple and make it evident to your Customers what they are booking. The item name is also used in your reports and is shown on the Customer's invoice.
As you enter the item name, the SKU appears below it. This must be unique to the item. The name displays on the Customer invoice and in some of your reports.
If you change the item name after bookings have been processed, past invoices also update with the new item name.
If you want to edit your item SKU, click on the Edit link and make your change. Click the blue checkmark button [ ✓ ] to save your edits.
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Edits to item SKUS now update existing and future bookings! |
Adding a summary description
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The summary is a short description of your item that is visible to the Customer as they view your list of bookable items. For example:
"A visit to the lake isn't complete without a trip out on the water. Join us for an exhilarating two-hour boat tour of this beautiful body of water. Hang on every word of our knowledgeable guides as you feast on a delicious meal prepared by the chefs in our very own kitchen".
The summary may contain up to 60 words, and you can see the current count in the bottom right corner of the text area. The text you enter can be formatted using the tools in the editor just above the text area. This might involve bolding the text or the use of italics.
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The formatting is sometimes carried over when pasting existing text into the text editor. There are two ways to fix this if the behaviour is not wanted:
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Looking for some inspiration? Read our related blog article... |
Configuring additional options
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Click the Additional Options link below the Summary box to show additional details on your item. These other details are optional and not required to complete your item configuration.
Adding item details
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Item details are an expansion of your summary. Here, you can provide more specific details, such as technical specifications or included amenities that are only visible to the Customer once they click on the item from the main list.
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The formatting is sometimes carried over when pasting existing text into the text editor. There are two ways to remedy this if the behaviour is not wanted:
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Adding email notification details
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Provide additional details that do not display publicly when a Customer views your item. Instead, these details are included in the email notification sent to the Customer once they complete the booking.
To include these details in a notification, use the variable. {$BOOKING_EXTRA_DETAILS}.
Examples of information that might be provided in the notification are building key codes, tour meeting places, and a resort WIFI password.
Remember, these details do not display during the booking process. Only a paying Customer receives this information.
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The formatting is sometimes carried over when pasting existing text into the text editor. There are two ways to remedy this if the behaviour is not wanted:
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Adding URL with more info
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If you have a page on your website with more information on the item you're creating, enter the URL here.
The Customer can then access the page from the booking portal directly.
Determining item sort order
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Entering a value here determines the display order of your item displays relative to other items on the Inventory and Booking pages.
For example, there may be ten items within a specific category. If a Customer selects that category for viewing, you can use this tool to determine which items they see first.
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By default, a higher number places the item closer to the top of the list under the selected category. Learn more about the setting that determines whether sort order is ascending or descending here: Leaving the sort order at zero, or using the same value more than once, displays those items alphabetically.
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Once you're happy with the details you provide, click the Next button in the bottom right of the screen to continue.
In the following article in this series, we walk you through adding media to your items.
< Introduction to items and the Item Builder | Adding photos and video to items using the item builder >