Inventory - Item Builder: Description

---

Plan Availability: ✓ Soho | ✓ Pro | ✓ Plus | ✓ Enterprise  | ✓ Flex |
Locate: Inventory > Items > Add New Item (or Edit Item) > Description
Prerequisites:

• Admin permissions to manage inventory or restricted permissions to View Items and Manage Items.
• Your account must have access to Items and the Item Builder, which are features of our classic version of Checkfront. 

Early Access Program - Products Products and the Product Builder are the successor features to Items and the Item Builder and are currently part of our Early Access Program. This means that the features are 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.

 

In this article, we walk you through the basics of naming, categorizing and describing your Item for display within your Customer Booking page and Email Notifications.

New to the Items - Inventory Builder? Be sure to read the first article in this series for an introduction!

 

---

This is the first step in creating (or editing) an Item within your Inventory. The following areas of content are customizable.

 

---

Categories 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 simply add /reserve on to your account URL) and aid Admin and Staff with reporting.

 

If you would like to create a new Category click on the + Create New Category button to the right of the drop-down.  

Next, enter a name for the new Category and click on the blue check-mark button [ ✓ ] to save the new Category and selection. The new Category is then selected for use with your Item. When creating future Items, the Category is now part of the existing list of options.

 

Using the drop-down menu, you can select or search for a Category you have already created.

After clicking on the drop-down Category menu, you see a list of previously used Categories. If the Category you’re looking for is in that list, go ahead and select it.

 

While we don't have the concept of sub-categories in Checkfront, you can use Tags to further categorize your offerings. Learn more directly below and within... Inventory Tags: Introduction

 

---

Tags 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 simply add /reserve on to your account URL) or Booking Widget.

For example,  Tags can be used to classify items by fitness level, for example: Easy, Moderate and Challenging. Guests can then easily find activities that are suitable for their level of fitness.

Tags can be used in combination with Categories to group Items.

 

Tags not visible within your account? This feature is being gradually rolled out. Feel free to reach out to support@checkfront.com to have the feature enabled on your account or with any questions!

 

To add one or more new Tags simply click the + Create New Tag button and enter the name of your Tag. Be sure to save your entry by clicking on the blue check-mark [ ✓ ] 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 that you need, as items can have multiple Tags.

 

Newly created Tags are visible to Staff only by default.  For more information on how to edit the visibility of an Item Tag, please see: Inventory Tags: Editing a Tag.

 

As with Categories, you can search for and select an existing Tag to associate with the item or simply open the drop-down menu and select the Tag from the list presented.

 

For information on how Tags work and display on the Customer Booking Page (Customers > Customer Booking Page or simply add /reserve on to your account URL) or Booking Widget, please visit Item Tags: Tags Display. Learn how to manage your Tags here: Inventory Tags: Introduction.

 

 

---

Enter a new name for your Item. Keep it simple and make it obvious to your Customers what it is they are booking. The Item Name is also used in some of your reports and is shown on the Customer’s invoice.

As you enter the Item Name, you notice the Item SKU appear just below it. This must be unique to the Item and is displayed on the Customer invoice and in some of your reports.  

If you change the Item Name after bookings have been processed, then past invoices are also updated with the new Item Name.

If you’d like to use your own Item SKU, click on the Edit link and make your change. Click the blue check-mark button [ ✓ ] to save your edits. 

 

Edits to Item SKU's now update existing and future bookings!

 

---

The Summary is a short description of your Item that is visible to the Customer as they peruse 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.  

 

Looking for some inspiration? Read our related blog article... How to Write SEO Tour Descriptions

 

---

Click the Additional Options link, just below the Summary box, to reveal additional details on your Item.  These additional details are optional and not required to complete your Item configuration.

 

---

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.  

 

---

Provide additional details that are not displayed publicly when a Customer is viewing your Item. Instead, these details are included with the Email Notification that is sent to the Customer once they have completed 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 are not displayed during the booking process. Only a paying Customer receives this information. 

 

---

If you have a page on your website with more information on the Item you’re creating, enter the URL here.  

The Customer is then able to directly access the page from the booking portal. 

 

---

Entering a value here determines the Order in which your item is displayed among the list of other Items.

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.  

 

By default, a higher number places the Item closer to the top of the list of Items under the selected Category. Learn more about the setting that controls whether Sort Order is ascending or descending here: Booking Page: Sorting Leaving the sort order at zero, or using the same value more than once, displays those items in alphabetical order.

 

Once you’re happy with the details you have provided above, click the Next button in the bottom right of the screen to continue.

In the next article in this series,  we walk you through adding Media to your Items. Please see the link below.

 

 

---

< Items - Inventory Builder: Creating an Item     |     Items - Inventory Builder: Media >

---