Packages: duration, special price, deposit and travel costs

A package does not have to be rigid: your customer can choose more hours or more days, a package can be cheaper for a while, carry a deposit, and BoothDock calculates the travel for you. You set everything under Bookings → Offering → Packages & extras in the package dialog, and the travel costs under Settings → Payment & Stripe.

Duration in hours

In the dialog of a package you set how long it lasts and whether the customer may extend it:

On the booking page the customer chooses the hours under Duration in the Date step – with the surcharge in brackets. The page calculates the End time itself from start and hours. The whole day is still blocked.

Duration in days

For weekends or events past midnight:

The customer chooses the duration under Number of days and then the start day. A start day can only be selected if all days of the span are free. An accepted booking blocks each of these days – in the calendar, in Inventory and as an event with an end date. The invoice states the period of service.

Special price

Under Special offer in the dialog of a package or extra you make an entry cheaper for a while:

The booking page shows the old price struck through, the special price and the Special offer label, optionally with “… left” and “until …”. In the dialog you see “… of … still available”. Once the quota is used up or the date has passed, the normal price applies again. Cancelled requests do not count. The special price appears in the request like a normal price – quote and invoice use it.

Security deposit

A security deposit is an amount you pay back after the event. It is not part of the price: it is not in the line items, not in the total and not on the invoice, it is not taxed and it does not go to your accounting.

1. In the catalogue: in the dialog of a package or extra you enter the amount under Security deposit (refundable, not in the price). The summary on the booking page then shows “Plus a refundable deposit of …, returned after the event.”
2. In the quote: the draft takes over the deposits of package and extras added together into the field Security deposit (refundable). There you change it for this booking. The quote PDF and the customer portal state the deposit as a separate note.
3. In the request: after sending, the Security deposit block shows the amount and status.

You enter your own text on the deposit – for example “Condition check at handover and return” – under Settings → Documents & export → Default texts in the field Note below the deposit. It appears on the booking page, in the quote and in the customer portal below the deposit.

Deposit online with Stripe

If Stripe is active, the customer pays the deposit with Pay now together with the instalment that is due, usually the deposit payment – one payment for the customer. If no instalment is due right now, they pay only the deposit. After payment the deposit automatically shows received. No invoice is created for it.

Deposit as a card hold

Instead of charging the deposit, you can have it only held on the customer's card. Under Settings → Payment & Stripe you choose under Security deposit online:

• paid with the payment, refunded after the event – as described above (default), or
• as a card hold (not charged).

This is how the card hold works:

1. When the customer pays an instalment with Stripe, they do not pay the deposit with it. Stripe only saves their card.
2. 2 days before the event, BoothDock places a hold for the deposit on that card. Nothing is charged. It cannot be done earlier, because Stripe keeps a hold for 7 days at most.
3. If the hold does not work, for example because the card is declined or no card is saved, you receive an e-mail. BoothDock tries again the next day, up to the day of the event. Then settle the deposit directly with the customer.
4. After the event you click Release hold in the Security deposit block of the request – or Retain part with Amount retained and Reason. BoothDock then charges only that amount and the rest is released. If you do nothing, Stripe releases the hold by itself after 7 days.

Your customer reads on the booking page, in the quote and in the customer portal that the deposit is held on their card 2 days before the event and released after the event.

Status of the deposit

If the deposit was paid online via Stripe, Fully refunded and Retain part refund the amount automatically to the customer's card. For cash or bank transfer you pay it back yourself; Reset then sets the status back to open. The buttons are visible to everyone who may record payments.

Travel costs

Under Settings → Payment & Stripe → Travel costs you set this once:

The summary on the booking page then says, for example, “Travel up to 30 km included, beyond that 0.50 € per km (there and back).”

Distance calculator in the quote

In the quote and under Write invoice, the field Distance in km (one way) sits next to the line items. Enter the one-way distance and click Calculate travel costs: BoothDock subtracts the included kilometres, doubles for the return trip and adds a Travel costs line with the quantity in km and your price per km. If you calculate again, the new line replaces the old one.

Travel cost estimate on the booking page

With the tick Show a travel cost estimate on the booking page the customer sees roughly what the travel costs before sending. In the Date step they enter the Location and click Estimate travel costs. The page then shows, for example, “Travel approx. 30 € – 45 € (approx. 40–48 km to Lyon) – non-binding estimate.” or that the travel is expected to be included.

• BoothDock calculates the distance with OpenStreetMap: from your address under Company & tax to the location entered.
• Only the location is transmitted, no customer data.
• It uses the straight-line distance times a road factor. This gives a range, not an exact route.
• The estimate is non-binding. The travel costs in your quote are binding.

You only see the tick if BoothDock offers the estimate for your account. If your address is missing, the page shows instead of a range: “Travel costs cannot be estimated right now. They will be shown in the quote.”

Travel zones

Instead of a range you can set fixed prices by distance. Under Travel zones (for instant booking) – visible if BoothDock offers the travel cost estimate for your account – you add rows with up to km and Price using Add zone, at most 8. For example:

Under Beyond the last zone you choose what applies for longer distances: request only – travel costs in the quote or book instantly – travel costs on the final invoice.

With zones, the estimate on the booking page shows a fixed price, for example “Travel to Lyon: 25 € (zone up to 30 km).” If the place is farther away than the last zone, it says that the travel costs are in the quote or on the final invoice. BoothDock estimates the distance from the place as above. Without zones, price per km and range apply as before.

Instant booking (see below) uses the zones: the zone is added to the quote as a fixed line.

Instant booking

With instant booking your customer books and pays directly on the booking page, without you writing a quote first. You switch it on per package: in the package dialog, tick Instant booking.

Requirements:

• a connected Stripe account that can accept payments – see Online payment with Stripe
• complete details under Bookings → Settings → Company & tax and Payment & Stripe

If one of them is missing, the booking page stays with requests.

How it works for your customer:

1. The package shows the label Instant booking on the booking page.
2. The customer fills in everything and clicks Book and pay now.
3. BoothDock creates the quote at once from package, extras and travel zone and sends it. It is valid for 2 days, and the date is blocked from then on.
4. The customer lands directly in the customer portal, signs the contract there if you use one, and pays via Stripe according to your payment plan.

Your usual rules apply to instant bookings: payment plan, security deposit, contract and invoices as for any quote.

Travel costs: If you have set up travel zones, instant booking needs the place. The matching zone appears as its own line in the quote. If the place is farther away than the last zone, your setting under Beyond the last zone decides:

• request only – travel costs in the quote: it becomes a normal request. The customer reads: “… will send you an individual quote for your date or location.”
• book instantly – travel costs on the final invoice: the customer books at once, and you add the travel costs to the final invoice later.

Without zones, the quote contains no travel costs.

Payment plan for a package

If you have saved your own payment plan templates, you choose one in the dialog of a package under Payment plan for this package. New quotes for this package then start with this plan instead of the Default payment plan – see Payment plans and instalments.

Next steps

• Set up the booking page – page, widget and settings
• Payment plans and instalments
• Quotes, invoices and documents