Overall, it's a terrific system. Discovering how good it is takes time and frustration. Going from manual pricing to online quoting taught me that the human brain can do things so much more easily than an automated system which has its limits. It took me a while to figure out what I could do and could not do in the pricing possibilities that I could offer. Having said that, the Checkfront system is pretty damn impressive in what it can do but a slog to find out the limitations.
Pros
The invoicing and notification system is excellent. It allows for a sequence of events - the initial request and removal of item from inventory, the paying of a deposit and the sending out of a reminder for the balance. It has also allowed us to record bookings that come from another listing site. The notification system is good but , as with with all automatic sequences, you need to think carefully before setting a sequence in train because the same message notification might not be right for everyone. It takes a lot of thought to set up the generic sequence that will most often be used. However, it is very easy to make adjustments to the message before it goes out.
Cons
Checkfront may be used more for booking tours rather than holiday homes but it's flexibility allows for many different set-ups. Therein lies the problem with regard to the help pages. They are quite helpful with regard to what any particular feature is but most examples tend to be about booking tours rather than accommodation. I spent a lot of time working out what I could do and how I should do it, more or less by trial and error. In some ways that is a good thing because I learnt so much more about the system by the sheer repetition of trying so many ways to do something. However, it would have saved me a lot of time to have some real examples of how to set up and overcome particular problems.
So far, I have only two irritations with the software. One is the mobile phone app which could be much improved but is not actually a bother because I really do not need to carry my office in my pocket. The other is the Inventory calendar. I wish I could highlight the row that I am working on because it is very easy to start making alterations to the wrong row. I also wish that I could highlight a period of time to add or remove a property from inventory. You can only do that one day at a time which is tedious and non-intuitive. There are other ways round this and perhaps there is a good programming reason for the limitation.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Bookings for different room types, transport and activities is made easy through using Checkfront. I dont have to worry about double bookings and I know exactly who's coming in and out of my resort, even when I'm not there. My staff find it easy to use and we are able to amend things quickly and easily. For the customer it's also very clear to book what they are looking for.
Pros
Ease of navigation and clear information layout especially on a laptop.
Cons
Sometimes find a few features a little tricky to get my head around on my own but that doesnt matter because the customer support is amazing and they always find a solution.
Hey Jeremy, thanks for your positive feedback! Happy to hear that you're enjoying using all the many features we provide and that Checkfront has made bookings easy for you. We're always happy to assist should you need anything :)
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 9/10
Overall we have been very satisfied. We have been able to relieve some of the stress from the office by having online reservations available and allowing for customers to book for themselves.
Pros
Ease of use. There are a few things that should be addressed, but overall ease of use has been fantastic.
Cons
Certain features need some work or need to become available for better functionality.
Hey Melissa, thanks for that review. We're glad to know that Checkfront has been a stress-free booking software and that everything's been easy to use! We're happy to help should you need any assistance. We value your business with us :)
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Pros
Checkfront is fairly easy to use and offers you the possibility to set it up for a multitude of product types, such as transportation, restaurant reservations and experiences. The ability for customers to pay directly on an invoice with various payment methods is neat. For a small business, Checkfront does the job.
Cons
Reporting is poor and does not offer many customisation options. Not being able to assign a guide for an experience shows that this software lacks basic functionality. Employee scheduling in such an app is a must. It doesn't have to replace an employee scheduling software, but one should be able to directly assign an employee to an item on the schedule. The widgets on the dashboard didn't really provide relevant information for day-to-day operations. The daily summary list does not offer a great overview on the day's happenings and looks rather messy. Customer support was very average, more often than not. I never really felt that Checkfront took an interest in our business. We were planning on adding more than 10 users and were asked to pay a large sum, yearly and in advance. At this point, we decided it was time to move on.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 0/10
I operate a charter yacht in the USVI. Checkfront is my booking calendar if record. I use it to manage availability, and as a direct booking channel. I've stayed with Checkfront for the past two years because it meets most all my needs at a reasonable price point. The addition of tipping functionality is important to me. It will likely drive my purchasing decision in the future, as I shift towards a daysailing business from a term charter operation.
Pros
The software meets most of my expectations. I especially appreciate the flexibility I have when setting up inventory items.
Perhaps more important is the quality of support you provide. Each time that I have had a need to reach out, my inquiry was handled by a knowledgeable and concerned person, who rapidly resolved my challenge and typically taught me something along the way. Thank you.
Cons
My biggest issue with the service is that my clients don't have the option to tip while they are checking out. As a service provider, tipping is critical, especially for the crew. If the client was presented with the option to add a tip, I know that my income would increase significantly, perhaps 10%+
Hi Craig, thanks so much for this detailed review. It's been an absolute pleasure working with you, and we're so glad we've been able to provide the flexibility and support you need!
Based on the update we've received from our support team, we're glad to let you know that you're already on the official feature request list for the 'tipping feature'. In the interim, we do have a work around for it and should you be interested in knowing more and setting it up, our support team would be more than happy to walk you through it.
Once again, thanks for your feedback. We value your business with us :)
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 7/10
Soho: €39/month for 2 staff accounts
Pro: €79/month for 5 staff accounts
Plus: €149/month for 10 staff accounts
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Commission free bookings. Pricing starts at €39/month. Additional currencies supported. 15% discount for annual plans.
Checkfront is an online booking solution for businesses in the tours and activities, accommodation, and rentals space. A tool with a customizable, easy-to-use interface, it allows businesses to accept bookings 24/7 via their website, Facebook page, or third-party booking services such as Expedia and TripAdvisor.
Checkfront is equipped with a variety of tools and features that cover self-service bookings, payment processing, automated billing and invoices, point-of-sale functions, vouchers and gift certificates, account management, form builders, staff management, user access permissions, reporting and analytics, third-party calendar sync, ROI tracking, integration with other cloud services, and local language and currency support.
For on-the-go business management, Checkfront has native apps for Android and iOS devices. Customer support is available 24/7 via email, phone, and chat.
Checkfront is a booking management application that keeps all customer bookings in one place, regardless of the channels used to book them. It serves businesses of varying sizes, operates in 74 countries, and supports local languages and a total of 28 currencies.
The app comes with a real-time, customizable dashboard. It lets you drag and drop widgets from one screen position to another, add new ones, or completely delete them. The app allows you to set your business hours, rates and availability, showcase your offerings, and define your booking rules. The data you collect from your clients can be customized according to the needs of your business.
Bookings are represented in Checkfront as customer invoices, with the invoice status coinciding with the actual booking stage: pending, reserved, paid, waiting, cancelled, or void. Automated email notifications can be set up for booking confirmations, cancellations, invoices, payment reminders, and payment receipts. Its customer service support is highly regarded, and ready-made integrations with third-party apps extend the app’s functionality.
With Checkfront, customers need not call or email you during business hours to book a tour, rental, activity, or accommodation. 24/7 self-service booking portals are accessible to customers via your website, Facebook, or the Checkfront hosted booking page. To embed Checkfront to your website, choose from the pre-built website integrations available: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, or Droplet.
Configure the booking page as necessary, including the system language you want used, and when done, click on the Generate Code button. Copy the code and paste it to your website. Checkfront also allows booking referrals from third parties such as Expedia, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and even concierges.
To allow customers to book your services, tours, or rental properties, you first have to set up your inventory. The Inventory menu in your Checkfront dashboard is where you list down your items, which are the goods or services you offer and can be booked per day, night, or hourly. Base and group pricing can be specified, including discounts and packages. Checkfront can also handle deposits and taxes, as well as additional options such as adult versus child pricing.
For seasonal or special offers, item events can be created to adjust the availability or price of certain inventory items based on dates. For example, you can offer winter specials at 25% less from December to March.
Checkfront supports a total of 32 payment gateways. Among these are PayPal, Stripe, Intuit, Authorize.net, Braintree, Sage Pay, 2Checkout, QuickBooks Merchant, and Beanstream. Once set up, customers can pay you online when they book a service or activity, either in full or partially.
To set up payments, from the Manage menu, select E-Commerce. Choose your payment gateway, supply the required information, and click on the Activate button. With the help of a credit card reader, Checkfront can also function as a point-of-sale system that allows you to process credit card payments from anywhere.
For insights into the traffic performance of your booking portals and the effectiveness of your marketing initiatives, Checkfront comes prebuilt with standard reports that you can use right out of the box. These reports include activity log, cash-out report, items report, discounts and promotions report, sales report, transactions report, allocation and occupancy report, staff report, monthly booking volume, revenue report, total bookings by category, commissions by partners, and traffic and bookings report.
Customized sales summaries can likewise be generated. Data can be exported as Excel, CSV, XML, and PDF files. The reports can be accessed from the dashboard’s Reports menu.
Checkfront gives customers the ability to create their own accounts so they can log in, update their contact information, and manage their bookings. This feature isn’t on by default. To offer it to your customers, from the dashboard, click on the Manage menu and select Accounts. Click on the Customer Accounts tab, then the Customer Account Settings button on the left side of the screen. Click on the Enabled radio button next to Customer Logins.
If you want all new customers to go through an email verification process, enable the Required radio button. Customer accounts are created either by the customers themselves or on their behalf by your employees.
Staff accounts can be created as well. From the Manage menu, click on Accounts, then Staff Accounts. The New Staff button is located on the left panel. Fill in the required information such as the staff’s login ID, first name, last name, email address, and password. By default, staff accounts are granted administrator or full access rights. Change this by selecting only the tasks the staff is authorized to perform.
Checkfront integrates with a number of third-party apps including Google Analytics and Facebook Advertising for marketing; WordPress and Joomla for content management; Xero and QuickBooks Online for accounting; Zoho CRM and Salesforce for CRM; and PayPal and Braintree for payments.
An open developer API is also available for custom integrations.
Checkfront offers four subscription plans: Soho, Pro, Plus, and Enterprise.
Soho costs $49 per month and supports three staff accounts and up to 1,200 bookings per year. At $99 per month, Pro can accommodate a total of 10 staff accounts and 3,000 bookings per year, and offers priority support. Plus, their most popular package, costs $199 per month and can be used by up to 25 staff members, handles a total of 6,000 bookings per year, and provides toll-free support.
Enterprise, priced at $499 per month, supports an unlimited number of staff accounts, provides a dedicated account manager, and can handle more than 12,000 bookings per year.
Discounts of up to 15% can be availed for annual plans. For custom plans, contact the Checkfront sales team.
A 21-day free trial is also available, no credit card required.
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