The booking portal for staff, members and hirers
People without a back-office login book from a web page: parents, students, members, residents and outside hirers. They browse what they may book, pick a free time on a facility's day and book. Then they follow their bookings: check in, accept a waitlist offer, pay, sign or cancel.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Parents and members phone the office to ask whether the hall is free on Saturday.
- Outside people cannot get a back-office login, so every booking is typed by the front desk.
- Bookers never hear what happened to a request, so they ask again or turn up anyway.
- Payment, the signed agreement and the booking live in three places.
How it works
- Tick Portal Users May Book on the booking policy of each facility that people outside the office may book. Facilities without it never show on the portal.
- The person signs in. The Facility Bookings card on the portal's home page, or Book a facility in the menu, lists the facilities open to them. Each shows its photo, place, size, amenities and Free now or Busy now.
- They search by name, place or amenity, filter by type, size or Free now, and open a facility. A strip of seven days shows how many times are free each day, up to the policy's limit on how far ahead.
- They pick a free time and say what for, how long and how many people. They add a note if they wish, accept the rules when asked, and press Book.
- The page says what happens next: booked, sent for approval with the time held, pay to confirm, or sign the agreement. The same rules and approvals run as in the back office.
- Under My bookings they follow each booking and act on it. They can Check in and Check out, Accept the offer or Decline, Pay now, Sign the agreement, or Cancel booking with a reason.
Everything it does
Finding a facility
- Only facilities that allow booking, are visible to the person's Entity, and have Portal Users May Book on their policy
- Search: every word must match the name, type, site, block or an amenity
- Filters: the type, Free now, and size: Any size, Up to 15, 16 to 50, 50 and more
- Each card shows today's first three free times as quick picks; the top of the page shows your next booking
A facility's day
- Times follow the policy: free time on the time step, fixed slots, or half and full days, inside opening hours
- Free times are grouped into Morning, Afternoon and Evening; taken times are struck out, with no name shown
- Days beyond the policy's How Far Ahead and closed days are marked
- A line warns when bookings of the facility may need approval
- The form: What for, How long (free time only), People up to the capacity, a note for the facility team, and the rules to accept
My bookings
- Upcoming, Past and All, 20 a page; the menu shows the count of upcoming bookings
- Each booking: what happens next and the time in the facility's own time zone. Also what for, people, notes, and the decision note when rejected or moved out
- Cancel booking: while waiting for approval, waiting for payment or confirmed
- Check in and Check out: with check-in on the policy; the door QR code opens the same check-in after sign-in
- Accept the offer or Decline: for a time offered from the waitlist, with the time it must be accepted by
With Growth and Scale
- Growth: the amount, the deposit and Pay by on the booking, Pay now, and the refund line. The agreement is signed on the page with a drawn or typed signature
- Growth: the public page at your address followed by /facilities, open without sign-in, with Sign in to book and Create an account
- Growth: outside hirers give a phone, an ID proof and number, and an address on the booking form
- Scale: Memberships in the menu, with visits left, used and booked; plans bought and paid online
Who uses it
Parent, student, member or residentBooks the facilities their policy allows and follows their bookings.
Outside hirerFinds a facility on the public page, creates an account, books, signs and pays (Growth).
Staff on a phoneCan use the same pages; staff see every facility open to their Entity.
Facility managerDecides which policies allow the portal and what rules apply.
Where you use it
- Portal: Book a facility, My bookings and Memberships, in the SmartMy portal look. It has a light and a dark theme, on a computer or a phone browser
- Public page: /facilities, without sign-in, with the Growth plan
- Web (office): Facilities > Configuration > Booking Rules > Booking Policies for Portal Users May Book
- Not on the portal: joining the waitlist, services, guests, a private booking, moving a booking, repeat bookings and reporting a problem. The SmartMy Facility app and the office screens have most of these
- Not on the portal: the price before booking; it shows on the booking once made, and in the app before booking
What you control
Settings
- Portal Users May Book: per booking policy, off until you tick it
- Every booking rule of the policy applies on the portal as in the back office
- Approve Public Bookings and Ask for an ID Proof: per facility, both on to start with, with public hire (Growth)
Approvals
- Facility booking: a portal booking goes through the same chain as any booking. With no set-up, only bookings of the Hall / Auditorium policy wait for the facility's approvers
Notifications
- Facility Booking Confirmed, Waiting for Approval, Rejected, Cancelled, Reminder, Waitlist Offer and Payment Due: to the booker, in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS go from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores
- Each of these goes out at once; a person can switch off a channel, never the message, and in-app notices always arrive
Works with
SmartMy CampusStudents and parents book on the same pages where the policy allows them.
Questions
Can a parent book the school auditorium from home?
Yes, when its policy has Portal Users May Book and, with SmartMy Campus, Parents May Book. The parent signs in to the portal and books like anyone else.Do people see who booked the taken times?
No. Taken times are struck out on the portal with no name.Can a hirer pay online?
Yes, with Growth and a payment provider set up. The booking shows Pay now and the date to pay by; unpaid, the time is given back.Can bookers join a waitlist on the portal?
No. On the portal they can accept or decline an offer. Joining the waitlist is in the SmartMy Facility app and the office screens.Can a booker move a booking to another time?
Not on the portal. They cancel and book again, or move it in the SmartMy Facility app, where the rules are checked again.Related features
PUBLIC HIREA public page for hiring your facilitiesFacilities you open to the public are listed on a page anyone can read, with each day's free and taken times. Hirers create an account, give their phone, ID proof and address, and book with your approval.PORTAL, OFFICE SCREENS AND APPThe SmartMy Facility phone appOne app for everyone who books, approves or runs a facility, on Android and iOS. Bookers find a free room and book in a few taps, scan the door QR to check in and report a problem with a photo. Approvers decide, the front desk runs its day, members see their passes and cashiers sell at the counter.CHARGES AND PAYMENTOnline payment, with the slot held until the deadlineAn outside hirer of a paid facility pays online before the booking is confirmed. The time is held for them until the deadline; if they do not pay, the invoice is cancelled and the time is freed.PUBLIC HIREHire agreement signed onlineA hirer reads your hire agreement on the booking page and signs it with a finger or the mouse before the booking goes on. The signature, name and time are kept, and the agreement prints with the signature.MEMBERSHIPSMembership plans with visits, sold onlineSell plans for a gym, pool or court: the facilities covered, how many days, how many visits and how many a day. Members-only facilities need a pass with visits left, and members buy and pay for plans on the portal.CHECK-IN AND NO-SHOWSCheck-in with the QR code on the door, and no-shows freedAsk people to check in when they arrive, by scanning the QR code on the door or tapping Check in. A booking nobody checks in to is released after the grace time, and leaving early frees the rest of the time.
See it with your own rooms.
Tell us what you run: rooms, halls, courts, desks. We will show you a booking from request to check-out with your rules.