Bookings: How to add additional information to bookings (Booking Notes)

You can add additional fields to the system by setting up Booking Notes to allow additional information to be captured when a user makes a booking. Catering Items are a type of booking note and follow the same formats. 

What is a Booking Note?

A Booking Note allows further details to be added when a booking is made. This information could be something that is useful to the user themselves, or to another person/department. For example you could add a field where the user can enter a Meeting Title, or select if IT Support is required.

You can set up as many Booking Notes as you wish, they can be mandatory or not mandatory, and active for entire resource categories, or individual rooms or resources. You can also add email addresses to notes that generate notifications to let relevant parties know when that note has have been filled - useful for your staff that may need to supply items for the booking.

1. How to set up a Booking Note

1. From the Administrator Homepage select Bookings > Booking Notes > Add Booking Note.

   

2. Note Name should identify the information that is being requested from the user, as this is what they will see see when entering a booking. This Name field can also include hyperlinks to an external target, such as a form, or notice - please see here for details.
   
3. Note Type allows you to choose different types of note: Text Field - allows the booker to type in any text they would like added to the booking.
   
   List Menu - allows the booker to select from a list of all possible options available when making their booking. If you choose this option a box will appear where you will be able to add the items for the list. For more on this, see step 5 below.
   
   Yes/No - allows the booker to choose "Yes" or "No" in answer to a question you have asked in the Note Name.
   
   Quantity - allows the booker to choose a number between 1 and 200.
   
   Label - selecting this option simply displays the Note Name to bookers, but does not require them to enter a response - it is a way of adding information that may be useful for the booker to see when booking. This booking note type can also include hyperlinks to an external target, such as a form, or notice - please see here for details.
4. Tick the Required box if you want this note to be mandatory when making a booking. This will mean that a booking cannot be made unless the note is completed.
5. Email Address for Notification: if you would like a notification email sent to someone when the booking note is completed, enter the address here. You can add more than one email address if required but you need to place a semi-colon ; between them. The email will contain the details, including notes, of the booking in question.
   
   If a Yes/No booking note has been used, then an email would only be sent if the user answered Yes on the note. This email address is also notified if the booking is cancelled.
6. If you chose to create a List Menu note you will be able enter the options available to the booker. Enter the name of the first item, then click on Add Item to add subsequent entries. You can also specify for each value a colour, which will be the colour of the booking on the Calendar if that value is selected when booking.
   
   If you have several List Menu notes with colours, the calendar will use the colour of the highest Booking Note.
7. Active Categories & Resources allows you to select the categories/rooms/resources of bookings for which the note will appear.
   
   Select All Categories & Resources if the note should appear on all bookings, or deselect it and select specific areas instead.
   
8. Once you have entered all your details click on Add Note.
9. If you delete a booking note it is removed from the system along with all of it's contents. This is made clear on the confirmation of deletion.

2. How to check how a note appears to a user

Now that your note has been added you may want to check how it will appear to a user. You can do this by going through the steps you would normally take when making a booking on behalf of someone.

1. Select Calendar when you are logged in as an administrator.
2. Under Add Booking For select a user and under Categories select a category that the note has been set up for.
3. Then choose a room to which the note applies, click on a time or timeslot and you will see the booking note details that you have added as one of the options to be completed when making the booking.
   
   In the example below we have added 'IT Support Required' which is a Yes/No note.