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Categories

A category is a kind of thing you rent: "city bikes", "double kayaks", "party tent 6×12". It is not one item; the items are your objects.

The category is where almost everything lives: the price, the deposit, the opening hours, the rules about how long something may be rented and when it may go out. Objects are just stock.

The list​

Categories shows your categories grouped per location, so a multi-location business sees at a glance what each shop offers. Each card shows the category and how many objects it holds. Create category adds one.

The categories screen: cards grouped under each location heading, every card showing the category name and how many resources it holds.

Creating a category​

The create form asks for the essentials:

  • Location: which shop it belongs to.
  • Category type (branch): bicycles and e-bikes, scooters, boats, ski and snowboard, campervans and caravans, equipment and tools, party and events, AV and camera, sports and outdoor. Choosing correctly matters: the branch pre-fills rules that businesses of that type usually need.
  • Name and short description: what the customer sees.
  • Base rental price and its price interval (per hour, per day, per week, per month).
  • Image.
  • Require deposit and the deposit per item, if you take one.

When you pick a branch, a short list appears of what it will set up for you, for example Deposit is switched on, Rented for at least 3 day(s), Rentals start on Saturday, 30 minutes changeover time after each rental, The customer chooses a size when booking, Objects need a barcode or serial number, or Two departures set up (morning and afternoon). Everything it fills in can be changed straight away or later.

The category screen​

Opening a category gives you four tabs.

General​

Location, name, category type, short description, and the internal use switch.

An internal category is one your own staff use but customers cannot book: a courtesy bike, a demo unit, the van you use for deliveries. It still occupies stock and still shows on your calendars; it simply never appears in the booking widget.

Display​

  • Category colour: the colour this category's blocks get on the day calendars. Give your busiest categories distinct colours and the calendar becomes readable at a glance.
  • Image.

Pricing​

Your rate table, deposit, and prepayment. This has its own page: Pricing.

Also on this tab:

  • Preparation and turnaround time: minutes before and after a rental during which the object is automatically unbookable, so a bike that comes back at 17:00 needing a clean is not rented out again at 17:01.
  • Rental period rules, changeover days, time slots, sizes and identifier requirements. These have their own page too: Booking rules.

Dynamic pricing​

Seasonal and weekend surcharges, and discounts for longer rentals. See Dynamic pricing.

Up-sell items on a category​

A category can carry extras and waivers that are offered whenever it is booked.

What happens to bookings when you change a category​

Nothing. A booking captures its prices, its waiver percentage, its deposit and its rules at the moment it was made. Raising your prices in June does not rewrite what you agreed with a customer in April, and editing that April booking still prices it at April's rates.