What you ask members for
Booking reasons
- What it does
- A short list an admin can pick from when booking on a member's behalf. It is optional, you write the list yourself, and members can see the reason on their booking. Up to 20 reasons, 140 characters each.
- Default
- None. The list is yours to write.
- For
- Venues where admins often book on a member's behalf.
- Leave it alone if
- Admins rarely book for other people.
- For example
- A therapy practice. Telephone request, supervision.
- A village hall. Parish council, private class, maintenance.
How bookings work
How far ahead
- What it does
- How far into the future anyone can book. The diary greys out dates beyond it. A standing booking is always kept a week ahead of it, so nobody can take its slot.
- Default
- 3 months to start; up to 24.
- For
- Every venue.
- For example
- A therapy practice. Two or three months, matching a block of sessions.
- A village hall. Six or twelve months, so parties and weddings can plan.
Booking style
- What it does
- How people choose a time: any start and end, fixed slots, or a desk for the day. It changes the booking screen for everyone and decides how a room can be priced. Settle it before you add rooms.
- Default
- Venue hire: any start and end time.
- For
- Every venue, chosen once.
- For example
- A therapy practice. Appointments, hour-long slots with the changeover inside.
- A village hall. Venue hire, any times within opening hours.
- A co-working hub. Co-working, a desk for the day from the pool.
Repeating bookings
- What it does
- Whether members can book a series, and which patterns are allowed. A series is one booking with many dates, and outside co-working it can only be booked when it is free on every date. A series with no fixed end rolls forward with your horizon.
- Default
- On: daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly; no fixed end off.
- For
- Venues with regular classes, clinics or groups.
- Leave it alone if
- You only ever take one-off bookings.
- For example
- A therapy practice. A client seen fortnightly at the same hour.
- A village hall. The Tuesday yoga class, every week for a term.
Approvals
- What it does
- Whether a room can ask for an admin's sign-off before a booking is confirmed. With this on, a member's booking of a room marked Requires approval becomes a request that waits for the owner or a full admin, and does not hold the room until approved. Off, every booking confirms at once whatever the room says.
- Default
- Off. Every booking confirms at once.
- For
- Venues with a room that needs a check before it is let.
- Leave it alone if
- Every room can be booked without asking anyone.
- For example
- A village hall. The main hall on a Saturday night needs a nod; the committee room does not.
Ask members to accept bookings made for them
- What it does
- Whether a priced booking an admin makes for someone waits for that person to accept it. With this on, the booking is held until they accept it or the time to answer runs out, and that time only starts once they have signed in. Off, it confirms at once and they are told who booked it and what it costs.
- Default
- Off. A booking made for someone confirms at once and they are told.
- For
- Venues that book priced rooms on members' behalf and want each person to agree to the charge in Doris first.
- Part of
- Diary & Billing
- Leave it alone if
- You only book for people who have already agreed, in person or on the phone.
- For example
- A village hall. The secretary enters the choir's term of Tuesdays after agreeing it at the committee meeting, so this stays off.
- A co-working hub. A co-working space books a month of desk days for a new member and wants them to accept the price in the app.
Member name sharing
- What it does
- Let members show their name to other members on the room view. Each member still decides for themselves on their Account page; turning this on shows nothing until they opt in. You and other admins always see who booked.
- Default
- Off.
- For
- Communities that want to know who is in the building.
- Leave it alone if
- Confidentiality matters more, as in a counseling practice.
- For example
- A therapy practice. Off, so no practitioner can see who else is in.
- A co-working hub. On, so a member can see Sarah is at desk four.
Floor map
Show members the floor map
- What it does
- Show members the floor map on a laptop or desktop. They see what is free right now and can click a free room to book it. Who is in a room follows the name-sharing rules above.
- Default
- Off.
- For
- Bigger buildings where a picture beats a list.
- Part of
- Diary
- Leave it alone if
- You have not drawn a map, or the building is small.
- For example
- A co-working hub. Members pick a desk by the window from the plan.
Venue hire
Guest bookings
- What it does
- Book a room for someone who is not a member, on any plan. Their details are deleted 12 months after the booking, and the booking itself stays. On Diary & Billing the guest also gets a confirmation email with your payment details, and you can record a deposit and a balance.
- Default
- Off.
- For
- Halls and venues that hire to the public.
- Leave it alone if
- Your building is members-only.
- For example
- A village hall. A birthday party for a parent who books once a year.
Balance due
- What it does
- How long before the day the rest of a hire must be paid. One rule for every hire, and reminders follow it. If the date moves, the due date moves with it.
- Default
- 14 days before the day.
- For
- Venues taking a deposit now and the rest later.
- Part of
- Diary & Billing
- Leave it alone if
- Hire fees are paid on the day.
- For example
- A village hall. Wedding balances a fortnight before the day.
What you ask guests for
- What it does
- What you ask a guest when you book for them, beyond name and phone. Text or a tick box, required or not, in the order you set. The answers sit on the booking, the day sheet and the morning digest.
- Default
- Name, phone and email.
- For
- Venues that need to know more before a hire.
- Part of
- Diary & Billing
- Leave it alone if
- Name, phone and email are enough.
- For example
- A village hall. What the event is, how many are coming, whether there will be music.
Daily digest
- What it does
- An email each morning listing the day's bookings, for whoever opens up. Sent at the hour you choose, in your venue's time, to up to 5 addresses. Nobody on the list needs a Doris account.
- Default
- Off.
- For
- Venues where someone other than an admin opens up.
- Part of
- Diary & Billing
- Leave it alone if
- The admins open the building themselves.
- For example
- A village hall. The caretaker and the cleaner get the list at seven each morning.