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Settings

Booking rules

Every row on Settings, Booking rules: what it changes, its default, and who it is for.

Booking rules are how I decide what a booking even is: how far ahead it can be made, whether people pick any time or a fixed slot, whether a series is allowed, and whether a room may ask for a nod first. Most of it is set once, in the wizard. The venue hire group at the foot is for halls that let to the public, with one exception worth everyone’s look: the daily digest, the morning email for whoever opens up, lives there too.

What you ask bookers 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.

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