A clear workspace.
A well-planned day.

1. Open your workspace

On your own website, open /?ub_manager=1 and sign in using your WordPress account. Owners see setup and integration controls; Booking Managers handle daily operations. Booking Staff use /?ub_manager=1&ub_staff=1&tab=service.

The public booking page is for customers. The licence account on booking-connect.heygeorge.co.za is for purchasing and downloading the software; it is not your customer booking dashboard.

2. Create something bookable

1. As the owner, open What you offer in the workspace.
2. Choose rooms, tables, rentals, appointments or classes/events and enter a name customers will recognise.
3. Enter the price, billing basis, available quantity and people per unit. A zero price creates a free reservation.
4. Set the shortest booking, minimum notice, preparation time and business timezone.
5. Choose any-day availability or weekly opening windows. Leave closed days blank. For a break, use 09:00-12:00, 13:00-17:00.
6. Add an image, short description and up to six key details, then save.

Create separate entries for items that cannot substitute for each other, such as different variants or individual rooms. Capacity is simultaneous availability; it is separate from the number of people allowed per unit.

Use Availability for holidays, maintenance or temporary closures. Preparation time protects inventory on both sides of the booking.

3. Publish your product cards

1. Edit a WordPress page using the block editor.
2. Add the Bookable products block.
3. Choose the offer type and collection limit. Set desktop, tablet and mobile column counts.
4. Choose which image, price, availability and key-detail elements to show.
5. Include the booking form below the cards or link to your published booking page.
6. Preview desktop and phone layouts, then publish and complete a real test reservation.

Each collection displays up to 24 cards. Larger inventories can use separate filtered collections. A date check is an availability quote; it does not hold stock until the customer reserves.

For a classic editor or page builder, use [ubuntu_booking_catalog columns="3" tabletcolumns="2" mobilecolumns="1" kind="rental"]. A standalone booking form uses [ubuntu_booking].

4. Link optional items and extras

Reusable rental inventory is built into Ubuntu Booking. It does not require creating WooCommerce stock products.

1. Create each reusable add-on as its own rental entry, with its name, image, quantity, rate and preparation rules.
2. Open the main offer and link the compatible entries. Up to ten linked rental entries are supported.
3. Mark an entry as add-on-only if it should not appear as a main public booking choice.
4. The customer selects optional quantities before reviewing the combined booking total.

The main entry and selected reusable items reserve dated stock together and share one native invoice or WooCommerce order. Shared add-ons cannot be double-booked through different main entries. Links are one level deep.

Extras catalogue covers separate sale items and guest-service requests, such as goods ordered during a stay. These use their own fulfilment/payment workflow. They are different from reusable items reserved with the main booking.

5. Run the day planner

1. Open the booking planner or staff Daily operations page.
2. Select the day and offer type. Choose Day schedule, Resource cards or Booking list.
3. Select a booking or resource to see its details and available actions.
4. Record a permitted start or arrival, then completion or departure when it actually occurs.
5. Use My layout and refresh to save your preferred view and refresh interval.

The red line shows the current business time on today's timeline. It is intentionally absent on a past or future date. Overlapping bookings use separate columns. Current availability describes now; the selected-day schedule can show another date.

For a restaurant, seating records occupancy and departure releases current table capacity. The next reservation remains protected. For other niches, the equivalent start/finish labels can be customised. Rental returns and inspection exceptions belong in the manager workspace.

6. Manage reservations and payments

Use Reservations to inspect references, status, customer details, booked dates and linked items. Add booking lets authorised managers enter a booking for a customer.

A same-price date move rechecks availability for every linked item. A move that changes the price needs a replacement booking and a payment adjustment rather than rewriting a paid invoice.

In Payments, review invoices, deposits, balances and payment evidence. Booking status and money are separate. An abandoned checkout or browser return is not proof of payment. Cancellation is not a refund; verify the transaction in the provider account and use the appropriate refund-record workflow.

Unpaid holds normally expire after 15 minutes. Expired stock is not automatically restored by a late payment; it requires review. Do not create a second charge while a provider outcome is uncertain.

7. Receive rental items back

1. Record the handover when the rental leaves your business.
2. Open Rental returns to record each returned line.
3. Allow its preparation period to finish.
4. Inspect it and explicitly mark it ready before offering it again.

Completing a rental records outstanding items as returned, but does not mark them inspected and ready. Overdue and uninspected items continue to restrict availability. Pooled lines return their full quantity together; separately tracked assets need separate entries.

8. Match your brand and terminology

As the owner, open Dashboard branding. Choose background, navigation, card, accent and text colours and one of the provided local font stacks. Check the live preview, then save. The plugin validates readable contrast; status and warning colours remain distinct.

Under Planner labels, choose a business profile or customise resource, customer, capacity and start/finish wording. Labels are shared across the workspace and do not change booking rules or permissions.

9. Daily checks

• Review today's reservations, current occupancy, overdue returns and outstanding guest requests.
• Check pending/uncertain payments in the correct provider account before recharging.
• Open System health for delayed workers and failed integration jobs.
• Inspect real email and WhatsApp delivery evidence after connection changes.
• Back up before updates and test changes on staging before updating your public site.

See the hosting scheduler instructions and troubleshooting guide.