Why it matters

Not every guest books online. Someone calls, or walks up to your desk, ready to book right then and there. You build that booking yourself, using the same tools your own website already runs on -- and once it exists, staff can do a couple of things a self-service guest never does: print a physical ticket instead of just a receipt, and request payment by email instead of collecting it on the spot.

What you'll learn

• How to start a manual booking from New Trip on the Dashboard, using the same Catalog, Agenda, and Customer Types steps your guest-facing widget already runs on.
• The checkout options only staff have: cash, a card reader, or a card already on file at the counter, plus Skip Payment to save the booking as a Draft and settle payment later.
• The difference between a Sales Receipt (a browser print or Save-as-PDF documenting the transaction) and a physical ticket (sent straight to your connected printer for the guest to carry).
• How to send a Payment Request email instead of collecting payment at the counter, for phone bookings where there is no card reader in hand.
• Where every action on this booking -- the sale, the payment, the ticket, the email -- gets logged: the trip's History panel.

Prerequisites

• Access to the Dashboard's New Trip quick-link.
• A connected printer if you plan to print a physical ticket, and a Payment Request message template if you plan to email for payment.

Making the change

1. Open New Trip from the Dashboard. This opens the same engine that powers your guest-facing booking widget: Catalog for choosing an activity, Agenda for picking a date and timeslot, and Customer Types for adults, kids, or any custom ticket type you have set up. If you have ever walked a guest through your own widget, this will already look familiar -- you are just driving it from behind the counter.
2. Build the cart, then check out. Checkout gives staff options a guest never sees: take cash, tap or swipe a card reader right at the counter, or charge a card already on file. If payment is not happening this second, Skip Payment saves the booking as a Draft instead of forcing a charge -- the real difference from the guest widget, where a guest always pays to finish.
3. Choose the right print for the job. A Sales Receipt is a browser print or Save-as-PDF documenting the transaction itself -- what was bought, for how much. A physical ticket is the one the guest actually carries onto the activity, sent straight to your connected printer. Reach for the receipt to document the sale, and the ticket to hand the guest something to carry.
4. Send a Payment Request instead of collecting at the counter, when it fits. For a phone booking with no card reader in hand, send an Email using the Payment Request template. It hands the guest a secure link to pay their deposit or remaining balance on their own time, using the same deposit-and-balance structure you already use online.
5. Check the History panel. Every one of those actions -- the sale, the payment, the ticket you printed, the email you sent -- lands in one place: the trip's History panel, a running audit trail of everything that happens to this booking from the moment it is created.

Common mistakes

• Opening the Dashboard's Point of Sale button expecting to book an activity. That quick-link opens a retail/gift-shop product catalog only. To book an activity for a guest, use New Trip instead, which opens the Catalog/Agenda/Customer Types flow this lesson covers.
• Printing a Sales Receipt when the guest needs a physical ticket, or the reverse. A receipt documents the transaction; a ticket is what the guest carries onto the activity. They are two separate prints for two separate jobs.
• Forcing a charge when the guest is not ready to pay. Skip Payment saves the booking as a Draft so you can finish the booking first and settle payment later, instead of losing the sale.

Expected final result

The booking exists on the trip with the right ticket types and guest details, payment is either collected or intentionally deferred, the guest has whatever physical ticket or receipt the moment called for, and the trip's History panel shows a complete record of everything that happened -- ready for the next lesson's edits, cancellations, or refunds.

FAQ

Where do I start a manual booking for a phone or walk-in guest?

Open New Trip from the Dashboard. It opens the same Catalog, Agenda, and Customer Types flow that runs your guest-facing booking widget, just driven from behind the counter.

What is the difference between a Sales Receipt and a physical ticket?

A Sales Receipt is a browser print or Save-as-PDF documenting the transaction -- what was bought, for how much. A physical ticket is sent to your connected printer and is what the guest actually carries onto the activity.

Can I create a booking without collecting payment right away?

Yes. At checkout, choose Skip Payment to save the booking as a Draft instead of forcing a charge, then collect payment later.

How do I request payment from a guest I booked over the phone?

Send an Email using the Payment Request template. It gives the guest a secure link to pay their deposit or remaining balance on their own time.

Where can I see everything that has happened on a booking?

The trip's History panel logs every action -- the sale, the payment, any ticket printed, and any message sent -- as a running audit trail.

Related lessons

• Editing an Existing Booking
• Canceling a Booking
• Refunding a Booking & Handling Disputes
• Creating a Booking Widget

Learn more

• What Point of Sale can and cannot do
• Sell a product
• Send or print a receipt for a booking
• Set up ticket printing with QZ Tray
• Create a Request for Payment message

Transcript

Not every guest books online. Someone calls, or walks up to your desk, ready to book right then and there. You build that booking yourself, using the same tools your own website already runs on.

Start from New Trip on your Dashboard. It opens the same engine that powers your guest-facing booking widget: the same Catalog of activities, the same Agenda for picking a date and timeslot, the same Customer Types for adults, kids, or any custom ticket type you've set up. If you've ever walked a guest through your own widget, this will already look familiar -- you're just driving it from behind the counter instead of watching a guest drive it themselves.

Once the cart is built, checkout gives you options a guest never sees. Take cash, tap or swipe a card reader right at the counter, or charge a card you already have on file. And if payment isn't happening right this second -- maybe they want to think it over, maybe you're just holding the slot -- Skip Payment saves the booking as a Draft instead of forcing a charge. That's the real difference from the guest widget: a guest always pays to finish, but staff can finish the booking first and settle payment later.

Walk-in guests often want something physical, and TripWorks gives you two different prints for two different jobs. A Sales Receipt is a browser print, or a Save-as-PDF, documenting the transaction itself -- what was bought, for how much. A physical ticket is the one the guest actually carries onto the activity, sent straight to your connected printer. Reach for the receipt to document the sale, and the ticket to hand the guest something to carry.

For a phone booking, where there's no card reader in hand and no line to hold up, send an Email using the Payment Request template instead. It hands the guest a secure link to pay their deposit or remaining balance on their own time -- the same deposit-and-balance structure you already use online, just delivered by email after the call.

Every one of those actions -- the sale, the payment, the ticket you printed, the email you sent -- lands in one place: the trip's History panel, a running audit trail of everything that happens to this booking from the moment it's created. That's exactly where you'll look in the lessons ahead. When you reschedule an activity or add a guest, that's Editing an Existing Booking. When the trip needs to go away entirely, that's Canceling a Booking. And if money ever needs to come back, that's Refunding a Booking & Handling Disputes. The History panel is where this booking's story keeps getting written -- and it starts the moment you build it here.