How to set up online booking for your rental company
To set up online booking in Papalocal, open Rentals. The Reservations page lists six steps, each ticked from your real settings. They cover your items, Stripe, delivery fees, your rental agreement, turning booking on, and booking on your website. Each step has a button that opens the setting it needs.
Step by step
Before you start: you need a Papalocal account and your rental company on Papalocal. Put your business on Papalocal shows how.
0:00Open the checklist. In Rentals, the Reservations page shows Set up online booking and how many steps are done.
0:07Read the ticks. Each tick comes from your real settings. Here Add what you rent, Connect Stripe and Set your delivery fees are done.
0:13See what's left.Choose your rental agreement, Turn on online booking and Put booking on your website. The last one ticks itself when an online booking comes in.
0:24Tap Turn it on. It opens Online booking, the tab inside Rentals. An Online booking in your Work menu is a different one, for services.
0:34Read why it's closed. The top of the tab says why booking isn't open yet. Stripe is connected and there are items to book, but the switch is still off.
0:41Switch it on. Tick Take bookings online and click Save settings. After a moment the page reloads, and online booking is open.
0:50Check the list. Back on Reservations, Turn on online booking is ticked, and 4 of 6 are done.
Good to know
Every step opens its own setting. Each line has a button, like Choose it or Get the code, that opens its setting.
The top of Online booking checks three things. Stripe connected, items customers can book, and Take bookings online switched on. In the video, booking opens before the rental agreement is chosen.
An item counts once it can be booked. One with no price, none in stock, or still a draft isn't counted. The first line says how many items customers can book.
Rentals come with the Papalocal plan. Without the plan on, the list starts with one more step, Turn on the plan. The price is under What it costs.
Customers only pick up? If Customers can is set to pickup only, the delivery fee step counts as done.
Pinewood Party Rentals and its items are made up.
Written with AI from this video's script and screens.
Online booking is one part of running your rental company on Papalocal.
The everything app. As simple as you want it, or as complete as you allow it to be.
Looking for party rental booking software? Online booking sits beside your items, Stripe payments and website.
The plan holds, in one place:
Your customer list: each lead and customer, with their quotes and jobs on one page
Quotes, jobs and schedule
Invoices and pay links
Your website, on a domain you own
Google Business Profile sync, for your first location
Reviews: links, QR codes and an embed
Time clock, team chat and training
The same account holds your own side too: music, books, messages, your money and your people. Some of it has paid upgrades.
Free to sign up, no card. Your account and your business page have no monthly charge. One thing is on from the start: AI replies to your reviews, $0.15 each plus AI usage. You can pause them.
Once you turn the plan on: $30 a month (one person; each added employee is $10 a month), plus 1.25% of payments your customers make through Papalocal, plus Stripe's processing fee. It's billed daily from a prepaid balance. Once your card is saved, it's charged a top-up within the hour, and again each time the balance falls under a month's charges plus 15%. You choose the top-up amount ($25 or more; $100 until you change it). You can cancel the plan online after its first 30 days; cancel any add-ons on it first.
Papalocal's founder, Garret Merkley, has started 7 local service businesses in 16 years. He bought one, sold one and closed some.
Is Online booking in the Work menu the same thing?
No. That one is for services. Online booking for rentals is the tab inside Rentals.
Do I need Stripe?
Yes. Online booking can't open until Stripe is connected. Deposits and payments are paid into your own Stripe account.
What does it cost?
It's free to sign up, with no card. Your account and your business page have no monthly charge. One thing is on from the start: AI replies to your reviews, $0.15 each plus AI usage. You can pause them. The plan starts only when you turn it on: $30 a month (one person; each added employee is $10 a month), plus 1.25% of payments your customers make through Papalocal, plus Stripe's processing fee.
How is it billed, and can I cancel?
It's billed daily from a prepaid balance. Once your card is saved, it's charged a top-up within the hour, and again each time the balance falls under a month's charges plus 15%. You choose the top-up amount ($25 or more; $100 until you change it). You can cancel the plan online after its first 30 days; cancel any add-ons on it first.
Will Papalocal find me customers?
No. Papalocal gives you the tools. Finding customers is your work.
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