?	Frequently Asked Questions on the EBS system.

FAQ Index What is it? What are the benefits to my business and customers? What sort of functionality does it have? What does it look like? What is different about this booking system? What technology is the system based on? What hardware/software do I need to run the booking system? Are there any restrictions on how it is used? Why should the EBS system interest me as opposed to using some of the other offerings from a more generalised net advertiser/portal? When can we expect to see additional features? How does it work for a cottage/facility owner? How does the web link work with my own web site? I own one cottage. What would it cost me? Do you have a complete Price List? How easy is it to get started? I want to get started, but I am not computer literate, what should I do? What if I want to get started now? Once I have purchased the system what do I need to do? What is it? The EBS system has been designed to take into account the needs of entrepreneurs renting out cottage type facilities, typically to holiday seekers. It makes life easier for the owner to manage their bookings, and for the holiday seeker to book. What are the key benefits to my business and customers? Not only will your customers know immediately which dates are available, they can book straight-away, no emailing back and forth, no need to ring or wait until the office is open. Once your regular and new customers start to use the system, you can begin to make more effective use of your time, instead of taking numerous bookings over the phone, at inconvenient times. The system also adds a professional touch to your web site, instead of cumbersome forms and emails. Avoid Missing Bookings - customers that want a confirmed booking will now not go elsewhere. Your business gets a visually appealing and personal calendar, showing dates for your facilities only. What sort of functionality does it have? Customer / Owner Functionality: Customer - Registration Only registered users can use book through the system or administrate their cottage calendar. Customer - Provisional Bookings Customers make a provisional booking which is then later finalised, otherwise it automatically becomes available for others to book. Owner Functionality: Owner - Confirm Booking As the facility owner you will confirm the booking, usually based on taking a deposit or full payment. Owner - Remove Booking Bookings from cancellations can be easily removed from the calendar. Owner - Extend Calendar Each facility has it's own calendar which can be opened up or even closed, if renovating. Owner - Split / Join Blocks Each available week can be split up further, as required. These periods can even be joined back again, all with a few simple mouse clicks! So if a customer only wants 3 days and is prepared to pay a premium for them, you can still book out the remaining days! Owner - Record Payments As monies are received from bookees they can be recorded into the system. Owner - Reminders Customers can be reminded of non payment from this screen which provides a list of all outstanding payments. Simply locate the person in the list on the screen and click on their name to send a polite email reminder. The date when the last reminder was sent will automatically be recorded for you. Owner - Booking Records From this screen you can view all of the bookings which have been made from the start of the current year. There is also the ability to download the data into an Excel spreadsheet. Owner - Amend Prices Prices can be easily changed for each period or week. What does it look like? (click image for an enlarged picture) Main Booking Screen Some dates selected by bookee Dates selected, now confirmed       Owner Management Screen Facility Management Screen User Management Screen       Amend Prices Screen Split Weeks Screen Join Weeks Screen       Extend Calendar Screen Confirm Bookings Screen Record Payments Screen       Reminders Screen Remove Bookings Screen Booking Records Screen What is different about this booking system? Most booking systems are geared towards owners of hotels and large guest houses. These types of business book out rooms, according to dates chosen by the bookee. This is not suitable where the whole facility is booked out at a time as remining days become harder to let as customers requiring holiday accomodation typically only want a full week or maybe a weekend. This sort of "days based system" can be problematic for the typical cottage owner. Fortunately the EBS system is capable of breaking up weeks into bookable blocks according to customer/cottage owner needs. This system also presents the customer with a visual and very user-friendly calendar, where they can see at a glance what is available. What technology is the system based on? In order to provide a very high level of scalability and reliability the back end database system chosen was MySQL, a very well engineered and respected open source database engine. The web pages are built using a combination of .NET/ASP/VBSCRIPT/JAVASCRIPT, and of course HTML! What hardware/software do I need to run the booking system? Essentially a PC, internet access and web browser. The web browser should be one of the following: For the owner: - Internet Explorer version 6 or later. - Opera version 7.5 or later. For one of your booking customers: - Internet Explorer version 6 or later - Opera version 7.5 or later - Firefox version 1.0 or later - Netscape version 6 or later. However, it is likely that customers will also be able to use other browsers to book. Are there any restrictions on how it is used? No. However the system has been designed to be used in situations where the whole venue (be it cottage, country house or whatever) is let out. Why should the EBS system interest me as opposed to using some of the other offerings from a more generalised internet advertiser/portal? Most internet advertiser/portals do not host booking services for your facility, and those that do, typically focus on hotels where it it the room that is booked and not the facility. They may also offer a booking system where you still have to manually update the availability. This contrasts with the EBS system where your regular customers can be given the ability to reserve their preferred dates via the internet, you can then confirm the booking via the system and speak with them at your convenience. However, should you wish to continue a listing on such a site, this system can still take the booking from a customer by placing a simple link on the advertiser/portals site. When can we expect to see additional features? At present most efforts are being directed in supporting the existing user base and automating unnecessary manual processes, although work will begin in the second half of 2005 bringing further reporting enhancements and other features most requested by users/customers. How exactly does the system work for a cottage/facility owner? When the customer wants to make a booking they will click on the link (which we supplied to you) from your web site and be transferred to the booking system calendar, customised with your business name and facility details. After they have made a booking they click a link on the calendar, returning them to your web site. You will then be sent an email requesting you to confirm the booking and to take payment. Each customer must register before they can book. How does the web link work with my own web site? Each cottage/facility owner will receive their own individual web link to the system. This will be placed on the owner's website under their booking section. This link will direct the customer to your calendar for your facilities, where they can book. Based on your set-up preferences, the link can either open up a different web browser window or use the same one. Either way a link on the calendar page will return them back to your web site. I own one cottage. What would it cost me? Costs are charged according to the number of facilities. Example costing for an owner requiring the system for use with ONE facility: £30 - Annual maintenance fee (charged annually in advance). Costs for an owner requiring the system for use with 4 facilities: £120 - Annual maintenance fee. Note: For the first year setup fees are taken from the annual maintenance fee, i.e. they are effectively waived. In subsequent years only the maintenance fee is paid. Do you have a Price List? For up to date information on pricing click here. How easy is it to get started? Naturally some information has to be collected in order for each owner to be set up properly, although some details are optional. These are shown in a checklist which can be downloaded or sent to you via email. These details include such things as: 1) Your Business name. 2) Your email and website addresses. 3) Phone details. 4) Facility details, including capacity split by room types e.g. singles, doubles etc etc. On receipt of these details we can set up your customised calendar(s) and send out your administrator sign-on details, the web browser URL to your calendar(s), and the HTML hyperlink to be applied to your website. Once the hyperlink is on your website, your customers can start booking immediately! I want to get started, but I am not computer literate, what should I do? Don't panic! For a small additional fee the setup work can be done for you! Once the setup is complete and you have signed in on the web, you can view the help screen on each page and then email any further questions to support@my-booking.co.uk What if I want to get started now? Follow these steps: 1) Download, fill out, and return the Customer Setup Form. It should be sent to sales@my-booking.co.uk 2) Wait a day or so for us to set up your facilities and calendar. 3) We will then issue an invoice to you for payment. 4) After payment has been received you will receive:       - your user details - so that you can sign in to manage your facilities.       - an email containing two web links:            a) to paste into your browser to view/administer your calendar and facilities(URL).            b) to place on your web site for customers to start using, once you are happy with your setup(HTML Hyperlink). Once I have purchased the system what will I need to do? You will receive a "Getting Started" email, it will contain: * Your user details * A web link for you to paste into your web browser to take you to the calendar system * An HTML link for you to give to your webmaster/designer to place on your own web site * A "Getting Started" document with a set of five easy steps for you to follow. Once the steps in the guide have been completed and the HTML link has been added to your web site, your customers can start booking! All you will need to do then is: * Sign in each day * Confirm/Remove bookings as they come in/as is required * Record any payments made * Occasionally send out reminders?

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