In Bookingboard, Sub-Accounts are designed for situations where an account needs to be paid for or managed by someone other than the member themselves.
The most common use case is a family setup: a parent (Primary Account) needs to manage a child's profile (Sub-Account) to book classes, check them in, and handle their membership invoices.
This guide breaks down how primary and sub-accounts interact, including billing logic, communication rules, and how to set them up.
App Experience & Management
When a primary account has one or more linked sub-accounts, the primary user gains delegated access.
Within the Bookingboard app, the primary account holder can seamlessly switch between their own profile and their linked sub-accounts. Once switched, they can perform all the same actions—such as booking, checking in, and paying invoices—just as if they had logged directly into the sub-account.
Billing and Payment Logic
To maintain accurate bookkeeping and traceability, Bookingboard follows specific rules for invoicing and payment collection when sub-accounts are involved.
Invoice Ownership: Even though the primary account may be paying, invoices for sub-account memberships are always issued in the sub-account holder's name (e.g., the child's name). This ensures a clear paper trail of who actually holds the membership.
Payment Routing: When the system attempts to collect a payment for a sub-account, it follows a strict hierarchy:
Condition | Card Charged |
Primary account has a saved payment card | The Primary Account's card |
Primary account has NO saved payment card | The Sub-Account's card (if one is attached) |
Emails & System Communication
Every account in Bookingboard requires a unique email address to function properly. However, the system includes safeguards for dependents who may not have their own email, as well as rules to ensure parents stay informed.
Email Generation
Online Sales Page: If a parent creates a sub-account for their child via your center's online sales page and leaves the email field blank, Bookingboard will automatically generate a unique, fictitious email address for that sub-account.
Admin Dashboard: When administrators manually create a sub-account, checking the "Is Sub-Account" box reveals a tool to auto-generate a dummy email address directly on the creation form.
Communication Routing
To ensure the responsible party never misses an important update, Bookingboard mirrors certain communications to the primary account holder:
Financial Communications: All financial emails triggered by the sub-account (invoices, credit notes, payment receipts, and payment reminders) are always copied to the primary account.
Newsletters: Marketing and newsletter emails intended for the sub-account are routed to the primary account only if the sub-account member is under 18 years old.
How to Create a Sub-Account
When setting up a family or a managed profile, you will need to create the sub-accounts individually and link them to the main profile.
Navigate to New Member:
From the main dashboard, go to Members → Memberships → New Member.
Enter Personal Information:
Fill in the contact and personal information for the sub-account holder (e.g., the child).
Enable Sub-Account Status:
Scroll down to the account settings section and check the box labeled "Is Sub-Account".
Generate an Email:If the member does not have their own email.
Use the email generation tool that appears in the form to create a unique system email for the profile.
Link to the Primary Account:
Click the dropdown list and select the designated Main Account (e.g., the parent).
Save and Repeat:
Click Save. Repeat this exact process for any additional sub-accounts you need to link to that primary account.