Venues can be created and managed in SheepCRM. These venues can be purely internal, or visible for end-users to reserve or make enquiries for through the self-service app.
Creating a Venue
Venues can be created or updated by going to the Settings section. In the sidebar select the Bookings tab. Scroll down to the Managed Venues section to see existing appeals with the option to create a new venue.
New Venue
Click on Add new Venue to start creating a new venue. This will bring up a window to fill in the core information required for a new venue.
You will be asked to select the type of bookable you wish to create. In this instance, you want to select the Venue option. Selecting Venue will expand the form to show more fields to enter data into:
Name
Enter the name of the venue, which will be visible to front-end users.
Short Description
Outline the venue, this should be a short and clear as possible.
Full Description
Enter an in-depth description of the venue, including the facilities included in the venue and any additional information that will be useful to potential bookers. Use as much detail as possible to help promote the venue.
Tags
For internal use, mark the venue with tags to help search and identify it more easily.
When creating the venue, you'll be presented with additional venue settings to configure:
Manage Availability
If you want to manage the availability for this venue either in SheepCRM or through the self-service app you will want to select YES. Please note: If you select NO for this, the venue will appear in the Other Venues section underneath the rest of your manageable venues and you will be unable to create or manage bookings.
Disable Clash Detection
By default Sheep will stop you or a front-end user double booking a venue. If this venue can legitimately be double booked or used by more than one user, disable clash detection and Sheep will allow this venue to be double-booked.
Connect Google Calendar
If you have an existing Google Calendar that you would like to import into this Venue, select YES. Please note: You must connect your Google Account to Sheep first in the API Keys section.
Calendar colour
If you want to set a specific colour for this Venue, select a colour from the available options. Please note: If no colour is selected Sheep will pick a colour at random.
Click below to choose a colour.
Capacity
For internal use, enter the max capacity for the venue.
Available facilities
Start typing to view and select facilities from the generated list. These facilities will appear on the venue information page in the self-service app. Additional facilities can be created by typing a new phrase and clicked on the generated option.
Hire Cost (for reference)
Enter a price value to display on the self-service app. This is generally a stand-alone price (£40.00) but could also include extra information (£40.00 ph). The app will automatically put a 'from' in front.
Opening Time
For internal use, enter the opening time for the venue.
Closing Time
For internal use, enter the closing time for the venue.
Location
Enter the full address of the venue, this will be present on email confirmations to help users find the venue.
Click Save to create the venue. Once the venue has been created, you can edit the venue to add additional information.
Edit existing Venue
To edit an existing venue, find the venue you wish to edit and click on the edit button to change the information in the venue. You can also deactivate the venue.
On existing venues, there are several new fields to add additional content to further improve and promote the venue:
Photo & Secondary Photos
Upload images to showcase or promote the venue. Ideally, these should be landscape and in JPEG format.
Short-term Hireability
If you wish for the venue to be available for reservations and enquiries by front-end users through the self-service app, select YES. If you select NO and have Manage Availability set to YES, you will still be able to create and manage bookings inside SheepCRM.
Allow/enforce enquiries
If you would like front-end users to only be able to make full reservations for the venue, select Full Reservations only. If you prefer users to make non-binding enquiries that you can manually approve, select Enquiries only. If you are happy for users to perform either, select Both.
Viewing / Managing Reservations and Enquiries
To view and manage reservations and enquiries made through the self-service app, please read this article with more information: https://intercom.help/sheepcrm/en/articles/4379993-venue-hire-creating-managing-bookings