Booking and operational workflows
From first enquiry to final follow-up. One connected workflow.
Bring booking requests, quotes, contracts, indemnities and customer updates into one connected process. Configure the steps, documents and reminders around how your business works.
For activity and adventure operators, venues, camps and group-booking businesses.
Sample booking
Sample dataThree-day outdoor camp
Riverbend Primary (fictional) · Kloof Bend Lodge (fictional)
- Dates
- 12–14 March
- Group
- 46 learners · 5 adults
- Quote
- R84,600.00 (sample)
Request received
Client and your team are told
Proposal prepared
Proposal PDF attached
Confirmation requirements
Deposit and contract
Pre-event preparation
Final details, kit list
Follow-up
Thanks and feedback
Illustration with fictional names and amounts.
How it works
Every booking comes with more than a date.
- 1Preparing a quote
- 2Sending the correct documents
- 3Following up deposits and contracts
- 4Collecting participant details and signatures
- 5Updating customers and operational teams
- 6Preparing resources
- 7Following up afterwards
Keep the steps connected, so your team can see what has happened and what still needs attention.
Workflow automation
Your process. Your rules. The right next step.
When something happens
A request comes in, a document is signed, a payment is recorded, or a date approaches.
Check the conditions
For example: only participants whose requirement is not done, or who have not paid.
Perform the configured actions
Send a message or document, send a questionnaire, raise an approval or flag a concern.
- Booking request submittedupdate the client and your operations team
- Document signedsend the next relevant information
- Approaching the event daterequest final details
- Outstanding requirementsend the configured follow-up
- Event completedsend thanks or request feedback
Sample rule group · illustrative
Before the event
Rules sit in named groups, and one rule can do several things.
When 7 days before the event starts
If a requirement is not done
Then
- Send the participant a reminder
- Send their guardian the same link
- Tell your team who is still outstanding
Configured, not manual. Once a rule is on, it runs when its trigger happens. Some steps stay with your team, such as confirming the venue or marking a deposit received, and those can then start a rule.
Not instant. Rules are processed in the background and date-based rules are checked on a schedule, so a message goes out shortly after its trigger, not at the same second.
See the steps
Follow one sample booking through the process.
Riverbend Primary (fictional) · Three-day outdoor camp · 12–14 March
Request received
Configured rule
- What starts it
- A booking request is completed on the online form
- What it checks
- Which event type was requested, so the matching rules run.
- Who is told
- The person who made the request
- Your operations team
- What goes with it
- Acknowledgement message (your wording)
Still outstanding on this sample booking
- Dates and venue to confirm
- Proposal to prepare
Quotes and documents
Use the booking details to prepare the paperwork.
Quote and invoice line items
Build them from the booking, or start from a template.
Reusable document templates
Upload your Word documents and tag where details go.
Booking details filled in
Customer, event, dates and pricing populate for you.
PDF output
Documents are produced as PDFs and attached to configured emails.
The right extras
Include the matching program, venue directions or a kit list.
- How a Word layout carries over depends on the template, so check a preview before you rely on it.
Proposal
Three-day outdoor camp
Dear Ms Dlamini, thank you for choosing Kloof Bend Lodge for Riverbend Primary. We are pleased to propose 12–14 March for 46 learners · 5 adults.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Venue hire, 2 nights | R18,400.00 |
| Accommodation, 51 people | R39,100.00 |
| Meals, 51 people | R19,200.00 |
| Activities | R7,900.00 |
| Total | R84,600.00 |
Attached: program for 3 days, 46 learners · directions to the venue
{{event.name}}. All names and amounts are fictional.Confirmation
Know what is still needed to confirm the booking.
- Step 1
New
- Step 2
Contacted
- Step 3
Venue confirmed
- Step 4
Deposit confirmed
- Step 5
Converted to an event
What you can track
- Where each request stands, from enquiry to event.
- The deposit, marked as received by your team.
- The booking contract, signed through its own link.
- Quotes and invoices, with the payments you record and what is still outstanding.
Holds and alternatives
- Set how many days requested dates are held.
- When dates or a venue are not available, offer alternatives. Nothing changes until the client chooses, and availability is checked again before it is held.
- Set your deposit, cancellation and postponement terms.
Recording is not collecting. Payments against a booking are recorded by your team. Distinct Operational does not collect booking payments for you or reconcile your bank account.
Communication
Keep clients and your team informed as the booking progresses.
- Reusable message wording, with booking details filled in.
- Updates sent when something happens, or on a schedule around the event dates.
- Different recipients for different steps: the client, guardians, the venue, staff or your own team.
- Relevant documents attached to email.
- Follow-ups aimed only at the people who still have something outstanding.
- Delivery history for each event, with failed sends shown so you can act on them.
Email first
Email is the core channel. SMS and WhatsApp can be added to a step where they have been set up for your business, and are billed per message on top of the subscription.
We can send the message; we cannot promise it is delivered, opened or answered.
Participants
Connect the booking to the people taking part.
- Indemnities and signatures
- Questionnaires
- Participant information
- Guardian requirements
- Medical and dietary information
- Required documents
- Payments recorded against the booking
- Approvals and concerns
A completed requirement is a record that a step was done. It does not prove identity, legal enforceability, safety or permission to take part. Your own policies and advice still apply.
Features
Keep delivery details alongside the booking.
Venues
Venue details, directions and contacts, used in messages and bookings.
Programs
Match a program by venue, duration, age group, group size and tags.
Staff
Add staff to an event and send them updates.
Vehicles
Choose vehicles for an event, with seats needed shown against seats provided.
Equipment
Allocate your equipment to an event, with a warning if overlapping events need more than you own.
Kit lists
Keep kit lists and send them with the right messages.
Allocation is done by your team. The app does not allocate automatically or plan routes.
Pricing
One subscription per business.
FromR1,950 / month
Per business, per month, excluding email, WhatsApp and SMS costs. Paid by card through Paystack.
Get started- What you do first. Sign up, review and sign the agreement, then pay by card.
- Messaging. The price excludes email, WhatsApp and SMS costs. SMS and WhatsApp are billed separately, per message, and email beyond the monthly allowance is also billed separately. The rates are shown in your billing screen.
- Terms. Cancellation and refund terms are in the Refund Policy and Terms of Service.
FAQs
Questions we are usually asked.
Can we configure our own process?
Yes. You choose what starts each step, which conditions apply, who is told and which documents go with it. Rules sit in named groups, and one rule can do several things.
Can different booking types have different workflows?
Yes. Workflows are set up per event type, so each type of booking can have its own rules, messages and documents.
Can we use our existing Word documents?
Yes. Upload a Word document, tag where booking details should go, and it is filled in and produced as a PDF. How closely a layout carries over depends on the document, so check a preview first. Producing PDFs also depends on the PDF converter being connected for your deployment.
Can messages include personalised documents?
Email can carry documents filled in with the booking's details, along with directions or a program where you add them to the step. SMS and WhatsApp carry text and links.
What starts a workflow action?
A booking request being submitted or reaching a new status, a signature, a completed requirement, someone registering, a payment being recorded, a concern being raised, or a date relative to the event, such as days before it starts or after it ends.
Can we schedule updates before and after a booking?
Yes. Date-based rules run a set number of days before the event starts or after it ends, as well as on the first day, the last day and completion. They are checked on a schedule rather than at the exact second.
How are deposits and contracts tracked?
A booking request has a status, and your team moves it to Deposit confirmed once the deposit is received. The booking contract is signed through its own link. Either can start a rule.
Can we follow up only outstanding participants?
Yes. A rule can check whether a requirement is done or a payment is recorded, and only act for participants where it is not.
Does this collect payments or record them?
It records them. Your team records payments against a booking, and invoices show what is outstanding. It does not collect booking payments or reconcile your bank account. The subscription itself is paid by card through Paystack.
What is included in the price?
The subscription starts from the monthly price shown, per business, and excludes email, WhatsApp and SMS costs. SMS and WhatsApp are billed per message on top, and email beyond the monthly allowance is billed separately. See the Terms of Service for the full terms.
Bring your booking process together.
See how your enquiries, documents, requirements and updates can work as one connected process.