Availability & Booking Management

The booking system is the core of GolfCartOps. It tracks every reservation from initial request through return, ensures carts are never double-booked, and manages the full rental lifecycle automatically.

How Availability Works

When a customer selects dates on your booking page, GolfCartOps checks availability in real time by looking at:

• Existing bookings -- Any cart already reserved for overlapping dates is excluded
• Cart status -- Carts in maintenance or retired are excluded
• Buffer time -- A configurable buffer between bookings (e.g., 2 hours) ensures time for cleaning and inspection

The result is a list of carts that are genuinely available for the requested dates, preventing double-bookings at the database level.

Booking Lifecycle

Every booking moves through a defined set of states:

1. Pending -- The booking has been created but not yet confirmed (awaiting payment or manual approval)
2. Confirmed -- Payment is received or the booking is manually confirmed. The cart is reserved.
3. Checked Out -- The customer has picked up the cart. The rental period begins.
4. Returned -- The cart is back. Staff inspects it and logs any damage.
5. Closed -- All charges are settled, the deposit is released, and the booking is complete.

Additional States

• Overdue -- The return date has passed and the cart has not been returned. Detected automatically by the system every hour.
• Cancelled -- The booking was cancelled before check-out. The cart is released back to inventory.
• No Show -- The customer did not pick up the cart. Staff marks this manually.

Creating a Booking

From the Dashboard (Staff)

1. Go to Bookings and click New Booking
2. Search for or create a customer
3. Select the cart, dates, and any add-ons
4. Choose delivery or pickup
5. Confirm the booking

From the Public Booking Page (Customer)

1. Customer visits your booking page
2. Selects dates and a cart type
3. Chooses add-ons and delivery option
4. Enters contact details and payment information
5. Booking is automatically confirmed upon payment

Calendar View

The booking calendar shows all reservations as colored bars spanning their date range. Colors indicate booking status:

• Blue for confirmed
• Teal for checked out
• Green for returned
• Red for overdue
• Gray for cancelled

Click any booking bar to open a side panel with full booking details and action buttons.

Managing Check-Out and Return

Check-Out

1. Open the booking and click Check Out
2. Record the cart's current condition (odometer reading, pre-existing damage notes)
3. Have the customer sign the rental agreement (if configured)
4. The cart status changes to "Rented" automatically

Return

1. Open the booking and click Return
2. Inspect the cart and note any new damage
3. If there is damage, create a damage report linked to the booking
4. The deposit is released automatically if there are no damage claims
5. Close the booking to finalize all charges

Overdue Detection

GolfCartOps checks for overdue bookings every hour. When a checked-out booking passes its return date:

• The booking status changes to Overdue
• An alert appears on the dashboard
• Optionally, the customer receives an automated email or SMS reminder

A 2-hour grace period is built in to account for late returns and timezone differences.

Tips

• Check the calendar at the start of each day to see upcoming check-outs and returns
• Use the list view with status filters to quickly find overdue or pending bookings
• For walk-in customers, create the booking from the dashboard -- no need to use the public page
• Set up buffer time between bookings to give your team time to clean and inspect carts