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Core concepts

Five minutes here saves hours later. ActiveBooker is built around a small set of concepts — once you see how they connect, every page in the dashboard makes sense.

The big picture​

Your account (business)
 └── Activities            → what customers book (each has a public booking page)
      └── Booking Types    → how it can be booked (duration, pricing, rules)
           └── Time Slots  → when it can be booked
                └── Bookings → an actual reservation by a customer
                     ├── Add-ons   (extras purchased with the booking)
                     ├── Waiver    (signed digital agreement)
                     └── Payment   (deposit or full amount)

Activities​

An activity is a thing customers can book — a bowling lane group, an axe-throwing arena, a golf simulator bay, a tour. Each activity has:

  • Its own public booking page with a unique URL (slug) that you share with customers or embed on your website
  • Its own time slots, add-ons, block rules (dates/times you don't accept bookings), and design settings

Your first activity is created automatically during sign-up. Manage them under Account > Activities.

→ Activities documentation

Booking types​

A booking type defines how something can be booked: the name customers see, the duration, whether it's a party or rental booking, how many activity units (lanes, rooms, bays) it occupies, and whether it's visible to guests, members, or both.

Booking types are defined once for your account (Account > Booking Types), then configured per activity — each activity sets its own pricing, fees, time slots, add-ons, and content for every booking type it offers. That's why a "1-Hour Session" can cost differently on Lane 1 than in your VIP room.

→ Booking Types documentation

Time slots​

Time slots are the bookable start times customers can choose — created per activity and booking type, individually or in bulk. No time slots means nothing to book, so this is the step people most often miss during setup.

→ Time slots documentation

Bookings​

A booking is an actual reservation: a customer, an activity, a booking type, a date and time slot, the number of people, and payment. Bookings arrive through two channels:

  • Online — the customer booked on your public booking page
  • Walk-in — you or your staff created it in the dashboard (Add Booking)

If an online customer starts checkout but doesn't finish, the attempt shows up under Abandoned Carts so you can follow up.

→ Bookings documentation

Add-ons​

Add-ons are extras customers can purchase with a booking — shoe rental, food packages, extra time. They're created per activity and can be linked to specific booking types with minimum and maximum quantities.

→ Add-ons documentation

Waivers​

Waivers are digital agreements customers sign before participating. You define the waiver text once; customers sign online or on-site, and signed waivers are attached to the booking.

→ Waivers documentation

Memberships​

A membership program lets customers subscribe to recurring plans (with billing, booking discounts, and booking rules). Members get their own portal and can receive member-only booking types and pricing.

→ Membership documentation

Users vs. employees​

  • Users can sign in to your dashboard — your managers and front-desk staff who operate ActiveBooker.
  • Employees are staff records used for tracking who handled what (for example, who registered a member) — they don't sign in.

→ Users · Employees

How a booking actually happens​

  1. A customer opens your activity's booking page (or your staff clicks Add Booking)
  2. They pick a booking type, a date, and an available time slot
  3. They add add-ons, enter their details, and see the price breakdown (with any discount code or dynamic price rule applied)
  4. They pay the deposit or full amount and the booking is created
  5. ActiveBooker sends the confirmation email/SMS you configured in Automations, and the customer signs the waiver

Every one of those bold words is configurable — that's what the setup checklist walks you through.