Frequently Asked Questions

What is Checkfront?

Checkfront is a cloud-based booking management application and e-commerce platform. Our secure back-office application provides a central place for you to manage your business, process reservations and track customers. We offer several turn-key add-ons that allow you to offer self-service bookings from your website.

Who uses Checkfront?

Checkfront is for schedule-based businesses that sell their services in daily, nightly or hourly allotments. Checkfront is used to manage activity, tours, accommodation, events, rentals, and more. It's best suited for operations with a recurring inventory of services vs. one-off events.

Who is Checkfront NOT intended for?

We're really good at what we do, but we aren't a "one size fits all" solution. We're not a shopping cart system for static / shippable goods or a personal scheduling / appointment manager. If you're looking for a cloud-based shopping cart, see our friends at Shopify.

What makes Checkfront different?

We're not the only shop in town, but we believe our team and technology set us apart. Checkfront offers a modern, powerful booking application that's easy to use, requires little training, and can scale with your business. We're fanatical about delivering the best possible user experience for your staff and your customers. If you're coming from a desktop booking system, Checkfront offers a whole new world of possibilities. If you deal with a mish-mash of spreadsheets and calendars, we can simplify your business overnight. Have a look at what our customers have to say, or try us yourself.

Is my business a good fit for Checkfront?

We sure hope so, but the quickest way to be sure is to try our free trial. You can be up in running in minutes and start accepting bookings on your website right away. If you have complex pricing, seasonality or inventory requirements, our support team is standing by to help get you configured.

Can I download Checkfront?

Checkfront lives online, so it's available wherever you are. There is no software to install or maintain, and no antiquated licensing programs. This means that we manage the hosting and software, and you get automated updates, hourly backups and industry leading security on a high-speed, high-availability network. We provide several add-ons that allow you to offer self-service bookings on your own website, integrate with your social media pages, and much more.

Do you take a commission?

No. In our opinion, paying your booking system a commission doesn't make sense -- you do the hard work. We know what our costs are, and they aren't dictated by how much you charge your customers. If you're interested in how our plans break down, they work out to less than 50 cents per booking (USD).

Do you have mobile apps?

Yes, we offer native mobile apps for iOS (iPhone & iPad) and Android. See Mobile Booking Apps for more information.

What languages and currencies are supported?

Checkfront is offered in several languages including: Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish and Thai (see the language add-on for a full list). Please note that language add-ons are community supported and we don't currently offer documentation / support outside of English.We support 28 common currencies. Your payment processor must also support the currency if you plan to accept payments on-line.

Do you offer payment processing?

We aren't a payment gateway but we seamlessly integrate into many popular payment processors like Stripe, Paypal and Authorize.net. Once set up, your customers can pay at the time of booking, either in part or full. You can also process payments internally.

I don't need payment processing. Can I still use Checkfront?

Yes. Without a payment processor configured, Checkfront will operate in Reservation-Only mode.

How much does Checkfront cost?

You pay a fixed price based on your volume, support and number of accounts. You can subscribe monthly or take advantage of our annual discount. There are no long-term contracts and you can cancel any time. We also offer a 30-day money back guarantee on all new subscriptions. See our plans for more information.

How do I get support?

At Checkfront, we know that good support is critical to your business. Every plan, including our free trial, comes with 24/7 email support as well as phone support available during business hours and an extensive help section. We've tried to balance each of our plans with good support and affordability. Please select a subscription package that best matches the needs of your business.

If I choose to leave, what happens to my data?

You own your data; our job is to keep it safe and secure and, while you're with us, present it in the most useful ways possible. You can export all of your data at any time in XML format. If you choose to close your account, we only retain your data in backup for 30 days, and no more than that. See our data retention policy for more information.

What are your security practices?

Security is our first and foremost consideration. Each account is locked down with a 256 bit SSL certificate and includes advanced security scanning and firewall. Every account operates in a segregated database environment and utilizes military grade encryption. Our systems are PCI DSS compliant and US/EU Safe Harbor certified.

How do my customers make a booking?

Checkfront offers several ways to accept bookings online. Our CMS plugins seamlessly integrate a self-service booking portal into your own website, including Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal. You can also use our ready-to-go hosted booking page (sample), and even offer bookings and special offers from your Facebook page. For the full list of options, see our website integrations.

What happens if I go over my booking quota?

Each plan includes a set number of bookings per month. This helps us allocate the appropriate resources to your system. If you continue to book over the allocated quota in your plan for several months, we'll ask you to upgrade to the next level. If you have exceeded your overall allocated number of bookings at the end of 12 months, you'll be invoiced at 49 cents (USD) per booking. If you do more than 12,000 bookings a year, you're billed at 35 cents per booking.

What happens if my internet goes down?

An outage can be problematic. But if you have cellular access or a tablet, you can access your bookings via our mobile interface.

Where is the service hosted?

Checkfront operates on a decentralized group of geographically diverse data centers. We pick a server location that operates closest to your business. This allows us to provide you with the most reliable service possible. Checkfront has servers in the US, UK, and Asia. See checkfront.com/status for a list of operating locations.