--- title: "Booking flow" description: "What a customer goes through on your client portal: the entry page, dates and items, the item page, bundles offered as a set, the optional step for buying items, checkout with the deposit and total to pay, and the confirmation screen." canonical_url: "https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/booking-flow" --- # Booking flow > What a customer goes through on your client portal: the entry page, dates and items, the item page, bundles offered as a set, the optional step for buying items, checkout with the deposit and total to pay, and the confirmation screen. This page walks through the portal the way a customer sees it, so you know what they are looking at when they call you. Nothing here needs to be configured: the flow follows your catalog, your working hours, and the methods you switched on under [Portal settings](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/portal-settings). A customer needs no account to book. Signing in only becomes useful afterwards, to follow the booking (see [Customer accounts](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/customer-accounts)). ## The shell around every page - **Header**: floats over the page on translucent chips, with your logo on the left, then a cart button that picks up a count once something is in the cart, and either a **Sign in** button or, once the customer is signed in, a round bubble with their initials that leads into their account. - **Footer**: no bar, only a discreet **Powered by Requiply** line at the bottom of the page. - **Language**: the portal opens in the language set under [Localization](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/organization/localization), and prices use your organization currency. - **Light and dark mode**: the portal follows the visitor's own device setting and uses the matching logo you uploaded. ## 1. Entry page The address `portal.requiply.com/` opens on your organization's name from [Organization info](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/organization/info), its description under it, and up to three ways in, stacked as full-width cards:
Card Leads to
Start from items The catalog, then the dates for what was picked.
Start from dates The date picker, then only what is free in that period.
Ask the assistant The booking assistant . Shown only while the AI chat is switched on.
Each card carries an icon, its title, a line of explanation, and a chevron. Both booking paths are two steps and are labelled **Step 1 of 2** and **Step 2 of 2**, so the customer always knows how far along they are.
![The portal entry page in dark mode. The logo sits in a rounded chip in the top left, a cart button and a round account bubble reading AZ in the top right. In the middle of the page the organization name Stalford Studio above the description website demo, then three full-width cards stacked under each other: Start from items with the line Browse the catalog and choose what you need, Start from dates with Pick your period and see what is free, and Ask the assistant with Describe what you need and get a suggestion. Each card has an icon on the left and a chevron on the right. A bar across the bottom reads Powered by Requiply](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/landing.png)
The entry page of a portal with the AI chat switched on. The account bubble shows initials because this visitor is signed in; a visitor who is not sees a plain bubble that leads to sign-in.
## 2. Choosing items The catalog is headed **Choose your items**, with a **Step 1 of 2** marker above it. Your bookable item groups are laid out as a grid of cards, two or three across on a desktop and one under another on a phone, each with a square photo, the name, the price with its price type, and how many are free. - **Search** by name or code. - **Categories** from your [category tree](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/inventory/categories), see [Browsing by category](#browsing-by-category). - **Filters** by product specifications, see [Filtering by specifications](#filtering-by-specifications). - **Load more** pulls in the next page of items rather than one long scroll. - A minus button, the quantity, and a plus button on each card set how many to book. - An item with nothing free shows **Not available** and cannot be added. - A floating dock at the bottom carries **Back** on the left, a count of what is selected in the middle (for example *3 selected*), and **Next** on the right. **Next** stays disabled until at least one item is in the booking. The page content fades out under the dock as you scroll. With the **Sharp** corner style from [Portal settings](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/portal-settings), the dock is a full-width bar instead. When the customer picked dates first, the page is titled **Available for your dates** and only shows what is free for that period, with the free quantity per item. Categories and filters work the same way there.
![The portal catalog in dark mode on a desktop, Step 1 of 3, Choose your items, with Microphones open and the Brand filter Rode applied. A column on the left shows the tree All products 4, Audio Equipment 4 expanded, and Microphones 3 selected. Under the tree, separated by a line, a Brand filter with Rode 3 ticked, Behringer 1 and a Clear link, then Phantom power with Yes 2 and Weight, g with From 326 and To 745 fields. On the right, a search box, the path All products then Audio Equipment above the heading Microphones 3, a chip Brand: Rode with a cross, and three microphone cards with quantity steppers: Rode NT1 $16.00 / day, Rode NT1-A $18.00 / day and Rode Procaster $15.00 / day. Box 1 marks the category tree, box 2 the Brand filter, box 3 the path and heading, box 4 the active filter chip](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/catalog-category-tree.png)
**1** The category tree with a count per category. **2** A specification offered as a filter. **3** Where the customer is in the tree, with links back up. **4** Each active filter as a chip that removes itself.
### Browsing by category Customers browse your products by the same tree and in the same order you set on [Categories](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/inventory/categories). **On a desktop**, a column on the left lists **All products** and your categories, each with the number of matching products. A category's count includes its subcategories. Click a category to show its products; a branch opens by itself when one of its categories is chosen, and the small arrow beside a parent opens or closes it by hand. Only categories that have something to show are listed. **On a phone**, the subcategories of the open category appear as wrapping chips above the products, each with its count. After eight chips, a *{count} more* chip shows the rest. Above the products, the customer always sees where they are: - the path back up, such as **All products › Audio Equipment**, each part a link, - the name of the open category, or **All products**, with the number of results. When a category holds subcategories, its products are shown **shelf by shelf**: one section per subcategory with its first six products and a *{count} more* button that opens the subcategory. A category without subcategories shows a plain grid. At the top of the catalog, the shelves are used as long as the tree is nested and has no more than twelve top-level categories. Products with no category are grouped as **Other**. If a category holds only one subcategory with results, the portal opens that subcategory straight away, because there is nothing to choose between. Bundles are listed only while no category is open and no filter is on. ### Filtering by specifications Product fields you marked as [specifications](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/inventory#product-specifications-and-filters) become filters. On a desktop they sit under the category tree; on a phone a **Filters** button next to the search opens them in a sheet from the bottom, with **Show {count}** to apply and **Clear all**. The button shows how many filters are on.
Specification type Filter
Select, multi-select, text A list of values, each with how many products it would show. The first six are listed, Show all ({count}) opens the rest.
Number From and To boxes, with the lowest and highest value as hints.
Checkbox A Yes switch with its count.
- A filter only shows values found in the open category, so *Microphones* offers microphone brands only. - Ticking several values of one filter shows products with any of them; different filters combine. - Every active filter appears as a chip above the products; click it to remove it. **Clear all** removes them all, **Clear** next to a filter's name resets just that one. - When nothing matches, the catalog says *Nothing matches your search.* with **Clear filters**. The chosen category and filters are kept in the page address, so a customer can share a link to a filtered view, for example every Rode microphone. ### The item page Clicking a card opens the item's own page: an image gallery with arrows when there is more than one photo, the category, the name, the price with its price type, how many are free, the code, and an **Add to booking** button that turns into a quantity stepper. Under it, the page can show two more blocks side by side: - **Description**: the text from the product's [Description](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/inventory/add-item#description) field, split into paragraphs at blank lines. - **Specifications**: the product's [specification](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/inventory#product-specifications-and-filters) values, one per line, such as *Brand: Rode* or *Phantom power: Yes*. Only fields marked **Filter on the booking page and website** are listed; every other custom field stays internal. A block without content is left out. When the product has a description, its first 160 characters also become the page's description in search results.
![The portal item page for Rode Procaster in dark mode, scrolled below the photo, the $15.00 / day price, the Add to booking button and a Book it as a set card for the Podcast duo kit. A wide card holds two columns: on the left Description with two paragraphs about the dynamic broadcast microphone; on the right Specifications with the rows Brand Rode, Connector XLR, Phantom power No and Weight, g 745. Box 1 marks Description, box 2 Specifications](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/item-description-specs.png)
**1** The product description. **2** Specifications: the public product fields, which customers can also filter by in the catalog.
When the item group has a [pricing tier group](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/pricing/pricing-tiers), the page also shows a **Longer bookings cost less** table with one row per tier: the duration it covers, the rate per unit, and how much that saves against the base rate. This is the clearest place for a customer to understand why a week costs less per day than a weekend. While the AI chat is switched on, the item page also has an **Ask about this item** button that opens the chat with the item attached. See [Booking assistant](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/booking-assistant). ### Bundles on the portal When the [Bundles](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/inventory/bundles) feature is on with **External** recommendations, the portal offers your sets in four places.
![The portal catalog in dark mode, Step 1 of 3, Choose your items, with All products 10 selected in the category tree on the left and the Brand, Connector, Phantom power and Weight, g filters under it. On the right, under the search box and the heading All products 10, a highlighted Bundles section shows two cards: Podcast duo kit with a Save 10% tag and Streaming kit with Save 15%, each with its photo, an Includes line listing the items and an Add bundle button. Below it an Items label and the Audio Equipment group start the grid of single items with their steppers](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/catalog-bundles.png)
The catalog lists your bundles in a **Bundles** section above the items.
- **Catalog:** a **Bundles** section above the items, with every bookable set, its **Save 10%** tag, *Includes: …*, how many sets are free once dates are chosen, and **Add bundle**. After a set is added, the card shows *1 in your booking* with a stepper. The search box also finds bundles, by their name or by an item inside them; picking a category shows items only. - **Item page:** a **Book it as a set** card for each bundle that contains the item. **Add the bundle instead** swaps the item in the cart for one set.
![The portal item page for Rode Procaster in dark mode: the photo on the left; on the right the category Audio Equipment, the name, 15.00 dollars per day, 3 in stock and an Add to booking button, then a highlighted card headed Book it as a set with the Podcast duo kit photo, a Save 10% tag, Includes: 2 × Rode Procaster, 2 × Rode PSA1, 2 × XLR (5m), 1 × Behringer UMC404HD, and an Add the bundle instead button. An Ask about this item button sits under it](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/item-bundle-card.png)
On an item page, every bundle that contains the item is offered as a set.
- **Cart hint:** an item in the cart that belongs to a bundle gets a hint such as *Rode Procaster is part of Podcast duo kit: save 10% with the whole set* with an **Add bundle** button. - **Checkout:** each bundle is one line with a **Bundle** tag, its discount and *Includes: …*, and the figures show a **Bundle discount** row under **Rental subtotal**.
![The portal checkout in dark mode for a signed-in customer. The summary on the right shows Pickup Nov 9 2026 and Return Nov 11 2026, then box 1 around the cart line Podcast duo kit with a Bundle tag, 10% off, a quantity stepper at 1 and Includes: 2 × Rode Procaster, 2 × Rode PSA1, 2 × XLR (5m), 1 × Behringer UMC404HD. Below, Rental subtotal 192.00 dollars, box 2 around Bundle discount -19.20 dollars, Security deposit 34.56 dollars and Total to pay 172.80 dollars](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/checkout-bundle.png)
**1** The bundle in the cart. **2** Its saving, already taken off the total to pay.
The confirmation page and the booking in the customer's [account](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/customer-accounts#a-single-booking) show the booked bundle and the same **Bundle discount** line. With **External** off, the portal shows no bundles at all. ## 3. Choosing dates The date step is headed **Choose your dates** and uses the picker style you chose under [Booking creation](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/bookings/booking-creation): an inline calendar for a date range, or for a single day when you picked the one-date style. On a desktop two months are shown side by side, with arrows to move through them; past days are dimmed, today is outlined, and the chosen range is filled in. Under the calendar sit two columns of time pills, **Available pickup times** and **Available return times**, in half-hour steps. Pickup and return times are always chosen from pills here, including when your team types times in the app. - Only days and times inside your working schedule from [Date & time settings](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/organization/date-and-time) are offered. Customers never get an outside-working-hours option, whatever permissions your team has. - [Holidays and closed days](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/organization/date-and-time#holidays-and-closed-days) are greyed out like a closed weekday, and hovering one shows its name, for example *Christmas Day*. A customer cannot pick up or return on a holiday, but the rental can run through it: December 23 to December 27 is fine with the 25th closed. The website booking widget follows the same rule. - Times come from real availability. A day with nothing left shows **No times available** and asks for another day. - When a selected item frees up or runs out part way through a day, the picker says so on the affected time, for example *"Camera available after 14:00"*. - A booking shorter than your minimum duration is refused with **The booking has to last at least ...**, taken from [Booking duration](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/bookings/booking-duration). - **Clear dates** starts the selection over. If availability changed while the customer was busy choosing, the portal adjusts the quantities and says which items were affected instead of failing at checkout.
![The portal date step in dark mode, headed Step 1 of 2 and Choose your dates. Two months, September and October 2026, sit side by side with arrows to move between them. Past days are dimmed, today is outlined, and the 21st to the 24th are highlighted green as the selected range. Underneath, two columns of time pills headed Available pickup times and Available return times run from 10:00 to 17:30 in half-hour steps, with 13:30 selected for pickup and 17:30 for return. A bar across the bottom holds Back on the left and Next on the right. This screenshot predates the floating dock](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/dates.png)
The range is picked on the calendar, the exact times underneath. The pills stop at 17:30 because that is where this organization's working day ends.
## 4. Items to buy (optional) When the portal sells items, a third step appears between the dates and checkout, headed **Add items to buy** with the line *These items are for sale, not for rent, so you keep them. This step is optional.* The step counter then reads **Step 3 of 3** instead of two steps.
![The portal step Add items to buy in dark mode, labelled Step 3 of 3, with the line These items are for sale, not for rent, so you keep them. This step is optional. A search field Search by name or code and category chips All and Consumables sit above four product cards: Duracell AA batteries (4-pack) at 6.50 dollars with 43 in stock and a quantity of 1 (highlighted), Foam microphone windscreen at 4.50 dollars, Gaffer tape at 14.00 dollars and SanDisk Extreme SD card at 29.00 dollars, each with minus and plus buttons. The floating dock at the bottom shows Back, Estimated total 76.50 dollars and Next](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/extras.png)
Consumables offered right before checkout. The estimated total in the dock already includes the batteries.
- Only products of the **Equipment for sale** type are shown, with their price and how many are in stock. See [Sale items and stock](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/sales/items-and-stock). - **Search by name or code** and the category chips narrow the list. - The **+** and **−** buttons set the quantity. A customer can never take more than you have in stock; products that are out of stock appear greyed out. - With nothing added, the dock button reads **Skip**; once something is added it reads **Next**. The step is shown when **Selling items** is on under [Portal settings](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/portal-settings#actions), the [Sales](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/organization/features#enable-sales) feature is on, and at least one product for sale is active. Otherwise the portal goes straight from the second step to checkout. ## 5. Checkout The checkout screen is titled **Your booking**. The form runs down the left in three cards, **Contact details**, **Payment**, and **Pickup location**, with **Confirm booking** under them, and the summary sits in a column on the right. On a phone the summary moves above the form. **Contact details**
Field Required
First name Yes
Last name No
Phone number Yes, with the country code
Email Yes
A signed-in customer sees **Booking as {name}, {email}** with their details filled in, and a **Not you? Sign out** link. Anyone else can jump to sign-in from the **Have an account?** line. A signed-in customer whose account has no first name yet is asked for it before they can book: *Add your first name to finish booking. We will save it to your profile.* **Payment** A radio button per method you enabled under [Portal settings](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/portal-settings): **Pay on pickup**, and **Pay online ({provider})** for each connected provider. Choosing an online provider sends the customer to that provider after they confirm, and back to the confirmation screen afterwards. **Pickup location** The location name and full address from [Locations](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/organization/locations), with an **Open in maps** link under it. **Summary** Three stacked cards on the right: 1. **Pickup** and **Return** with their dates and times, and a **Change dates** link back to the date step. 2. The items, each with its photo, name, rate, and quantity. 3. The figures: **Rental subtotal**, **Bundle discount** when the booking contains a bundle, **Discount** with the percentage when the customer has one, **Purchases** when the customer added items to buy, **Security deposit** from [Deposits](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/bookings/deposits) with a note under it, and **Total to pay**. When you offer [checkout services](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/portal-settings#checkout-services), such as delivery or setup on site, an **Additional services** card in the summary column lists them with a switch and a price each (*Price on request* for a quote service without a default price), and the services the customer switches on are added to the booking and its price. Whether **Total to pay** includes the deposit depends on the **Keep the deposit out of booking payments** setting in [Deposits](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/bookings/deposits#keeping-the-deposit-out-of-booking-payments): - **Kept out** (the default): the deposit is listed with *Paid separately, not as part of this payment. It is returned after the items come back.* and **Total to pay** is the rental, less any discounts, without the deposit. - **Included**: the note reads *The deposit is returned after the items come back.* and **Total to pay** is the rental, less any discounts, plus the deposit. Every figure is computed on the server from your inventory, tiers, discounts, and deposit rules, so a customer cannot influence the price from their browser. **Confirm booking** creates the booking. Items the customer bought are listed together with the rented ones, and the bought ones are added to the booking as [sold items](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/bookings/sell-items).
![The portal checkout of a guest in dark mode, headed Your booking, with empty Contact details fields, Payment with Pay on pickup and Pay online (Monobank), Pickup location and Confirm booking. The summary on the right lists Pickup Oct 10 2026 10:00 AM and Return Oct 12 2026 10:00 AM, the rented ATEM Mini Pro at 35.00 dollars a day and the bought Duracell AA batteries at 6.50 dollars, then Rental subtotal 70.00 dollars, a highlighted Purchases row of 6.50 dollars, and Total to pay 76.50 dollars](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/checkout-purchases.png)
Rented and bought items share one list. The purchases get their own line in the figures and never count towards the deposit.
![The portal checkout in dark mode, headed Your booking. The left column holds a Contact details card with the line Booking as the customer name and email and a Not you? Sign out link, then First name, Last name, Phone number and Email fields with a hint to include the country code; a Payment card with Pay on pickup selected and Pay online (Monobank) under it; a Pickup location card with the address and an Open in maps link; and a Confirm booking button. The right column holds the summary: Pickup Sep 22 2026 10:00 AM, Return Sep 24 2026 3:00 PM and a Change dates link, the booked item with its rate and quantity, then Rental subtotal 3.00 dollars, Discount 5 percent minus 15 cents, Security deposit 20.00 dollars with the note that it is returned after the items come back, and Total to pay 22.85 dollars](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/checkout.png)
A signed-in customer has their details filled in and their discount applied. This organization includes the deposit in the payment, so **Total to pay** here is the 3.00 rental less the 5% discount plus the 20.00 deposit.
## 6. Confirmation The success screen confirms the booking and gives the booking number to quote, with the pickup and return dates, the items, and any payment. A booked bundle is shown above its items with its discount, and a **Bundle discount** line sits above the deposit and the total.
![The portal confirmation page in dark mode: Your booking is confirmed, booking number 28, a New pill, pickup Oct 26 and return Oct 28 2026. The Items card starts with box 1 around Podcast duo kit × 1, 10% off, Includes: 1 × Behringer UMC404HD, 2 × Rode Procaster, 2 × Rode PSA1, 2 × XLR (5m), then the items Rode NT1 x1, Rode Procaster x2, Rode PSA1 x2, XLR (5m) x2 and Behringer UMC404HD x1 with their daily rates. Box 2 marks Bundle discount -19.20 dollars above Security deposit 44.16 dollars and Total to pay 220.80 dollars](https://requiply.com/docs/assets/client-portal/booking/confirmation-bundle.png)
**1** The booked bundle. **2** Its saving, so the figures match what was quoted at checkout.
From there the customer can: - **See this booking in your account**, when they are signed in. - **Create an account to manage your bookings**, when they are not. - **Book something else**. The confirmation link carries its own unguessable token rather than the booking number, so it can be reopened later, or from a phone, without signing in. Nobody can reach another customer's booking by editing the address. If an online payment did not go through, the screen says so and explains that the booking is saved and your team will be in touch about paying. The booking is not lost. ## What happens in Requiply
Step In the app
Checkout confirms A booking is created in your Default status for new bookings ( New unless you changed it under Booking creation ). It holds the stock straight away, exactly like a booking your team creates.
The customer is new A client record is created from the checkout details. A returning customer is matched on their verified email or phone instead of being duplicated.
The booking is created Booking-created workflows fire: confirmation emails, messages, and notifications.
Your team looks at it The booking shows up in Manage bookings and on the Calendar , with Origin reading Booking page .
Payment Pay on pickup leaves a pending payment for your team to take at the counter. An online payment lands as a completed charge on the booking's payment ledger.
A booking created by the [booking assistant](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/online-booking/booking-assistant) is different: it arrives in your **Status for booking requests** (*Request* unless you changed it) for your team to approve, with **Origin** reading **AI assistant**. ## Common scenarios ### A customer says an item they need is not listed The catalog only shows item groups that are bookable, not archived, and have free quantity. When they searched after picking dates, the item may simply be booked out for that period. Check the item group in [Manage inventory](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/inventory/manage) first. ### A customer wants a pickup at 7 in the morning That is a working-hours question, not a portal one. Widen the schedule under [Date & time settings](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/organization/date-and-time), or create the booking for them in the app, where members with **Allow booking outside of working hours** may pick any time. ### A customer paid online but the booking looks unpaid Open the booking in [Manage bookings](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/bookings/manage) and check its payment ledger. A provider that rejected or abandoned the payment leaves the booking in place with a pending or failed charge, which is what the confirmation screen tells the customer too. ## Tips and cautions **Tip:** Put the price breaks of your most rented items into a [pricing tier group](https://requiply.com/docs/en/guides/settings/pricing/pricing-tiers). The item page then shows customers exactly what a longer booking saves, which is the easiest way to lengthen bookings. **Tip:** The confirmation link is worth keeping in your workflow emails. It opens the booking without a sign-in, which is the quickest way for a customer to check their own dates. **Heads up:** the portal never offers services. A service your team adds to a booking is shown on the customer's booking page, but customers cannot pick services themselves. ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://requiply.com/docs/sitemap.md) for all pages.