Revenue

Booking System Guide

12 min read Free+ plan Revenue

Overview

The PuttScores Booking System lets players reserve tee times online, reducing phone calls and walk-up congestion. Customers can browse available slots, pick their group size, and pay in advance — all from their phone.

With automated confirmation emails, reminders, and no-show tracking, you'll spend less time managing reservations and more time running your course.

Included free on all plans. Transaction fees vary by plan: Free (10%), Standard (5%), Premium (2.5%), Enterprise (0%).

Before You Start

  • Your course is registered and active on PuttScores
  • Booking is available on all plans (including Free)
  • Your Stripe account is connected for payments (Settings → Payments)
  • You know your course's operating hours and capacity
  • You've decided on your pricing structure (per-player vs. per-group)

Step-by-Step Setup

1

Enable the Booking System

Go to your Dashboard → Manage → Booking tab. Toggle "Enable Online Booking" to ON. This activates your public booking page at /book/your-course-slug.

2

Set Your Operating Hours

Define your available hours for each day of the week. You can set different hours for weekdays and weekends, or block out specific days entirely.

3

Configure Time Slots

Choose your slot duration (typically 15 or 30 minutes) and the maximum number of players per slot. Set buffer time between groups if needed.

4

Set Pricing

Define your base price per player or per group. You can add peak-hour pricing, weekend surcharges, and group discounts. Prices sync with your tax configuration automatically.

5

Customize Confirmation Emails

Edit the booking confirmation email template. Include your address, parking info, and any rules players should know. A QR code is automatically included for check-in.

6

Test Your Booking Page

Visit your public booking URL and make a test reservation. Verify the confirmation email arrives and the booking appears in your dashboard calendar.

Screenshot: Booking dashboard showing availability calendar and settings panel

Configuration

Basic Settings

  • Slot Duration: 15, 20, or 30-minute intervals. Shorter slots = more bookings, but less buffer between groups.
  • Max Players Per Slot: Typically 4-6 for mini golf. Set based on your course capacity.
  • Advance Booking Window: How far ahead customers can book (e.g., 30 days). Prevents bookings too far in the future.
  • Minimum Notice: How much lead time is required (e.g., 2 hours). Prevents last-minute bookings you can't prepare for.

Advanced Settings

  • Buffer Time: Add 5-10 minutes between groups for course reset.
  • Overbooking Allowance: Allow a small percentage of overbooking to account for no-shows (use with caution).
  • Blackout Dates: Block specific dates for private events, maintenance, or holidays.
  • Auto-Reminders: Send automatic reminder emails 24 hours and 2 hours before the booking.
  • Cancellation Policy: Set the deadline for free cancellations (e.g., 24 hours before).
  • No-Show Detection: Automatically marks bookings as no-show if players don't check in within 30 minutes of their slot.

Payment Settings

  • Payment Required: Choose between full prepayment, deposit only, or pay-at-arrival.
  • Deposit Amount: If using deposits, set a fixed amount or percentage.
  • Refund Policy: Configure automatic refunds for cancellations within your policy window.
  • Tax Integration: Tax rates from your Pricing → Tax Config are applied automatically. See the Pricing Guide for multi-rate setup.
  • Promo Codes: Create discount codes for booking promotions (percentage or fixed amount).

Example Scenario

Scenario: How Adventure Putt Reduced Wait Times by 35%

Illustrative example with projected results. Not based on a specific customer.

Adventure Putt, a 36-hole mini golf course in Tampa, FL, switched from walk-up only to online booking with PuttScores. They configured 20-minute slots with 5-minute buffers, enabled 24-hour advance reminders, and required prepayment to reduce no-shows.

35%
Shorter Wait Times
60%
Online Bookings
18%
Revenue Increase
5%
No-Show Rate (was 22%)

Tips & Best Practices

Stagger Peak Slots

Set slightly longer slot durations during peak hours (weekends, holidays) to prevent course congestion.

Enable Reminders

Courses that send 24-hour reminders see 40% fewer no-shows. Turn on auto-reminders in advanced settings.

Offer Early Bird Pricing

Create promo codes for off-peak hours to fill morning and weekday slots that typically go empty.

Share Your Booking Link

Add your booking URL to Google Business, social media bios, and your website. Direct links convert 3x better than phone numbers.

Test on Mobile

Over 70% of bookings come from mobile devices. Test your booking flow on a phone to ensure it's smooth.

Set Blackout Dates Early

Block out holidays, private events, and maintenance days at the start of each month to avoid conflicts.

Video Walkthrough

Video walkthrough coming soon. In the meantime, follow the step-by-step instructions above or contact support.

FAQ

Yes. Customers only need to provide their name, email, and phone number. No account registration is required. Their email is used for confirmation and reminders.
For large groups, you can block multiple consecutive time slots manually from the dashboard. Create a blackout for those slots, then manage the party booking directly. Some courses create a special "Party Package" promo code with a group discount.
When you create a tournament, those time slots are automatically blocked from public booking. Players who try to book during a tournament will see those slots as unavailable.
Yes. Use the Dynamic Pricing feature to set weekday vs. weekend rates, peak-hour surcharges, and holiday pricing. See the Pricing Guide for details.
If a customer cancels within your cancellation window (e.g., 24+ hours before), a full refund is issued automatically through Stripe. Late cancellations follow your configured policy — either no refund, partial refund, or store credit.

Troubleshooting

Issue Cause Fix
Booking page shows "No available slots" Operating hours not configured, or all slots are full/blocked Check Dashboard → Booking → Availability. Ensure hours are set for today/tomorrow and not blacked out.
Customer didn't receive confirmation email Email went to spam, or email address was mistyped Check the booking record in your dashboard for the email address. Resend confirmation from the booking detail view.
Payment failed at checkout Stripe account not connected or customer's card declined Verify Stripe connection in Settings → Payments. The customer will see an error message and can retry with a different card.
QR code on confirmation doesn't scan Image resolution too low in email client Ask the customer to zoom in or show the full email. The QR code links to their booking for mobile check-in.
Bookings showing as "No Show" incorrectly Players checked in verbally but not in the system Use the dashboard to manually mark bookings as "Checked In". Adjust the no-show detection window if needed.