If Bookwhen’s booking fields don’t provide the exact functionality you need, there are a few common workarounds you can use to customise your booking process.
This article covers:
Conditional fields
You can use the 'Yes/No option' field for your initial question to create dynamic follow-up questions based on the user's response. This allows you to customise the booking experience based on the information provided.
To do this:
Select Settings, then Booking fields from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select the Attendee details tab, then the Create a field button.
Confirm the Field type, select the Yes/No option from the Data type drop-down menu, then Continue to open the field setup:
Add a Field label, for example: "Do you have any dietary restrictions?" add any additional information, then Create field to complete the creation of the field:
Next, return to the main Booking fields screen and select Create a field.
This time, select the Multiple-Choice - List option from the Data type drop-down menu, then Continue to open the field setup:
Add a Field question, for example, “Please select your dietary restrictions from the options below."
Add some Additional details, for example, "If you answered "no, "please select N/A.”
Then, Add options for this field by typing each option separately, using the Add another option button to add a new option for customers to select. For example:
Ensure you add an 'N/A' option or something similar for those who answer 'no', so they can skip the follow-up questions.
Select Create field once finished.
Checking the order of the fields in the entry
Next, double-check that the fields appear in the correct order for your customers. To do this:
Open your Scheduling page.
Select the entry from your schedule list, then Edit entry:
Select the Booking form tab, scroll down to Field options, then Select and reorder fields:
Drag and drop the fields using the 3-line icon next to each field:
Making the fields mandatory
It's a good idea to make each field mandatory to ensure every attendee provides the required information.
To do this:
Open your Scheduling page.
Select the entry from your schedule list, then Edit entry:
Select the Booking form tab, then Set mandatory fields:
Tick the checkboxes next to the fields that you would like to make mandatory:
Once finished, select the Update button, then either Save or Save & Exit in the top right-hand corner to save your settings.
Example of how conditional fields appear in checkout
When customers check out, they will be prompted (and required if you set mandatory fields) to answer the questions you set up in the booking form:
Uploads
You can create a booking field with a link to a third-party service that supports uploads or digital signatures, allowing you to collect files or digital signatures from customers.
Creating hyperlinks
To add clickable hyperlinks to your booking form fields, use the following format:
[text](webpage)
This format lets you add links to provide customers with more information or resources directly within the form.
For example, if you want to link to your 'Cancellation & Refund Policy,' you can use:
[Cancellation & Refund Policy](https://bookwhen.com/terms)
The text inside the square brackets [] will appear to customers, while the URL inside the parentheses () is where the link will take them.
How a hyperlink within a booking field appears in checkout:
Confirm eligibility
💡 Please note: Restrictions aren't automatically enforced during the booking process.
You can set an age restriction for your event, such as "This event is suitable for ages 18 and over." To ensure customers meet the requirements, you can use the checkbox booking field option so they can confirm their age during checkout.
To do this:
Select Settings, then Booking fields from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select the Attendee details tab, then the Create a field button.
Confirm the Field type, select Checkbox from the Data type drop-down menu, then Continue to open the field setup:
Add a Field question, e.g., "I confirm that I am 18 years old or older" and any additional information in the Additional details field.
It's a good idea to outline any T&Cs highlighting what will happen if they don't meet the requirement. Their booking won't automatically be denied; you will need to manually cancel it.
Then select Create field to complete the field setup.
💡 You can make this field mandatory within each entry. Learn how to add it to all entries and to specific entries.
How a checkbox field appears during checkout
A checkbox alongside the Field question will display to customers during checkout:
Notes
There are a couple of ways to use the booking form free-text fields to allow both customers and admin users to add notes to the booking:
Customer notes
To create the field:
Select Settings, then Booking fields from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select the Attendee details tab, then the Create a field button.
Confirm the Field type, select either Plain text - Single-line or Plain text - Multi-line from the Data type drop-down menu, then Continue to open the field setup:
Your choice will depend on the amount of information you need to collect. It's also a good idea to remind customers not to include any sensitive information.
Plain text - Multi-line example
Add a Field question, e.g., 'Additional details'.
Add any Additional details, e.g., 'Please include any additional information, leaving out sensitive details such as phone numbers or card details.'
Add any relevant Placeholder text that could help customers, e.g., 'Is there anything else we need to know?':
Once complete, select Create field.
Then, add the field to all entries or specific entries.
How the 'Plain text - Multi-line' customer note option would appear to customers during checkout:
Admin notes
💡 Please note: The internal notes workaround is not private. When you add a note to the booking field, customers can view what you’ve written in it in the customer portal.
To add a free-text field as a workaround for internal notes:
Select Settings, then Booking fields from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select the Attendee details tab, then the Create a field button.
Confirm the Field type, select either Plain text - Single-line or Plain text - Multi-line from the Data type drop-down menu, then Continue to open the field setup:
Your choice will depend on the amount of information you would like to add.
Plain text - Multi-line example
Add a Field question, e.g., 'This field is for internal use only'
Add any Additional details, e.g., 'Please leave this field blank'.
Add any relevant Placeholder text that could help customers, e.g., 'For internal use only':
While it may seem a little repetitive, it's a good idea to make the purpose of this field as clear as possible.
Once complete, select Create field.
Then, add the field to all entries or specific entries.
How the 'Plain text - Multi-line' admin note option would appear to customers during checkout:
Adding notes to completed bookings
After a customer completes a booking on an entry that uses the admin notes booking form field workaround, you can add notes to the booking.
To do this:
Select Bookings from the left-hand menu on your account.
Search for your booking using the list, or add information into the Search field and select the Search button to generate your results:
Once you have found the booking, select the hyperlinked booking reference to open it:
The field will appear next to the area where it applies, i.e. next to the attendee (if an attendee field) or in the Booking fields section if it's a booking field etc.
To edit the field and add your internal note, select Edit details in the top right-hand corner of the section:
Add any additional information into the field:
Select Save changes once finished. The updated information will then appear next to the field title:
💡 Admins can edit these fields as needed. On the day of the event, you may also wish to add it to the attendee list and export your lists as required.
💬 Any questions or feedback? There are two ways to get in touch:
For a quicker response, please contact us via live chat on our homepage or your account.
Or send us an email
Thank you! 🕺