Packages are a great way to manage your client experience and provide discounts to customers purchasing multiple services at once. Clients can purchase your published packages during the booking process or through the Packages Page. You may also choose to require your clients to purchase a package before they are able to book a service with you. In this guide we will take a look at how to create and manage your packages in BusyPaws.

To set up a new package, start by selecting the ellipses in the left-hand menu bar, then select "Packages".

Note that you can also get to your Packages page by clicking the gear icon at the bottom-left corner of the page.

Then selecting "Packages" from the "Product Configuration" section.

The Package Management page displays a full list of your existing packages (if any).

To create a new package, click the "Add Package" button at the top-right corner of the Package Management page.

This will open a New Package form. The fields on this form are split between the package details, package content, and restrict purchasability sections.

The settings on the package details card let you set up the general aspects of your new package. This section allows you to determine the usability of the package and includes settings for the expiry of assigned service credits and purchase options.

Start by choosing a name for the package. This name will be visible to clients considering purchasing it from you, so it is best to choose something concise. Enter this into the "Name" field. You can then use the "Description" field to provide a more thorough explanation of what the package includes. This description will display below the package name where it is listed on the Packages Page.

Use the "Package Credit Expiry" field to determine how long the service credits assigned by the package will be available for use after purchase. Choosing "Does Not Expire" will assign credits with no expiry. Choosing "Weekly", "Monthly", "Quarterly", "Semi Annual", or "Yearly" will assign an expiry term to any purchased credits.

If an expiry term is chosen, a related field will populate beneath the drop-down, allowing you to choose the number of selected terms the credits will be available for. Type a number value directly into the field or use the up/down arrows to adjust the value in increments of 1.

Use the two "Online Self Booking : Package Purchase Options" toggles to determine the purchase settings for the new package.

When the "Prompt for client portal registration after package purchase" toggle is turned ON (purple), any client purchasing the package through the general Packages Portal or the Direct Link will be prompted to log into the Client Portal after completing their purchase. Turning the toggle OFF (grey) will allow clients to purchase a package directly without then being sent to the Client Portal.

The second toggle, "Package is sold on a per pet basis", controls how packages are charged when purchased through the Booking Portal. When the toggle is turned ON, clients will be charged for the same number of packages as pets selected for their booking (i.e. if a client is registering two pets for a booking and chooses a package they will be charged and receive credits for two packages). The credits assigned depend only on the number of pets, and will not be assigned to a specific pet. If the toggle is turned OFF the client will only be charged for a single package, regardless of the number of pets they have selected.

The "Package Image" section allows you to upload a photo for the package. This photo will display along with the package's description where it is listed in the Package Purchasing Portal.

This photo will display only within the Package Purchasing Portal, not at the package selection step in the self-booking process. Recommended ratio for photos is approximately 700px x 510px.

The "Tip Options" section allows you to set custom tip default values for the package. Note that tips must be enabled to be able to configure these settings. The status of tips for packages will be indicated with a tag labelled either "Tips Disabled" or "Tips Enabled".

If tips are enabled, the "Customize Tip Defaults" button can turned on (purple). This setting populates fields that allow you to set custom tip prompt amounts for the package. Amounts may be set as a specific dollar value or a percentage of the package price.

The fields in the package content section provide more details on the specifics of the package's functionality. They allow you to indicate the cash credits, service credits, add-on credits, and/or products clients will get when they purchase the package, as well as the price of the package overall.

To include cash credits in the package, click the "Add Credit" button under the "Included Cash Credit" section.

Then use the value field to set a cash credit amount. Type the value directly into the field or use the up/down arrows at the right side to adjust the value in increments of 0.01. Click the trash can icon next to the field to remove the cash credit.

Use the "Select a Service" field in the "Included Services" section to open a drop-down menu with a full list of your services, series, and service collections. Select one option from the menu, then use the "Qty" field to set the number of credits you want included in the package. Use the "Add Service" button to add as many service fields as needed.

Likewise, click the "Add Add-On" button in the "Included Add-ons" section to populate an add-on selection field. Select that field to open a drop-down menu with a full list of your active add-ons. Select one option from the menu, then use the "Qty" field to set the number of credits you want included in the package. Use the "Add Add-On" button to create as many add-on fields as needed.

Repeat the process for included products, clicking the "Add Product" button and using the product selection fields to add as many products as needed.

Once you have added all of the desired credits and quantities, use the price fields in the Included Services, Included Add-ons, and Included Products sections to adjust the total package price. The package total is listed in pink just above the Included Cash Credit section. Each item selected will populate with the default price for that service, add-on, or product. Edit any of the individual price fields to modify the total price of the package. Remove any of the line items by clicking the trash can icon.

You may also choose to restrict access to your new package using the "Restrict Purchasability" section.

Clicking the "Add Membership" button and selecting a membership from the drop-down menu will allow only those clients subscribed to the selected membership(s) to view and purchase the package. Leaving this section blank will allow any client to purchase the package once it is published.

When you have completed all sections of the form, click the "Create Package" button at the bottom of the page to save your new package and return to the main Package Management page.

The new package will now be listed here.

Start by navigating to the Package Management page by selecting "Packages" under the ellipses submenu.

Any packages you have created will be listed here. Each list item will be displayed with the package Name, Price, associated Services/Service Collections/Add-Ons/Products, Direct Link, Access (i.e. public or restricted to a membership), and Published status.

Only published packages will be available to your clients for purchase through the Packages Page or the Booking Portal. Unpublished packages may only be purchased through their Direct Link or by being added to a manual invoice. You can easily manage which packages are available for general purchase using the "Published" toggles on the main Package Management page. It is important to note that turning this toggle OFF (grey) will remove access even to those clients holding a membership to which a package is restricted. All newly created packages will default to Unpublished status.

The "Copy Link" button for each package will provide a direct purchase link for that package. This link will allow any client possessing it to purchase the package, regardless of whether or not it is published or restricted to a membership.

To edit or delete any of your existing packages, start by clicking on the package name where it is listed on the Package Management page.

This will open the Edit Package form. If the package you have selected is currently Unpublished, a yellow alert will display at the top of the page warning that the purchasability of unpublished packages is restricted.

To delete the selected package, click the "Actions" button at the top-right corner of the page, then select "Delete" from the drop-down menu.

The Edit Package form contains all of the same fields as the New Package form. Use the fields to edit the name, description, expiry settings, purchase options, included service credits, pricing, and/or purchasability.

When all of your desired edits have been completed, click the "Update Package" button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Once you have created packages, you can start selling them to your customers. Packages are a great way to reward frequent customers with discounts by purchasing multiple credits at a time. They can also be used to group different services together or control how many Service credits your clients are able to purchase at once. Let's take a look at the different ways your clients can purchase packages from you.

Any existing package can be manually added to invoice, regardless of whether it is published or unpublished. This is the only way packages can be purchased if you do not have Stripe payments set up on your account.

When generating an invoice or creating a new in-person payment for a point-of-sale card reader use the "Add Line Item" button to add a specific package. Click the button to open the item-selection pop-up.

Use the search bar at the top of the pop-up to find packages by name.

You can also use the filter option to view just your packages. Click the filter button at the right-hand side of the search bar, then select "Packages" from the drop-down menu.

Once you have located the package you wish to add to the invoice, click the "Add To Invoice" button.

When the invoice is saved and sent to the client, the credits associated with any selected package(s) will be listed as Pending on the client's profile. Once the invoice is paid the credits will become available for use.

For more information on creating custom invoices and payments, check out our guide on Invoicing From Customer Profiles or the "Process Payments" section of our guide on Processing In-Person Payments.

Published packages can also be purchased through both the Public and Client Booking Portals. Available packages will be listed as a purchase option directly before payment during the client self-booking process. After the client has chosen a service, booking time, and pet(s), they will be offered a full list of published packages that include at least one credit for the selected service. If a package has been restricted to a membership, it will only display for clients with an Active subscription to that membership when they are logged in. Each package option will be listed with the package name, price, and list of included credits.

If the service's payment settings have been set to "Require package/credit" then the package list will display without the "Continue Without Package" option. Clients without available credits for the service will then be required to purchase a package to proceed with their booking.

For more information, check out the Package Selection subsection of our guide on The Client Self-Booking Process.

Clients may also purchase packages outside of the self-booking process. This can be done through a package's Direct Link or through the general Package Purchasing Portal. The link for the general page can be found by clicking the Links/Integrations icon in the left-hand menu bar.

Scroll down to locate the "Packages" card near the bottom of the page. This card includes the Link to your Packages Portal and code for its Website Integration. Both the link and the widget will allow your clients to view and purchase any of your published, publicly available packages. For more information about incorporating the Package Purchasing Portal into your website, check out our guide on Using Links & Website Integrations.

Let's take a look at the Package Purchasing Portal as your clients will see it. Use the "Copy Link" button to copy the URL to your clipboard, or use the "Visit Page" button to automatically open the page in a new tab in your browser.

The main page will list all of the packages available to the client that are currently set as published and publicly available, displaying their name, description, price, and included services. If a client is already logged into the Client Portal and holds a membership that gives them access to a restricted package, that package will also be listed here.

Selecting one of the listed packages will begin the purchase process. After choosing a package, the client will be asked to enter their name, email, and phone number.

The client will then be prompted to enter their payment information. When they enter their card number, expiry date, and security code, then click the "Pay" button, their purchase will be processed.

As soon as the payment goes through, the client will see the "Payment Accepted" screen. The credits will be applied to their account and their receipt will be emailed to them. If you have your automated Package Confirmation message turned ON, they will also receive an email confirmation indicating that the package credits have been placed on their account. After payment is processed and accepted, the client will be automatically redirected to the next step.

The next step of the process will depend on the settings you have chosen for the selected package. If the Package Purchase Option for Client Portal registration is toggled OFF, the client will be directed back to the main Packages Page. A green notification will display at the top of the page indicating that the package has been purchased successfully.

If the Package Purchase Option for Client Portal registration is toggled ON, the client will be prompted to either create a password or enter their existing password to log in to the Client Portal.

Once the client has logged in they will be able to use their credits towards new bookings, whether through the Client Portal or the Public Booking Portal. They will also be able to view a full list of their available credits on their Dashboard.

For more information on integrating the Packages Page into your website, check out our guide on Using Links & Website Integrations.

You may also choose to sell your Packages to your clients through the Client Portal. To do this, the "Display Purchase Package Button" toggle in your Client Self-Booking Settings must be set to Enabled (purple).

With that setting turned on, customers logged into their Client Portal account will have access to a "Shop" button. Selecting "Shop" then "Packages" will take the client to the Packages Portal, allowing them to view and subscribe to any of your publicly available packages as well as those they may have access to through a membership.

Packages are the perfect way to encourage your clients to register for more of your services. They allow you to reward frequent customers with discounts and inform clients of your complimentary service offerings. Use them to increase your sales and fill your booking calendar!