Hirers

A hirer is whoever the booking is for: a person, a club, a parish council. Keeping them here rather than typing a name onto each booking is what makes the rest work — invoices know where to go, the rate rules know what kind of hirer this is, and you can see everything one group has ever booked.

The kind of hirer matters more than it looks. It is what a rate rule matches on, so a hirer marked as a charity picks up the charity rate without anyone remembering to apply it.

An email address is worth having even for hirers who telephone. It is where the invoice goes, and it is the only way they can be given the hirers’ app.

For example: Ashcombe has 34 hirers on file. Three are regulars with standing bookings, eleven are local charities on the reduced rate, and the rest are one-off parties. The parties still get a record, because next year half of them book again.

Questions people ask

Somebody books once, for a birthday. Do they need a record?
Yes, and it takes a moment. Without one there is nobody to invoice, and when they ring back next year there is nothing to look up.

Two people from the same club book separately.
Usually one hirer — the club — is what you want, because that is who pays. Use the notes for who to ring.

We have no email address for a hirer.
Everything works except emailing them an invoice or a sign-in link. The Customer App screen lists hirers with no address, so it is easy to see who to chase.