How much does the system cost?

The full price structure can be found hereHover your mouse over the relevant number of lettings to see more details.

If you have any questions, call 01803 840414 and we will be pleased to assist.

Is CaterBook compatible with Apple Macs?

Yes, however this is with Intel Macs running Parallels or Bootcamp with a copy of Windows (98/2000/XP/Vista/7).

Can I access the online booking manager from outside my hotel?

You can access the online booking manager control panel from any computer with an internet connection. The online booking form and manager can also be accessed from PDA style phones.

Does the CaterBook system connect to any agencies or third parties?

A link to Booking.com is currently in development.

Can I just use CaterBook to take bookings or does it do anything else?

We haven't managed to make it clean the bathroom yet, but it will print booking paperwork, keep a client database, offer financial, domestic and marketing reports, book-keeping. However, if you only want to use CaterBook to keep track of your bookings then you'll find that all the other functionality won't get in your way.

How do I find out which of my customers spend most.

Use the Referrals to discover which referrer creates the most income.

Use the Nationality to find out the percentage spend of a national group.

Use the Reasons report to discover who you should be encouraging to come back.

Follow this by producing a mailing list as shown directly above.

Does CaterBook work in different currencies?

We have installed CaterBook in several countries and it has been used with pounds, dollars, Swiss francs, euros and others. Please contact us for a full list. CaterBook also includes a function to convert pounds sterling to Euros.

How easy/difficult is it to integrate in my website?

The booking form is a simple link that you can have as a page on its own or can be embedded within another page using an iframe. We will also supply you or your web designer with some simple HTML code that will allow you to include a small check availability form on your website, ideally on the first (index) page, where it will be most effective.

What reports are there?

Domestic Reports cover room occupancy, actions taken within the CaterBook program, future arrivals and departures, and lists of cancellations and outstanding charges. Financial reports include: receipts, receipts in/payments out, payments, itemised sales, projected turnover, daily report, future deposits paid and invoices. Marketing reports cover information such as the source of your guests, their reasons for visiting, their nationalities, types of guest and length of stay.

Can I use it to do my occupancy report?

Yes. Occupancy reports can be produced based on your choice of date periods and give percentages by value and by occupation.

Can you put our restaurant tables on the system?

This is possible under certain circumstances. Many of our clients use CaterBook for table reservations. You may wish to check with us for further details. See contact details.

Can I access the system from more than one PC?

Network licences to run CaterBook on more than one machine on a network are available for £99. A remote access licence that is useful for managers etc to download the data for viewing away from the hotel is available for £250. Alternatively, the online booking manager can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection.

We have several different prices for the same season depending on how many nights are booked. Can CaterBook handle this situation?

The settings section allows you to set up to eight automated prices per room during any of 12 given seasons. You can enter the number of nights for each price band to be used. We have no customers who have not been able to accommodate their tariff yet!

We change our tariff prices many times during the year, does your program work this out for you?

Yes, The tariff can store up to 16 sets of different prices which can be programmed to any periods throughout the year, you can have a different price every day if you wanted to! Contact us for full details to change your settings.

Do you offer staff training?/How long will it take to retrain my staff?

This is what marketeers refer to as a USP (Unique selling point!) Learning to use CaterBook is surprisingly easy. Whenever we install CaterBook we offer telephone/online training. We find that this is all most people need, and you're welcome to call us with any queries you may have at any time. We can also offer on-site training for a fee: contact us for further details.

Do I need to buy a new/dedicated PC to run CaterBook?

Probably not. CaterBook will run on any PC with the correct operating system (Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista/7) that is in good working order with 20mb available disk space and 750mb RAM.

Can I have a password to control access to the program?

Yes, passwords allowing different levels of access to the program and data can be easily set up.

Can I print my Invoices and Confirmations in a format other than CaterBook?

Yes you can. If you hold down the Shift key whilst clicking the option you require, the information will be displayed on screen instead of printing. At the top of that screen is an option to export to RTF. (Rich Text Format). All word processors will be able to use this format.

Can I have one person paying for several rooms?

Yes: rooms can be linked so that all charges appear on one invoice.

I want to send more than a month of availability to my web page.

Use F10 to access the settings. Select Establishment Settings and increase the number of days on the send availability option.

I would like to send my availability every day can this be done automatically?

Yes, go to the properties page and you will see a box called 'Auto SendTime' put the time in here (24 hour clock hh:mm) and CaterBook will automatically log on, send your availability and log off the internet connexion.

Can I put extras on the bill?

Yes. You can either add them from a drop down menu, or directly from compatible epos systems.

How do I change the price for different times of the year.

Start on the 1st of January and set the code for the set of prices to be charged. On the next line down, enter the date the price changes and set the code of the new price set. Continue in the same way until your year is completed. Thus, if your price changes 5 times you should have 5 lines.

How flexible are your tariff settings?

With CaterBook you can have different prices for different nights and different seasons. You can also set CaterBook to calculate different prices per night depending on how many nights are booked. You can also set prices for packages and special offers.

Is it possible to have a weekend break price included in the tariff.

You can have up to 3 different set prices in each group included for advertised breaks and offers.

What happens if I buy CaterBook and then my computer explodes!?

Your support contract will enable you to have a free re-install of the program on a new computer. Our data backup service means that we can usually restore your data, too

Can I bill a company rather than the person staying in the room?

Yes: all bills can be re-allocated to a company account. If more than one person from a company is staying you can put it all on the same invoice.

Does it keep track of who's paid and how much is still outstanding?

Yes. This can be viewed in report form or in graphic form. A pictorial view colour-codes bookings according to payment status.

How much commission do you charge?

None.

I have some services (products) which don't appear in my addition list, can I add my own?

Select 'SYSTEM' & 'Products/Services'. This will give a listing of all your current items, use 'Add' and 'Delete' to customise your list as you require. You can add as many or as few items as you need.

Does the CaterBook system show details of cancelled bookings?

CaterBook will produce a report showing all cancelled bookings. CaterBook also allows you to retain payments (e.g. deposits) when you cancel a booking and these will be shown separately in financial reports.

How long has CaterBook been going?

CaterBook was established in 2001 by Peter Shearn.

Is there a helpline I can call if I have any questions?

You can call us on 01803 840414 between 9am and 5.30pm Monday - Friday. Outside of these hours we have an emergency helpline you can call.

Can CaterBook tell me who made a booking and when?

Yes and other details too such as if a booking has been moved, items added to bills or the date a bill was paid... etc etc