Overview
In this article we introduce the various options for creating a booking in MotionTools.
- Single booking creation with the Webbooker
- Create multiple bookings at once with the bulk importer
- Create multiple bookings with custom payload using Postman
- Create bookings via API
Single booking creation with the Webbooker
The most straightforward way of creating a booking manually is via the Webbooker. For a step-by-step guide, please read Create a booking via the Webbooker.
Some stops attributes are not yet available on the Webbooker, but can be added later, such as Custom content. It is also possible to apply standard properties on Bookings of a certain Service, i.e. add geofencing or checklists to stops.
When to use this option?
- When you are new to the system and want to give it a try, it's the easiest way to get started.
- When you have customers registered in MotionTools to create single bookings.
- When you want to book on behalf of your customers as part of a call center workflow.
- When you didn’t integrate your online shop or ERP system yet but want to do a dry run with your organization.
- When you are a developer and you want to check out a valid booking — use the Developer Tools of your browser to check out the payload of the booking.
Create multiple bookings at once with the bulk importer
Multiple bookings can be uploaded at once via a CSV file, using the Booking importer feature. For a step-by-step guide, please read Bulk upload bookings via the Bookings importer.
When to use this option?
- When you have multiple bookings to be uploaded at once.
- When you have the option to export data from another system.
- When a automatic integration is not possible or feasible.
Create multiple bookings with custom payloads using postman
Multiple bookings can also be created with a CSV upload to Postman. For a step-by-step guide, please read Bulk create Bookings via Postman with a CSV file.
When to use this option?
- When you want to adjust the data structure in a way that the CSV importer does not support. This could be custom content or certain stop attributes such as the priority flag.
Create bookings via API
Booking creation via API is the most common way in case you want to integrate your in-house software or another third party standard software with MotionTools. Booking creation via API supports a more complex booking structure and certain booking attributes which aren’t available on the Webbooker or Bookings importer currently. It also means that there is no manual work related to individual transactions. To understand the basic concept of bookings and how to create them programmatically, please read the articles below:
When to use this option?
- When you have an external system for customers to place orders, and will need to send the orders into MotionTools as Bookings for Drivers to complete.
- When you have a more complex booking structure that includes additional Custom content attribute.