From checkout to a venue workspace ready for real bookings.
VenueDesk separates initial tenant provisioning from venue operations. First the subscription creates the workspace. Then onboarding gets the venue published, and optional operational setup turns on customer payments, contracts, team access, reminders, and event workflows.
1. Create your account and choose a URL
Enter the owner name, email address, business name, secure password, and an available workspace slug. The slug becomes the tenant address, such as grand-hall.getvenuedesk.com. Depending on the platform registration mode, public registration may be open or require a VenueDesk signup invitation.
2. Complete secure VenueDesk subscription checkout
VenueDesk sends the signup to Stripe Checkout for the configured Standard subscription. If a VenueDesk trial or promotion is currently offered, its terms appear in checkout. A live tenant is provisioned only after VenueDesk receives a valid completed checkout state.
3. Verify the owner email
The owner receives an email verification message. Verification is required before entering tenant administration. The account page later supports secure password changes and confirmed email changes.
4. Confirm business information
Review the business name and tenant identity that VenueDesk uses throughout the workspace and customer experience.
5. Add your venue
Create each venue or event space your team manages and set its timezone and active state. VenueDesk keeps venue records tenant-scoped.
6. Create the packages you sell
Add package name, venue assignment, capacity, price, duration in hours, deposit details where applicable, and the customer-facing description. Package capacity remains authoritative for booking guest limits.
7. Configure availability, booking rules, and blackouts
Set the venue schedule and booking rules, then manage first-class blackout dates. Customer and staff calendars use the same blackout-aware rules for closed days, booking windows, buffers, and reservation conflicts.
8. Add branding
Upload the venue logo and choose the primary color that identifies the workspace and customer-facing booking experience.
9. Publish the workspace
VenueDesk requires at least one venue and one package before publishing can complete. Publishing finishes onboarding and sends the owner to the business dashboard. Customers can then use the tenant URL to review active offerings and begin a booking.
10. Connect the venue's Stripe account for online booking payments
Owners or authorized account managers can connect the venue's own Stripe account through the Payments settings flow. VenueDesk keeps this booking-payment account separate from the Stripe account used for the VenueDesk subscription. Until Stripe reports the connected account ready, new online booking payment actions remain unavailable.
11. Configure contracts
Use the VenueDesk generic agreement, create a custom template, or import readable text from a text-based PDF and edit it in VenueDesk. Assign an active template to packages that require an agreement. Public bookings using those packages can require the customer to sign before payment unlocks.
12. Set up package checklists
Create reusable checklist templates for packages. When a booking is created, VenueDesk can work with booking-specific checklist items so the event team has a reservation-level task list instead of changing the reusable package template.
13. Invite the team
Owners and Admins can invite supported tenant roles and manage members within their permission level. VenueStaff remains intentionally create-only for manual bookings and does not gain access to existing-booking administration, customers, payments, contracts, checklists, or account controls.
14. Configure customer communications
Owners and Admins can control booking received, confirmed, cancelled, contract signed, and payment received communications. Balance reminders and event reminders can be scheduled for configurable day intervals and are protected against duplicate delivery.
15. Run bookings from the dashboard and calendar
The business overview shows upcoming events, pending requests, deposits due, monthly booking activity, attention items, and financial context for authorized users. The booking calendar supports day, week, and month views, venue filtering, blackouts, and safe rescheduling.
16. Use the customer portal through the booking lifecycle
Each secure booking link can become a customer portal with Overview, Contract, Payments, and Documents. Customers can follow the event, electronically sign a required agreement, pay eligible deposits or balances through Stripe, review payment history, and download invoice, receipt, signed contract, and venue-shared files.
17. Keep documents and payment records attached to the booking
Authorized staff can open a booking Documents workspace for generated invoice, receipts, signed contract, and private file uploads. Each uploaded file can be renamed and explicitly marked customer-visible or internal-only. Staff can also record manual payments and manage supported Stripe refunds from booking operations.