Kerbside HelpDashboard →

Help & guides

Everything you need to set up and run your business with Kerbside.

Ask the AI assistant

Powered by Claude
👋 Hi! I'm the Kerbside AI assistant — I know this platform inside and out. Ask me anything about setting up bookings, memberships, marketing, Stripe, forms, or any other feature. What can I help you with?
🚀 Quick setup
Quick-start checklist
  1. Business details — go to Settings → Contact and fill in your business name, phone number, and contact email. This is what customers see on confirmation SMS and emails, so get it right first.
  2. Branding — in Settings → Appearance set your logo, primary colour, and accent colour. These apply to your booking page, gift cards, and membership pages.
  3. Location or service area — in Settings → Location:
    • If you have a shop or fixed address — enter it so it appears on your public page and booking confirmations.
    • If you're mobile — set a service area (suburb radius) so customers know where you operate. You can add multiple zones.
  4. Working hours — in Settings → Hours, set the days and times you're available. Customers will only see slots that fall inside these hours. You can block individual dates (e.g. public holidays) from the Bookings tab.
  5. Services & pricing — go to the Services tab and add every service you offer. For each one set: name, price (or "quote only"), duration in minutes, and an optional description and photos. Drag to reorder. Add optional add-ons (engine bay, pet hair removal, etc.) that customers can tick at checkout.
  6. Booking fields — in Forms & Emails → Booking fields, add any questions you need answered before every booking: vehicle make/model, property size, access instructions, etc. Mark them required if they're essential. These appear on your booking page and on manually added bookings in your dashboard.
  7. Deposit settings — in Settings → Deposits, choose how much to collect upfront (percentage or fixed amount). A deposit secures the booking and dramatically reduces no-shows. The minimum is 3% on Free, no minimum on paid plans.
  8. Connect Stripe — in Payments & Plan → Connect Stripe. Deposits go directly to your Stripe account and pay out to your bank on your usual schedule (typically 2 business days). You must connect Stripe before customers can pay online. If you already have a Stripe account, just log in — no new account needed.
  9. Choose a plan — in Payments & Plan. Free is $0 but charges a 3% fee per booking. Growth ($49/mo) and Pro ($119/mo) charge 0% and unlock extra features. Every paid plan comes with a 30-day free trial — card saved but not charged for 30 days.
  10. Share your booking link — once everything above is done, copy your booking link from the dashboard and put it in your Instagram bio, Google Business profile, and website. Customers click it and book directly.

The setup checklist at the top of your dashboard tracks exactly what's left to do.

What does the booking page look like to customers?

Customers visit /book.html?t=your-slug and are walked through: pick a service → pick a date & time → fill in contact details + any custom fields → pay the deposit via Stripe. They get an instant SMS + email with a manage-booking link so they can reschedule or view their booking anytime.

Can I embed the booking page on my own website?

Yes — use an <iframe> pointing to your booking page URL, or link customers directly to it. The page uses your brand colours and logo. The AI website builder ($29 one-time unlock) can generate you a complete custom landing page that's pre-integrated.

How do I customise the look (colours, logo, font)?

Settings tab → Appearance. You can set your primary colour, accent colour, logo image, font, button style, and border radius. Changes apply to all your public pages (booking, gift, member, quote).

💳 Plans & fees
What's included in each plan?
  • Free ($0/mo) — online booking & deposits with a 3% platform fee per booking (capped at $10) plus a $2.95 booking fee charged to the customer. Mobile-only (no fixed locations). 1 staff member. Shows a "Powered by Kerbside" badge. Includes: booking, quotes, recurring reminders, customer portal.
  • Growth ($49/mo)0% per booking. No badge. Up to 3 staff, 1 location. Adds: subscriber list, marketing emails (1¢ each), single-wash gift cards, rebooking reminders, promo codes, referral tracking.
  • Pro ($119/mo)0% per booking. All features. Up to 5 staff + 1 location, then +$19/mo per extra staff member and +$49/mo per extra location. Adds: full memberships, membership & single-wash gift cards, win-back automation, abandoned booking recovery, calendar sync (Google/Apple/Outlook), AI caption generator, AI site builder (separate $29 unlock).

Annual billing is available at 11× the monthly price — one month free.

What is the $2.95 booking fee?

On every booking, gift card, and membership payment, a $2.95 platform fee is charged to the customer — it appears as a separate line item in checkout. This covers payment infrastructure (Stripe, AWS, SMS, etc.). It's in addition to any plan-level per-booking percentage on the free tier.

How does the free trial work?

When you subscribe to Growth or Pro for the first time, you get 30 days free. Your card is saved but not charged until day 31. You can cancel any time before the trial ends and pay nothing. After the trial, billing is monthly or annual (your choice).

How do I switch or cancel my plan?

Go to Payments & Plan → Your plan. To downgrade to Free, click "Switch to Free" — this cancels your subscription immediately. To upgrade or change interval (monthly ↔ annual), choose the new plan — the change takes effect right away and Stripe prorates any difference. Cancelling moves you to the Free showcase tier at the end of your current billing period, so you keep access until then.

How are promo codes applied to plans?

If you have a promo code, enter it on the plan checkout page. The system validates it against our database and applies the discount (e.g. 20% off, 2 months free, extra trial days). Promo codes are single-use or limited-use and may have expiry dates.

💰 Stripe & payments
Why do I need Stripe? What is Stripe Connect?

Stripe Connect is how Kerbside routes deposit payments directly into your own Stripe account. You don't share a pool with other businesses — every deposit goes to you the moment the customer pays. Stripe then pays out to your bank on your normal schedule (typically 2 business days). You need to connect before you can take online deposits.

How do I connect Stripe?
  1. Go to Payments & Plan → Connect Stripe.
  2. Click "Connect Stripe account". You'll be taken to Stripe's onboarding.
  3. Create a Stripe account or log into an existing one.
  4. Add your bank account and verify your identity (Stripe's requirement, not ours).
  5. Once Stripe approves your account, payments will be enabled automatically.

If you already have a Stripe account, just log in during onboarding — no need to create a new one.

What are the card processing fees?

Stripe charges directly on your account: 1.7% + 30¢ for Australian cards and 3.5% + 30¢ for international cards. These are Stripe's standard fees and are entirely separate from your Kerbside plan. On paid plans Kerbside takes 0% on top — you keep the rest.

When do I get paid?

The deposit hits your Stripe account the moment the customer pays. Stripe pays it out to your bank account based on your payout schedule — typically 2 business days after the transaction. You can configure your payout schedule in your Stripe dashboard. The balance is collected by you directly on the day of the job (cash, bank transfer, or you can generate an online balance payment link from the booking).

How do online balance payments work?

After a job, in Bookings → open the booking → Generate balance link. This creates a Stripe payment link for the remaining balance. Share it with the customer via SMS or copy the link. When they pay, the balance goes straight into your Stripe account. The booking updates automatically and a receipt is emailed to them. If the customer pays a tip online, the post-job "add a tip" email is suppressed automatically.

📅 Bookings
How do I add a booking manually?

Bookings tab → + Add booking. Fill in the customer's name, phone, date, time, service, and total. Any custom fields you've set up in Forms & Emails also appear here. Manual bookings don't take an online deposit — you handle payment in person. You can also generate a deposit link and SMS it to the customer if they want to pay online.

How do automatic reminders work?
  • Day-before reminder: SMS at ~8am the day before the booking.
  • Day-of reminder: SMS in the morning of the booking day.
  • 30-minute heads-up: SMS 30 minutes before the booking start time.
  • Post-job review request: SMS a few hours after the booking ends, asking them to leave a review. Add your Google/Facebook review link in Settings → Review link.

All reminders are sent to the customer's mobile number. They include your business name and the booking details.

How do I reschedule or cancel a booking?

Open the booking from the Bookings tab. Owners can reschedule (pick a new date/time), cancel (with optional refund of deposit), or add notes. Customers can also self-manage via the link in their confirmation SMS/email — they can reschedule or cancel, depending on the rules you set in Settings.

What do the booking statuses mean?
  • Pending — deposit paid, job not yet done.
  • Confirmed — you've confirmed the booking.
  • Complete — job done. Triggers review request SMS and post-job email.
  • Cancelled — booking cancelled. If refunded, deposit is returned via Stripe.
Can customers reschedule themselves?

Yes. The confirmation SMS/email contains a manage booking link. From there they can see their booking details and request a reschedule. You can configure what's allowed in Settings.

🧴 Services & add-ons
How do I set up services?

Services tab → + New service. Each service has: name, price (or "quote only"), duration (minutes), description, and photos. Services appear in the order you set in the dashboard. You can reorder by dragging.

Quote-only services don't show a price — instead the customer submits a quote request and you set the price and send it from the Quotes tab. Great for paint correction or complex jobs.

How do add-ons work?

Add-ons are optional extras customers can tick at booking time. Each add-on has a name, price, and optionally extra duration. You can set a pricing mode:

  • Fixed — flat $ amount regardless of anything.
  • Per unit — customer enters a quantity (e.g. per bag of rubbish removed).
  • Per minute / Hourly — useful for time-based extras.
How do vehicle size surcharges work?

In the Services settings, you can set a flat dollar surcharge per vehicle size (hatchback, sedan, SUV, ute/wagon). The customer selects their vehicle size at booking and the surcharge is added automatically to the total.

📈 Surcharges
What are day-of-week surcharges?

You can charge a percentage extra on certain days of the week — e.g. +15% on Saturdays and Sundays. Set them in Settings → Surcharges → Day of week. Enter the percentage and a reason (e.g. "Weekend rate"). The surcharge is shown as a separate line item in the booking receipt so customers can see exactly why the total is higher.

What are one-off date surcharges?

One-off date surcharges let you charge extra on specific dates or date ranges — perfect for public holidays. Set them in Settings → Surcharges → Date surcharges. You can enter:

  • A single date (e.g. 25 Dec for Christmas Day).
  • A date range (e.g. 24–26 Dec for the Christmas period).

Set the percentage (e.g. 50%) and a reason (e.g. "Public holiday"). Surcharges from the same booking stack — a Saturday date that also falls in a holiday range gets both surcharges applied.

Do surcharges show on the booking receipt?

Yes — each surcharge is shown as a named line item in the booking summary before the customer confirms payment. They can see exactly what's being added and why. Surcharges are also logged against the booking.

💬 Quotes
How does the quote flow work?
  1. Customer fills in the quote form at /quote.html?t=your-slug.
  2. You see the request in Quotes tab and set a price.
  3. Send the quote — customer gets an SMS/email with the price and a link to accept or decline.
  4. If they accept, you click Convert to booking and it becomes a confirmed booking (they then pay the deposit).
📋 Forms & emails
How do I add custom fields to the booking form?

Forms & Emails tab → Custom booking fields → Add field. You can add:

  • Text — free text (e.g. vehicle rego, notes).
  • Dropdown — pick from a list of options you define.
  • Checkbox — yes/no tick (e.g. "Has pet hair?").
  • Number — numeric input.
  • File upload — customer attaches a photo or document.

Each field has a key (e.g. rego) that you can use as a template placeholder: {{rego}}. Mark fields as required or optional. The same fields appear on both the public booking page and when you add a booking manually from the dashboard.

How do I customise confirmation emails and SMS?

Forms & Emails tab → edit the Confirmation email and Confirmation SMS templates. Use these placeholders:

  • {{first_name}} — customer's first name
  • {{name}} — customer's full name
  • {{datetime}} — date and time of booking
  • {{date}} / {{time}} — date or time separately
  • {{service}} — service name
  • {{total}} — total booking price
  • {{deposit}} — deposit amount
  • {{balance}} — remaining balance
  • {{manage_url}} — link to the customer's booking management page
  • {{ref}} — booking reference number
  • Any custom field key, e.g. {{rego}}

Leave a template blank to use the default.

What is the contact form and how does it work?

You can enable a contact form in Forms & Emails → Contact form. Customers fill it in on your booking page to send you an enquiry. You see the enquiry in the Enquiries tab and can reply from the dashboard — your reply is sent to the customer's email, with your business email as the reply-to so they can respond directly.

↩️ Refunds
How do I refund a deposit?

Open the booking → Refund & Cancel. The full deposit is returned to the customer's card within 5–10 business days. The platform booking fee ($2.95) is not refunded. If your Stripe balance is below the refund amount, Stripe automatically recovers the difference from your connected bank account.

Are deposits refundable under Australian Consumer Law?

Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), deposits for services may be non-refundable if the customer simply changes their mind — this is stated in the Terms of Service on your booking page. However, if you cancel or fail to deliver the service, the customer is entitled to a refund under consumer guarantees. Your Terms of Service page (/terms.html) covers both situations.

🏅 Memberships (Pro)
How do memberships work?

Memberships are recurring subscription plans you sell to regular customers. You define each plan in the Membership tab: name, price per 28 days, number of visits per cycle, any limits on interior or protection services, and vehicle size surcharges.

Customers join at /join.html?t=your-slug. They enter their card details once — Stripe automatically charges their card every 28 days. They never need to re-enter card details on renewal. They book their included visits at /member.html?t=your-slug. Unused visits don't roll over — they reset at the start of each cycle.

What happens if a member's payment fails?

Stripe sends automatic dunning emails to the member (up to 4 retries over several days). If payment still fails, the membership moves to past_due status. The member won't be able to book new visits. Once they update their card and Stripe collects payment, the membership becomes active again automatically. You can see payment status in the Membership tab.

Can I cancel a member's subscription?

Yes — open the member from the Membership tab and click Cancel. The subscription is cancelled immediately (or at the end of the current billing period, depending on your preference). The customer gets an email notifying them.

What is win-back SMS?

When a member cancels, Kerbside can automatically send them a win-back SMS after a configurable number of days (default 30). Set the message and timing in Settings → Win-back. All win-back SMS messages include "Reply STOP to opt out" for compliance with the Australian Spam Act.

🎁 Gift cards
How do gift cards work?

Customers buy gift cards at /gift.html?t=your-slug. Two types:

  • Single-wash gift (Growth+) — generates a promo code the recipient redeems at booking. The promo code gives 100% off the specified service.
  • Membership gift (Pro) — gives the recipient a free first month of the membership tier you select.

Delivery options: instant SMS/email to the recipient, scheduled for a specific date, or "give in person" (no digital delivery, the buyer handles it). A $2.95 platform booking fee is added to every gift card purchase.

Can customers get a refund on a gift card?

Under Australian Consumer Law, gift cards are generally non-refundable if the customer simply changes their mind. This is disclosed on the gift card page and in the Terms of Service. If there's a genuine issue with the service, consumer guarantees still apply.

📣 Marketing
How do I send a marketing email to my subscribers?
  1. Go to Marketing tab → Send an email section.
  2. Choose a theme (Clean White, Navy, Forest, or Slate).
  3. Enter a subject and write your message in HTML. You must include {{UNSUB}} somewhere — this is automatically replaced with a personalised unsubscribe link (required by Australian spam law).
  4. Use {{FIRST_NAME}} for personalisation.
  5. Click 👁 Preview to see how it'll look in the selected theme before sending.
  6. Click Send. Emails cost 1¢ each and are added to your monthly invoice.
Why is {{UNSUB}} required?

The Australian Spam Act 2003 requires every commercial electronic message to contain a functional unsubscribe mechanism. {{UNSUB}} is replaced with a unique unsubscribe link for each recipient — when they click it, they're removed from your list immediately. The system prevents you from sending a marketing email without it.

How does rebooking reminder automation work?

Set a rebooking interval in Settings (e.g. 6 weeks). After that interval passes since a customer's last booking, they automatically get an SMS and email nudging them to rebook. This runs daily in the background. All SMS messages include "Reply STOP to opt out."

What is abandoned booking recovery?

(Pro only) If a customer starts the booking process but doesn't complete it, Kerbside can send them an automated SMS reminder to come back and finish. Set the delay and message in Settings → Abandoned recovery. This alone often recovers several bookings per month.

How do promo codes work?

Create promo codes in Marketing → Promo codes. Each code can be:

  • Percent off — e.g. SUMMER20 gives 20% discount.
  • Dollar off — e.g. NEWCLIENT gives $10 off.

You can set a maximum number of uses and an optional description (internal only). Codes are case-insensitive. Customers enter them at checkout — the discount is applied before the deposit is charged. Referral partner tracking lets you attribute bookings to influencers or partners.

👥 Staff
How do I add staff members?

Staff tab → Invite staff. Enter their email. They'll get an invitation email and create their own login. They can log in to the dashboard and see their assigned bookings. Growth plan: up to 3 staff. Pro: up to 5, then $19/mo per extra.

Can I assign bookings to specific staff?

Yes. When viewing or editing a booking, you can assign it to any staff member. Staff see only their own assigned bookings in the dashboard (owners see all). Staff can also subscribe their own calendar link (Google, Apple or Outlook).

📆 Calendar sync
How do I sync bookings to my calendar?
  1. Staff tab → Sync bookings to your calendarCopy your personal calendar link.
  2. Add it as a subscribed calendar in whichever app you use:
    • Google: Calendar (desktop) → Other calendars → + → From URL → paste → Add.
    • Apple / iPhone: Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account → Other → Add Subscribed Calendar → paste.
    • Outlook: Add calendar → Subscribe from web → paste → Import.
  3. Your bookings now appear automatically. New bookings, reschedules and cancellations update on the next refresh.

No sign-in and no approval process — it works with any calendar app. Each person has their own private link (owners see every booking; staff see only their own). It's one-way (bookings flow into your calendar), so keep the link private, like a password.

My calendar isn't updating right away — why?

Calendar apps decide how often they refresh a subscribed calendar, and that timing is out of Kerbside's control. Google can take a few hours; Apple and Outlook are usually faster and often let you set the interval. A brand-new booking may not appear instantly — that's normal for subscribed calendars. If nothing ever shows up, re-copy your link from the Staff tab and re-add the subscription.

⚙️ Account & billing
How do I manage my subscription and invoices?

Payments & Plan → Manage billing. This opens the Stripe Customer Portal where you can: download tax invoices, update your credit card, add your ABN (appears on invoices as a tax invoice), and cancel your subscription.

How do I change my login email?

Payments & Plan → Account → Change email. Enter the new email and save. You'll receive a confirmation at the new address. Use this new email to log in going forward.

How do I export my data?

Payments & Plan → Account → Export data. Downloads a JSON file with all your bookings, members, subscribers, gift cards, services, locations, and promo codes. This satisfies your obligations under the Australian Privacy Principles — customers can request their data and you can produce it.

How do I permanently delete my account?

Payments & Plan → Account → Delete account. Type your business slug to confirm. This cancels your subscription and permanently removes all data (bookings, customers, services, everything). This cannot be undone. Export your data first if you need a copy.

Can I have multiple businesses?

Not directly on one login — each Kerbside account is one business. If you run multiple businesses, you'd create a separate Kerbside account for each. Contact support if you need a multi-business arrangement.

🔧 Troubleshooting
Customers aren't receiving SMS messages
  • Make sure their phone number is in the right format — Australian numbers should be 04XX XXX XXX (10 digits) or include the country code +61.
  • Check that the customer hasn't replied STOP to a previous SMS — this opts them out of all messages from that sender ID.
  • Verify your ClickSend account has credit.
  • If you've set a custom SMS sender name, it must be 11 characters or fewer and may not work for all carriers.
Confirmation emails aren't being sent
  • Check the customer's spam/junk folder — transactional emails sometimes land there.
  • Verify the email address was entered correctly at booking time.
  • If you've edited the email template, make sure you haven't accidentally removed required fields.
  • Contact support if the issue persists — we can check the email logs.
"Payments not set up" error on the booking page

This means Stripe Connect isn't fully set up or hasn't been approved yet. Go to Payments & Plan → Connect Stripe and check the status. If onboarding was started but not completed, click "Continue Stripe setup" to finish. Stripe sometimes requires additional verification — log into your Stripe dashboard directly to see if there are any outstanding requirements.

My bookings aren't showing in my calendar
  • Make sure you subscribed with the exact link from Staff → Sync bookings to your calendar — copy it fresh and re-add it.
  • Subscribed calendars refresh on the calendar app's own schedule — Google can take a few hours. Give it time before assuming it's broken.
  • Only upcoming and recent bookings are included; cancelled ones are left out.
  • The link is per person — check you're subscribed with your own link, not a teammate's.
AI website shows "Forbidden" or won't generate
  • Make sure you've unlocked the AI website builder ($29 one-time purchase) from Payments & Plan → AI website.
  • AI tools require the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable to be set in Lambda.
  • The SAAS_BASE_DOMAIN environment variable must be set to your actual domain (e.g. getkerbside.com).
  • If you've recently paid for the unlock and it's still blocked, try refreshing the page — the unlock takes a moment to process.
My plan didn't upgrade after payment

Sometimes there's a short delay between Stripe confirming the payment and the database updating. Wait 30 seconds and refresh the page. If it still hasn't updated after 2 minutes, check your Stripe dashboard to confirm the payment succeeded, then contact getkerbside@gmail.com with your business slug and we'll sort it out.

I can't delete a service — getting an error

A service can't be deleted if it has existing bookings linked to it (to preserve historical records). Instead, you can deactivate or hide the service so it no longer appears on the booking page, without deleting it. If you really need to delete it, cancel or archive the linked bookings first.

Still stuck? Chat to the AI above or email getkerbside@gmail.com.