Configuration > Resources

Resources, also called booking detail items, are individual items or services that your users can reserve for an event. Resources are grouped by category. For example, a furniture category might contain tables and chairs as the resources. Within a category, you can organize resources by groupings. For example, you might configure Beverages, Entrees, and Desserts groupings for a Food Service category. The Beverage grouping might contain resources like soda and coffee, the Entrees grouping might contain resources like fish and beef.

You can configure a resource “from scratch,” or copy an existing resource and then edit the configuration. You can also import resources for a category from a tab delimited file. If you configure resources for a Catering or Resources, w Service Order category, the first time that you configure resources for the category, you must configure at least one default service. A service indicates how the resource is to be used or offered. For example, Delivery and Setup, Cleanup, Plated, and Buffet, are possible services for a resource in a Catering category.

You can combine a list of related resources into a package to facilitate the process of adding multiple resources to a booking. Instead of making multiple repeated selections, a user can select a single resource package. For example, an Instructor A/V package might include a laser pointer, a mobile microphone, and a flip chart. You can set the price for a package to be the sum total of the prices of the individual resources that make up the package. You can also set a different price for the package, for example, if you want to discount the package.

Use production items to define the quantity of components that make up a single resource. For example, a resource called Box Lunch has the following description—a box lunch contains a sandwich, a bag of chips, two cookies, and bottled water. The production items for the Box Lunch resource, therefore, are the sandwich (quantity =1), chips (quantity =1), cookie (quantity = 2), and bottled water (quantity =1). This means that if an order for 20 boxed lunches is placed, then the kitchen would need to produce 20 sandwiches, 20 bags of chips, 40 cookies, and 20 bottled waters. To further define the areas of the kitchen that produce each item, you can define production areas. For example, the Delicatessen area might produce the sandwich, chips, and bottled water, and the Bakery area might produce the cookies.

After you configure a resource for a category, you can also define selections and selection items for the resource. A selection is used when you offer choices with a resource. For example, a resource named Catered Breakfast might have the following description—Catered breakfast includes the choice of one standard entree, two sides, and assorted mini-muffins, juice, and coffee. The standard entree selection might include the selection items of french toast, pancakes, or scrambled eggs. The side selection might include the selection items of bacon, sausage, and sliced fruit. If selection items have been defined for a resource, then an EMS user or an EMS Web App user must make a selection for the resource.

Learn more about configuring resources in the EMS Desktop Client: