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Quick Start Guide

This guide walks you through the fastest path from a fresh EquipDash account to your first booking. You can complete all six steps in about 10 minutes.

What You'll Learn​

  • How to fill in your essential business details and localization settings
  • How to add your first rental product or experience (including pricing)
  • How to connect Stripe so you can accept online payments
  • How to create a booking using the Point of Sale
  • How to embed the booking widget on your website
tip

This guide covers the essentials only. Each step links to a detailed page where you can explore advanced options later.

Step 1: Enter Your Business Details​

Before anything else, tell EquipDash about your business so that bookings, emails, and your customer-facing widget display the right information.

  1. Click Settings in the sidebar.
  2. Select Business Details.
  3. Fill in your Business Name, Contact Email, Phone Number, and Address.
  4. Upload your Business Logo — this appears on emails and your booking widget.
  5. Click Save Changes.

The Settings > Business Details page with the form fields filled in

Next, set your timezone, currency, and date format:

  1. Still in Settings, select Localization.
  2. Choose your Timezone (e.g., "America/Los_Angeles") — this controls how dates and times appear everywhere in the app.
  3. Choose your Currency (e.g., USD, EUR, GBP) — this controls how prices are displayed and what currency you charge in.
  4. Choose your preferred Date Format (MM-DD-YYYY or DD-MM-YYYY).
  5. Click Save Changes.

The Settings > Localization page showing Timezone, Currency, and Date Format fields

info

Getting the timezone and currency right from the start is important. Once you have bookings, the currency cannot be changed.

Want the full walkthrough? See Setting Up Your Business.

Step 2: Add Your First Product or Experience​

EquipDash supports two types of bookable items. Pick whichever matches your business (or add both).

Option A — Add a Rental Product​

Use this if you rent out physical equipment (bikes, kayaks, camping gear, etc.). The creation wizard has three steps.

  1. Go to Rentals in the sidebar, then click Products.
  2. Click Add Product — this opens a three-step creation wizard.

The Add Product wizard showing step 1 — Product Details with fields for name, images, SKU, and category

  1. Step 1 — Product Details — Enter a Product Name, upload Product Images (optional — customers will see these in your widget), add a SKU (optional), and choose a Category (optional).
  2. Step 2 — Product Pricing — Choose how your pricing works:
    • Price Applies — Select Year Round for a single price all year, or Seasonal to set different prices for different seasons.
    • Price Structure — Select Schedule for tiered duration-based pricing (e.g., 1 hour = $10, 2 hours = $19, 3 hours = $25) or Flat for a fixed rate per time unit (e.g., $10/hour, $50/half day).
    • Add at least one price so customers can book.
  3. Step 3 — Additional Information — Configure optional features like Inventory Tracking (track individual units), Buffer Time (gap between rentals), Rental Period Limits, Variations (e.g., size or color options), and add a Description.
  4. Click Save to create your product.

Your product is now live and ready to be booked.

Full guide: Creating Products and How Pricing Works

Option B — Add an Experience​

Use this if you run scheduled activities or tours (guided hikes, surf lessons, etc.). The creation wizard has three steps.

  1. Go to Experiences in the sidebar.
  2. Click Add Experience — this opens a three-step creation wizard.

The Add Experience wizard showing step 1 — Experience Details with fields for name, images, unique code, and category

  1. Step 1 — Experience Details — Enter an Experience Name, upload Experience Images (optional), add a Unique Code (optional), and choose a Category (optional).
  2. Step 2 — Experience Pricing — Choose how your pricing works:
    • Applies — Select Year Round or Seasonal.
    • Pricing Structure — Select By Participant to charge per person (e.g., $65 per adult, $35 per child) or By Group to charge a flat rate for the whole group.
    • For participant pricing, select which Rate Categories apply (e.g., Adult, Child) and set a price for each. Rate categories are configured in Settings > Experiences.
  3. Step 3 — Additional Information — Set the Duration, Maximum Participants, Availability (manual or recurring schedule), and add a Description.
  4. Click Save to create your experience.

After saving, you will also need to add availability slots so customers know when your experience runs. Go to the Schedule tab and add at least one time slot (e.g., every Saturday at 9:00 AM).

Full guide: Creating Experiences and Setting Up Schedules

Step 3: Connect Stripe for Payments​

To accept online payments through your booking widget or record card payments in the Point of Sale, connect a Stripe account.

  1. Go to Settings in the sidebar, then select Payments.
  2. Click Connect with Stripe.
  3. You will be redirected to Stripe's website. If you already have a Stripe account, sign in. If not, create one — it only takes a few minutes.
  4. Follow Stripe's prompts to authorize the connection.
  5. Once complete, you will be redirected back to EquipDash and see a green Connected status.

The Payments settings page showing the Stripe connection status

tip

You do not need Stripe to create bookings manually. Stripe is required for online card payments through the widget. You can always record cash or manual payments against any booking.

Full guide: Connecting Stripe

Step 4: Create Your First Booking​

Now that you have a bookable item with pricing, let's create a booking using the Point of Sale (POS).

  1. Click Bookings in the sidebar, then click New Booking (or click the + button in the top bar). This opens the POS screen.
  2. Choose the booking type at the top: Rental, Experience, or Store (depending on what you set up).
  3. Set the dates — For rentals, choose a Pickup Date, Pickup Time, Return Date, and Return Time. For experiences, choose a Date.
  4. Add items — Search for and select the product or experience you created. Set the quantity (for rentals) or choose rate categories and participant counts (for experiences).
  5. Add customer details — Search for an existing customer or click New Customer to create one. At minimum, enter a First Name, Last Name, and Email.
  6. Review the pricing summary on the right — you will see the subtotal, any discounts or taxes, and the total.
  7. Click Create Booking.

You should see a confirmation and the new booking will appear in your Bookings list and on your Calendar.

The Point of Sale screen showing a new booking being created

Full guide: Creating a POS Booking

Step 5: Embed Your Booking Widget​

Let customers book directly from your website by adding the EquipDash booking widget.

  1. Go to Settings in the sidebar, then select Widget.
  2. Customize your widget colors and display options to match your brand.
  3. Copy the embed code provided.
  4. Paste the embed code into your website's HTML where you want the booking widget to appear.

The Settings > Widget page with the embed code visible and a Copy button

Once the code is on your site, customers can browse your products and experiences, check real-time availability, and complete bookings online.

Full guide: Setting Up the Widget and Embedding the Widget

You're All Set!​

You now have a working EquipDash setup with a product or experience, pricing, Stripe connected, your first booking, and an embeddable widget. From here you can explore more advanced features at your own pace:

What to do nextGuide
Add your team and set permissionsInviting Team Members
Set up digital waiversWaivers & Forms Overview
Configure tax ratesAdding Tax Rates
Customize your email notificationsCustomizing Email Templates
Learn how the dashboard worksYour Dashboard Explained
Understand key terminologyKey Concepts & Terminology