Q3 2021 Tripleseat Feature Release Fireside Chat

The last few months have flown by, and the holiday season has officially begun. Time to get your Tripleseat holiday lead forms and Tripleseat+ Direct holiday booking forms in front of the masses to ensure you have a very happy and lucrative end to 2021.  It’s also time to discuss a few new features we’ve released to the masses in Q3. You can also watch our pre-recorded feature-release fireside chat video embedded at the end of this blog post.

Inclusive billing

Tripleseat now offers the option to create inclusive billing details! This allows billing details, such as tax or gratuity, to be marked as included in the menu item’s price. Keep in mind that this functionality is only available for newly created billing details — you cannot adjust an existing billing detail to be inclusive. 

As for event-level reporting, once a new billing detail is set to be inclusive, the billing detail amount will be backed out of the menu price, leaving the balance as the menu item category total. This makes all financial reporting accurate, including the menu item category total, the billing detail total, and the item’s total price. Watch this video to learn more about inclusive billing details:

To set up this new feature, simply check the inclusive box when you’re creating a billing detail for the first time. Financials can be tricky. So, if you find yourself needing help getting this set up in your account, don’t hesitate to contact our support team.

Document links on the event tab

Although this update is minor, it’s guaranteed to save our users some time. We’ve added a new Documents column on the events tab within bookings, where users will find links to all of the event’s documents. 

For our customers who typically add multiple document types to one event (I’m looking at you hotel users),  you’ll see a number next to the document column corresponding to the number of document types included. This is similar formatting to our beloved calendar notes. There will be a link to see which documents are there, and the user can then click into the desired document set. 

Only users with access to documents will be able to click through. Users with viewing access will see the document title in that column, but it will not be a clickable hyperlink.

Event styles updates

For those not already familiar with event styles, you can check out this feature release blog post on the subject to learn more. But, in short, event styles are simply a straightforward way of arranging events as either on-premise, full-service catering, pick-up catering, or drop-off catering. If you’re not currently using event styles, but you’d like to, reach out to our support team for guidance.

We made a few minor changes to the calendar for event styles. The first update is the addition of catering events on the timeline view. In the past, this view was used to see what in-house events each room had booked. Now, it allows you to see all catering event styles as well. That said, you can filter the view to only show on-premise events if that works best for you. 

In addition, the event style has been added to the calendar pop-out view. So, when you are on your calendar page and select an event, the pop-up window will include the event style. For full-service catering and drop-off event styles, the offsite address will populate as well.

Tripleseat+ Direct rebrand

DirectBook is now Tripleseat+ Direct! We made it official in Q3 and rebranded everything in-app from DirectBook to Tripleseat+ Direct. The functionality of our direct booking system has not changed, but you can expect to see enhancements made to Tripleseat+ Direct in the coming months. 

Menu items and packages update

Speaking of enhancements to Tripleseat+ Direct, we have updated how our menu items and packages are priced — you can now price them per person! The guest count will automatically populate for per-person items and packages when pricing is set this way. You will notice the update on the menu selection tab and within the menu section of an event’s document template. Your guest will see the per-person prices when filling out the TripleseatDirect booking form. The total amounts and other fees will automatically adjust within the billing widget based on the guest count.

There is some logic behind which guest field is used to calculate the pricing. If only the expected guest count is filled in, then this number will be used. If only the guaranteed guest count is filled in, then this number will be used. But, if both count fields are filled in, then the guaranteed guest count number takes precedence.

If you happen to go back in and adjust the guest count after the initial calculation, the calculation will adapt accordingly. Also, if you have a package that shouldn’t be charged for every guest, like a bar package only suitable for guests who are over 21, then you can overwrite the guest count. 

Tripleseat+ Direct gratuity selector

We also made an update to the Tripleseat+ Direct gratuity selector. Guests can now select a gratuity amount directly from the Tripleseat+ Direct booking form. To enable this feature, simply go into the Tripleseat+ Direct form settings you’d like to add it to, and you’ll see a box to check off labeled Enable Gratuity Selector. You can enter custom percentages for your guests to choose from and allow your guests to enter their own gratuity amount if you’d like. This feature works the same way as our gratuity selector on the Tripleseat core product. 

Tripleseat+ Direct menus

You now have the freedom to choose the order in which your menus appear on your Tripleseat+ Direct booking form! When editing a form, simply use the arrow icon next to the menu names to drag and drop in the order you’d like. 

Check out our pre-recorded 2021 Q3 Feature Release Fireside Chat below, where we talk about all of these fantastic new features along with a few other sneak peeks. Hope to see you all in December for our 2021 Year-In-Review featuring Tripleseat’s CEO, Jonathan Morse.

Tripleseat resources

As always, feel free to reach out to your Account Manager or our knowledgeable Support Team with any questions about Tripleseat’s feature releases. You can contact support by clicking the Help/Question button at the top, right-hand corner of your Tripleseat page. From there, you’ll be able to enter a support ticket, chat in real-time with a support team member, and find links to training resources like Tripleseat University, FAQs, and our Knowledge Base.