Frequently asked questions.
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Getting started
Who is LemonBooking for?
Venues that hire out space: community centres and village halls, sports facilities, church halls, meeting and conference rooms, libraries, dance studios, parks and council-run buildings. All solutions
Can we try it before we commit?
Yes. There is a 30-day free trial of the whole system, with no card required and no set-up fees. We set the system up with you first, so nobody starts at a blank screen. At the end of the trial you choose a plan or walk away.
Do we need someone technical to run it?
No. LemonBooking is built for committees, trustees and small teams rather than for technicians. Separate roles let two or three people share the bookings without anyone needing technical knowledge, and support is included in every plan.
Can we import our existing data?
Yes, and we do it for you as part of setting the system up. Customer records and forward bookings come across from wherever you keep them now: another booking system, a spreadsheet, or a shared calendar.
Pricing and billing
How much does it cost?
There are three plans, billed annually, and every one of them includes a website, booking calendar, online payments and your first eight facilities. There are no set-up fees. The pricing page has the current figures for your region and a calculator that works out an exact price.
What counts as a facility?
Anything you take bookings for: a main hall, a meeting room, a tennis court, a pitch, a studio. The first eight are included in every plan and further facilities can be added for a small additional fee.
Do you take a percentage of our bookings?
No. What you charge your hirers is yours. Card processing fees are set by your payment provider and go to them, not to us, and we add nothing on top. Event ticketing carries a small per-ticket fee, which is listed on the pricing page.
Integrations
How do our hirers pay us?
By bank transfer, or by card through whichever provider you connect. Stripe, SumUp, Square, PayPal, Pay360, CivicaPay and GOV.UK Pay are all supported, along with Direct Debit through GoCardless. They pay from the link on their invoice and don't need an account with us to do it.
Which accounting software does LemonBooking work with?
LemonBooking is a certified Xero integration, and has similar integrations for QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent. LemonBooking can sync customer information, invoices, credit notes and payments with your bookkeeping software without anyone typing them in twice. If you don't use accounting software you can also connect your bank directly through open banking and reconcile payments that way.
Can LemonBooking control smart locks and heating?
Yes. LemonBooking drives Nuki smart locks for keyless entry and Google Nest thermostats for heating, both triggered by the booking calendar: the door opens and the venue warms up for the hire, then locks and cools down afterwards. Nobody has to hand over a key or remember to turn the heating off.
Can we connect LemonBooking to our website?
Yes. The calendar, booking form, facility list and events are each available as a paste-in snippet that drops into your existing site and inherits its fonts and colours, so it doesn't look bolted on. There is a read-only REST API if you would rather power your own pages, and if your site is past saving we can build a new website for you instead. Hosting is included with all plans.