Setting up your Softrip Application

In order to setup your Softrip application, you will want to use the below guide for reference to ensure you are ready to use your application to its' fullest capabilities. 

Below you will find steps as well as links to articles and helpguides within our knowledgebase.

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Getting Started

Please follow the below guideline to setup your Softrip Application.  

Step 1: Review and setup details under "Global Settings" and "Users" under the Security Subsystem

The Security Subsystem provides you with the option to add more users within your organization as well as control some default data and system functionality.  

For an overview of Security, click here.

General Guideline

You can navigate through the system setting options under the security subsystem on the left hand side of the screen.  Each section is expandable and collapsible, allowing you to view and make update to global settings per subsystem. 

Below is a general guidelines regarding what you should review to become familar with this screen: 

1 - Code Groups: Code groups control a lot of the data that you will see in many of the dropdown menus throughout your Softrip application.  As you begin entering data throughout the screen, take note of some of the information that is available to you to choose from.  Much of this information can be updated and is controlled under these code groups.  

2 - System Rules: This section provides you with the opportunity to manage and update some of the rules that control functionality throughout the application or customize text that will display on your documents and invoices.

3 - Markets: Access Markets to review and make applicable updates to markets. 

4 - City Codes: Review the city codes.  You will find these codes throughout the Softrip Application has options in a variety of dropdown menus.  

Below are the tasks you will want to complete under this particular screen:

1 - Enter the details of all of your internal users

2 - Update the following booking rules:

• Invoice

• Documents

• Deposit Due Dates and Amounts 

3 - Update your mailserver settings

Step 2: Access Product and begin to build your foundation to sell to your customers 

The Product Subsystem provides users with the opportunity to begin building their foundation.  It is here that you will be able to enter your suppliers (the vendors that you work with), your services (the items your suppliers provide), rates, communication timing of your rooming lists, your tours and packages, and more.  

For an overview of Product, click here

Guideline:

Below is a general guideline of the information you will need to begin working and building in Product.  

Review the following Suppliers, Services, and Rates:

1 - Search for New York Suppliers by entering US* under the Supplier ID.  This will help you review some of the different Suppliers that   Softrip supports.

2 - Right click on the "US-NYC-SOFTRIP" supplier and select view supplier services.

3 - Select the "Rates" tab while till under the US-NYC-SOFTRIP services

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To learn more about suppliers, services, and rates, review the following articles and documents: 

1. Building Suppliers, Services, and Rates

2. Product Overview Article

3. Suppliers Overview

4. Services Overview

5. Rates Overview 

Now that you have learned about building suppliers, services, and rates, please follow the below guideline to build data into your application:

1 - Create your suppliers including all of the vendors that you work with and the vendors that you want to offer to your customers.  This includes any of the hotel, transfer, sightseeing, or rail companies as well as any local guides, or car rental companies.  

2 - Build the associated services against your suppliers. 

3 - If applicable, enter the costs and rate periods associted to the services.  

Step 3: Build your Lists or Packages

In order to sell your products and hotels, you will need to create product lists and or create your packges.  To access this, you will need to access "Products" in the Product application.  The type of product that you will be building is controlled under the "Product Type." 

Prior to building your product, you will need to identify the product line you will want to sell.

• Products: Supports your tours/packages

• Lists: Supports the vacation builder process 

• Custom: Custom products supports the Groups process.  Groups should be build through the groups process.  See the groups process for more information.  

Review the following products prior to learning and building your products: 

• Vacation Builder/Lists:  NYC-HOTEL-LIST, NYC-SIGHTSEEING-LIST, NYC-TRANSFERs

• Products: 10DAYITALYBYRAIL, 14DAYITALYTOURESCORTED

Review the below video to quickly understand how to access products and review the details.  

The below videos provide you with an overview of how to build services into a product.

FIT: Vacation Builder

Package: (Pending- NEED)

Step 3A:  Review additional Product screens for more information 

There are additional screens that are available to you in the Product application.  These screens are as follows:

• Booking rules- The booking rules screen provides you with access to all of the booking rules that are available in the Softrip application.  

• Amenities- The amenities screen provides you with the opportunity to customize reservations with images and additional information you may want displayed to your internal or external users during your shop process. 

• Transportation- The Transportation screen provides you with the opportunity to setup inter city points for services such as Rail and Transfers 

Learn:

Booking Rules

Amenities

Transportation

Step 4: Create your Contacts and Customers and Assign agency commission profiles  

The Marketing Subsystem provides you with the ability to create your agencies, store details against your contacts (either travel agents or passengers) and update the commission tiers that will allow you pay commission to your travel agents.  There are two different import options available in these screens that will allow you to import all of your existing contacts and passengers as well as import all of your existing customers.  

For an overview of Marketing, click here.  

Guideline:

Below is a general guideline of the path you will want to take when updating these screens.

Review the following contacts and customers to gain an understanding of the differences as well the information that can be stored against each of these individuals.  After reviewing the following contact and customers, you should have an understanding of the differences between travel agents, passengers, and travel agencies. 

You can access this information by accessing the manage contact and manage customers screens under the Marketing Subsystem.  

Contacts

Once you have accessed the Manage contacts screen, view the following contacts by entering the contact ID numbers:

• 1000

  • Travel Agent

• 1001

  • Travel Agent

• 1003

  • Contact/Passenger, Inactive

• 1010

  • Contact/Passenger

• 1011

  • Contact Passenger

Once you have accessed the Manage customers screen, view the following customers:

• Customer ID: 123456

• Customer ID: C001234

To learn more about suppliers, services, and rates, review the following articles and documents: 

1. CRM

2. Import Customers

3. Import Contacts

4. Duplicate Contacts

Now that you have learned about the Softrip CRM, customers, and contacts, you will want to import your customers and import your contacts.  Access each of our import screens and export the excel spreadsheets.  Once the spreadsheets are exported, fill in the details of your contacts and customers and import the spreadsheets into each of these screens.  

Customers and contact records should be created.  Once this is complete, verify your customer and contact profiles by accessing their profiles under the Manage Contact and Manage Customers screens, or Softrip's CRM.  

If there is any additional information that is missing from your contact and customer profiles, you can edit the contact or customer's profile and update accordingly.  

Commissions

If you support a travel agency ccustomer base and pay your agents a commission, the commissions screen will provide you with the opportunity to add different commission tiers which can then be assigned to a customer and/or contact's profile.  

Guideline:

Below is a general guideline of the information you will need to begin working and building in Marketing Commissions.  

Review the following commission codes:

• Advanced, Service type SST

• Advanced, Service type ALL

To learn more about commissions, review the following information:

1. Commissions

2. Applying Commissions to a Travel Agent

Once you have reviewed the information regarding commissions, access the commissions screen and begin building your commission tiers.  Once this is completed, assign these commission values to your customers and/or contacts. 

Step 5: Create, Update, and Manage Inventory 

The Operations Inventory screen provides users with the ability to create and manage inventory per block codes.  You will be able to assign inventory per departure date or per date range.  You will also be able to set your inventory status, such as available, closed, and on request.  

Guideline:

Prior to reviewing additional information regarding inventory, review the following block codes in the inventory screen under Operations using the search option.  

• NYC-SOFTRIP-JRS

• NYC-SOFTRIP-STD

• 2HRBUS

• 4HRBUS

To learn more about inventory and block codes, review the following information:

1. Inventory

2. Services/Block Code 

Step 6: Create bookings through Reservations

Once the products are built, create reservations through the reservation application.  The below shows a general walk through of how to create reservations.  

Shopping Through Vacation Builder

Step 6: Create your Queues in the Operations Res Queue Management Screen 

The Operations subsystem provides you with the opportunity to communicate with your passengers, agents, and agencies as well as communicate with your suppliers.  The Res Queue management screen can be used as a communicate mechanism between your organization and your contacts and customers.  

For an overview of Operations, click here.    

Guideline:

Below is a list of queues to review prior to working in the queue screen.  These are examples of some of the most common queues that are used.

You can edit each of these queues and create custom text that fits the needs of your business.  You also have the opportunity to add reports and additional attachments to each of these queues.  

1. Final Payment Due

2. Invoice

3. New Reservation 

4. Payment Receipt

5. Travel Documents 

To learn more about queues, review the following information:

1. Res Queue Management Screen 

Step 8: Communicate with Suppliers and Confirm Reservations

The Operations Subsystem provides users with the opportunity to manage their inventory, communicate with their customers and/or passengers, and communicate details to their customers.  Overall, the intention of this screen is to be used after reservations are created.  There are many other screens, and processes that this screen relies on in order to function properly.  A few examples of this are product events, communication timing, and block codes in the Product application.  

Guideline:

When communicating rooming lists to your suppliers and confirming your reservations, you will want to use the following two screens.  Please review the articles regarding each of these screens before proceeding forward:

• Messages

• Confirm Reservations

Practice:

In order to practice working in each of these screens, use the default data that exists in the Softrip application to create your reservations.  Once a reservation is created, access the messages screen, send an email to yourself, and post the message.

Once the message is sent and posted, access the Confirm Reservations screen and search the the reservations.  When practicing this process, take note of the following:

• Creating a reservation

  • If creating a reservation through "Vacation Builder," you will want to verify the communication timing added to the supplier service screen.  If the communication timing is set to "report immediately," then after a reservation is made and the FIT messages are run in msesages, the reservation should show as due to be reported.

  • If creating a reservation as a group or package, you will want to verify the communication timing added under product events when managing your product.  Similar to how the communication timing is added to the suppleir services, if the timing is set to report immediately, then the reservation should display when the messages are run. 

• Contact information

  • When viewing your messages in the  messages screen, verify the contact information (the email address) that displays for that specific supplier.

  • This email address should match the email address that is added to the supplier in the Product application.  

• Posting your messages

  • When sending the message (rooming list) to the suppliers, it is important to post the message.  Posting a message will make sure that the reservations are marked as "reported." 

• Confirming reservations

  • When searching in the confirm reservations screen, be sure you are paying attention to the search filters on the left hand side.  The results or reservations returned will rely heavily on the input of your search filters. 

Step 9: Creating Groups

Softrip supports a groups process which allows users to create custom itineraries and groups for both organizations and passengers.  The below is meant to provide you with an overview of the groups screen and the groups process, allowing you to begin building groups within your Softrip application. 

• Overview of Groups

• Groups Workflow

• Groups Opportunities

• Groups Summary

• Groups Inventory

• Passenger Management

• Vendor Communications