At a Glance • Key Takeaways
- Automated Efficiency: Streamline online bookings, live availability scheduling, and customer communication without manual intervention.
- Live Capacity & Conflict Prevention: Prevent double-booking across staff, rooms, activity sessions, or rental fleet assets in real time.
- 0% Platform Booking Fees: SmartBookings does not charge transaction fees or take percentage cuts of your ticket sales or customer payments.
Overview: Automated Delivery Fee Calculation
Delivering bouncy castles, marquees, plant machinery, or sound equipment incurs fuel, vehicle wear, and driver time. SmartBookings eliminates manual route calculations by automating delivery fee quotes based on the customer's delivery postcode.
You have two flexible delivery pricing models:
- Mileage Distance Bands: Price automatically calculated based on driving distance from your depot postcode.
- Specific Postcode Area Pricing: Fixed rates assigned to individual postcode prefixes (e.g.
SW19, KT1, B1).
1. Setting Up Distance Per Mile (Radius Bands)
1 Go to Delivery prices in the left admin menu (opens PostCodeDistances.aspx).
2 Tick Enable.
3 In Base location postcode, enter your company warehouse or depot postcode (e.g. B1 1AA or KT3 4PT) and click Update.
4 Under Distance per mile pricing, create your mileage bands:
| Miles From |
Miles To |
Total Delivery Price |
Business Rationale |
| 0 miles |
5 miles |
£0.00 |
Free local delivery zone to drive high conversion in your home town. |
| 5 miles |
10 miles |
£10.00 |
Covers minor fuel and driver time for surrounding towns. |
| 10 miles |
15 miles |
£20.00 |
Outer zone delivery fee. |
| 15 miles |
25 miles |
£35.00 |
Extended travel radius. |
Out-of-Area Protection: If a customer enters a postcode beyond your maximum mileage band (e.g. 35 miles away), the system alerts them that they are outside your standard delivery radius and prompts them to call your office for a bespoke delivery quote!
2. Specific Postcode Area Pricing
If you prefer setting pricing by explicit postal areas (e.g. across London boroughs or regional postal sectors):
1 On the delivery prices screen, click Click here for specific postcode area pricing (opens PostCodeAreas.aspx).
2 Enter the postcode prefix (e.g. GU1, KT2, B15) and assign the exact delivery charge.
3 You can also set a Minimum Order Value for specific distant postcodes (e.g. minimum £150 hire value for postcodes over 15 miles away).
3. The Public Delivery Fee Calculator
SmartBookings provides an interactive, mobile-friendly delivery calculator widget (DeliveryCalc.aspx) that you can link to or embed on your website:
- Customers simply type in their delivery postcode.
- The system instantly measures driving distance from your depot and calculates the exact delivery fee in seconds.
- Customers can then click "View Available Products" with delivery pricing seamlessly included in their quote!
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does SmartBookings calculate automated delivery fees by mileage?
In PostCodeDistances.aspx, set your depot base postcode. SmartBookings uses road routing API calculations to determine the exact travel distance to the customer's delivery address and applies tiered mileage pricing bands automatically.
Can I offer free delivery within a 5-mile radius and charge per mile thereafter?
Yes. Set Band 1 (0 to 5 miles) to £0.00, Band 2 (5 to 10 miles) to £15.00, and Band 3 (10 to 20 miles) to £30.00. The delivery fee adds to the booking total dynamically.
Can I block deliveries to postcodes beyond our maximum travel distance?
Yes. Set a maximum delivery radius (e.g. 25 miles). If a customer enters a postcode outside your operating zone, the system displays a friendly message asking them to call the office for a bespoke delivery quote.
How does postcode prefix pricing work for specific delivery zones?
In PostCodeAreas.aspx, you can set fixed delivery rates per postal prefix (e.g. £10 for 'B1', 'B2'; £20 for 'CV1', 'CV2') regardless of mileage, ideal for managing toll crossings or urban clean air zones.
Can customers check delivery costs before selecting products?
Yes. The public Delivery Calculator widget (DeliveryCalc.aspx) can be embedded into your website so customers enter their postcode and view delivery costs in seconds.
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