INTRODUCTION
Feature Summary: This all-in-one FAQ article consolidates the most frequently asked questions from CourtReserve onboarding calls into a single, structured resource covering the member portal, website settings, court configuration, booking workflows, payments, packages, instructors, events, waivers, member management, reporting, and staff operations.
Below, major topics are grouped into sections so you can quickly search or scroll to find the answer you need. Each question includes a concise explanation along with a link to more detailed information. Included screenshots provide visual examples to help with navigation and idea generation.
1. Member Portal Setup & Website Configuration
Q: Why is the member portal blank with only a few buttons?
A: The portal is off by default for new accounts. Enable it under Settings → Portal Settings → Setup by enabling the Is Your Member Portal Turned On field, then customize the homepage under Settings → Website → Homepage by adding Hero and Content rows.
Q: How do I add admins or instructors?
A: Go to Settings → Organization Settings → System Users and add new System Users with appropriate permission levels.
Q: Can I show different homepages to different membership types?
A: No. The homepage layout is universal, though some rows can be shown to logged-in or logged-out users. You can configure this under Portal Settings → Website → Rows using the Display Type field.
Q: How can I brand the member portal?
A: Upload your logo and create homepage hero/content rows under Portal Settings → Website.
Q: How do I hide the portal before launch?
A: Disable it under Enable it under Settings → Portal Settings → Setup by disabling the Is Your Member Portal Turned On field. Note: Admins with linked accounts may still see it.
Q: How do I add custom menu links or sub-links?
A: Navigate to Portal Settings → Website → Menu to create and organize links.
Examples:
Q: How can I display sub-link style filtering for groups of events?
A: Use Event Filters, which allow you to display filtered events and can be used as a link or sub-link. Set these up under Portal Settings → Website → Event Filters.
Q: Can I use CourtReserve’s Page Builder instead of an external site?
A: Yes. Build pages under Website Settings → Page Builder, then add them to your portal menu.
Q: Can I use custom HTML?
A: Yes. Open the HTML editor (<> icon) under Website Settings → Page Builder.
Want to learn more about customizing your member portal?
2. Court Configuration & Booking
Q: How do I limit players to one booking per day?
A: Configure restrictions for each membership under Settings → Booking Settings → Restrictions.
Q: How do combo courts work?
A: Edit a court and set “Combo Courts” to link courts so one booking blocks both. Do this under Court & Resource Settings → Courts → Edit Court.
In this example, if someone books Tennis Court #1, it will block Pickleball Courts #1 and #2 from being booked as these are multi-purpose courts.
Q: How do I configure different availability by time?
A: Create Custom Schedulers with time windows. Navigate to Court & Resource Settings → Custom Schedulers.
Q: How do we give students/staff free access but restrict public hours?
A: Create two custom schedulers—one with full access hours for students/staff and one with limited hours for the public. Navigate to Court & Resource Settings → Custom Schedulers.
Q: How do I block courts for private use or groups?
A: Use a non-public Reservation Type or create Closures using custom closure types.
Navigate to Reservation Settings → Reservation Types → disable Can Be Booked on Member Portal.
For Court Closures, go to Court & Resource Settings → Closures to set up a closure to block relevant courts.
Q: Why can members see courts beyond my booking window?
A: Booking windows only apply to the specific court types or courts they are assigned to. If a court or court type is not included in that booking window rule, it will not be restricted. Additionally,
If you do not have custom schedulers set up, members will be able to see all courts on the scheduler.
If you are using custom schedulers, members will only see the courts that are visible to their assigned membership type.
Also, the Days in Advance to Show Courts Availability setting controls what days the members can see courts on the scheduler, so it's good to check this setting.
Navigate to Booking Settings → General and check the Days in Advance to Show Courts Availability setting for each membership.
Also, double-check Booking Windows in place under Booking Settings → Booking Windows.
Q: How do I schedule long-term or recurring group bookings?
A: Create a dedicated Reservation Type (e.g., staff, private groups) and schedule recurring blocks.
Go to Reservation Settings → Reservation Types (you may want to disable "Can Be Booked on Member Portal").
From your Scheduler, book a reservation for the relevant Reservation Type and set up a Recurrence.
Q: How do I allow 90-minute reservations when my default is 60?
A: Change the Reservation Min Interval to 30 minutes under Organization Settings → General.
3. Payment Workflow & Pricing
Q: How do I require upfront payment?
For Court and Resource Reservations: Go to Booking Settings → Costs tab → check Require Payments When Booking Courts Online.
For Member Booked Lessons: Go to Book a Pro → Book a Pro Setup tab → check Require Up-Front Payment.
For Events: Go to Events → Event List → select relevant Event → scroll to Event Setup tab → check Require Upfront Payment.
Q: How do I boost weekday morning utilization?
A: Use Custom Court Costs to create off-peak pricing. For this example, select Weekdays and set Custom Start and End Times.
Go to Booking Settings → Costs→ Custom Court Costs.
Q: Can pricing start in the future after renovations?
A: Yes. You can schedule new pricing to begin at a future date using Custom Court Costs. Go to: Settings > Booking Settings > Costs > Custom Court Costs
When creating a custom court cost, use the “Select a Date Range” option to choose when the new pricing should begin (and optionally end). This allows you to schedule pricing changes in advance — ideal for post-renovation rate adjustments. Simply set the start date for when renovations will be complete and the new rates should take effect.
What happens after renovations are complete?
If the new pricing will remain in place permanently:
Remove the date range from the custom court cost or
Update your standard pricing under: Settings > Booking Settings > Costs > Court Costs
Then delete the temporary custom court cost if it’s no longer needed.
This ensures your pricing structure stays clean and avoids overlapping or unnecessary custom cost rules.
Q: How do I create/manage packages?
A: Go to Billing Settings → Packages to define punches, price, and eligibility. Make sure to set up the Package Categories first.
Q: How do I run a “Buy 5, Get 1 Free” promo?
A: Create a 6-punch package priced at 5-session cost.
4. Instructors & Lessons
Q: Why aren’t instructor names showing properly?
A: Adjust color theme contrast or verify instructor availability hours. Go to Organization Settings → System Users → Instructors and check Instructor Background Color and Instructor Availability.
Q: What’s the difference between a Lesson and an Event?
A: Lessons involve an instructor working with one or more players to improve their game. These are usually created by admins in the admin panel, but members can also book lessons themselves if the Book a Pro feature is enabled.
Events are structured activities that members register for—such as clinics, leagues, or socials—where admins define such things as the time, courts, and participant limits.
Q: How do we set up private lesson types?
A: Create Lesson Types with min/max players and durations.
Q: What permissions should instructors have?
A: We recommended to set them as Sub-Admins with limited access. Go to Organization Settings → System Users → Sub-Admins. Check Is Instructor.
5. Event Management
Q: How do I set up recurring events?
A: Navigate to Events → Create Event → General Info → Set Recurrence and Recurrence Rules.
Q: Can I mass-update event descriptions?
A: Mass-updating event descriptions isn’t supported yet. You'll need to update descriptions individually by editing each event and going to the Description tab at the bottom of the page.
Q: What is “Register as a Team”?
A: This option is used for doubles events. One member registers the team, making it easy for both players and admins to manage partner-based events like tennis or pickleball doubles. The registrant can select a partner or add a guest (if allowed in the event settings), and admins can manually create or manage teams from the event’s details page in the admin dashboard.
Navigate to Events → Create Event → General Info → check Register as a Team.
Q: How can members select non-members/guests as partners in team-based events?
A: Enable Allow Players to Register a Guest as a Partner under Guest Setup; registrant pays all fees. This is under Events → Create Event → General Info → Guest Setup.
6. Waivers, Disclosures, & Guests
Q: How do I enforce waiver signing?
A: Enable a waiver and set up a Signing Rule—for example, require the waiver to be signed “Upon Login.”
Q: What’s the difference between Waivers and Disclosures?
A: Waivers = legally binding; Disclosures = informational checkboxes.
Example of a booking disclosure:
Example of a waiver:
Learn more about Disclosures here→
Learn more about creating a Waiver→
Learn more about creating a Waiver Signing Rule→
Q: Can guests sign waivers without accounts?
A: Guests can sign waivers via the Guest Waiver Kiosk feature. Because guests do not have accounts in CourtReserve, their signed waiver will not be attached to a member profile. However, you can verify that a guest has completed their waiver by reviewing the Waivers Report.
You can also enable Allow Public Signing within the Guest Waiver Kiosk settings to generate a shareable link or QR code, allowing guests to sign the waiver directly from their own devices.
Additionally, if your club has Public Booking enabled and you share your public booking link, any public booking registrations can include required or optional waivers based on your waiver and public booking settings.
Learn more about Guest Waiver Kiosks here →
Learn more about Public Booking Waivers here →
Learn more about Guests in CourtReserve here →
Q: How do non-members automatically register and pay?
A: Set up a “Non-Member” membership type if you have not done so already. These are often free memberships that allow the player to gain access to registering for events through the member portal, and often charge the player more to register than paid memberships.
If you want to allow non-members to sign up at the front desk, you can create a Member Registration widget, and require a payment profile so non-members create an account in-person.
7. Member Management
Q: What roles do family members have?
A: Each family as a "Primary" member who receives all notices if associated children do not have an email address. They grant permissions to children like if they can log in, invite guests, or make purchases.
Q: How do we import members securely?
A: To import members securely, first disable online member signup (Organization Settings → disable Allow Members to Create Their Account Online) so no new accounts are created during the import process. Then begin your member import using the spreadsheet template in the linked article below. Once all records have been uploaded and verified, you can re-enable online signup.
8. Billing, Integrated Payments, & Refunds
Q: How do I connect my payment provider?
A: Go to Billing Settings → Integrated Payments → Stripe/SafeSave setup.
Q: How do I handle cash-paying members?
A: Assign memberships manually from the admin panel and select Cash.
Q: How do auto-refunds work?
The Automated Refund Acceptance feature allows clubs to automatically approve refund requests based on rules you configure for different types of activities—such as court reservations, lessons, drop-in events, and full events.
Enable under Billing Settings → Auto Refunds.
Q: Can refunds be issued as account credit?
A: Yes—this avoids additional card fees. Set up under Billing Settings → Auto Refunds → Refund Destinations. Exception: Reservations and registrations made through Public Booking are not eligible for refunds to Account Credit, as they are not tied to a member profile.
Q: Why aren’t unpaid reservations auto-charging?
A: Here are a few common things to check:
Reservation created in the Admin Panel
If a system user created the reservation in the Admin Panel, the player is not automatically charged by default. After creating the reservation, the system user must manually select “Pay” in order to collect payment immediately.
Membership setting for online court bookings
Go to the player’s Membership Type and select the Portal Settings tab.
Make sure “Require Payment When Booking Courts Online” is selected. If this setting is not enabled, members will be able to book courts online without being charged upfront.
Lesson bookings (Book a Pro)
If the booking is set up as a lesson, go to: Settings > Instructor Settings > Book A Pro Setup. Select “Edit” next to the appropriate Instructor Custom Scheduler.
If the “Require Up-Front Payment” checkbox is not selected, members will not be required to pay when booking a lesson through the member portal.
9. Integrations, Reporting & Staff Operations
Q: Which reports help with accounting?
A: Use the Sales Summary & Transaction List and compare to journal entries.
Q: How do staff clock in/out or track hours?
A: CourtReserve doesn't have a traditional clock in/out system for staff. However, instructors can track their hours through the My Schedule screen.
For reporting purposes, admins can use the Reservations Report and Instructor Time Report can be used together to view work time and calculate instructor pay for a given time period. By filtering these reports by instructor name and date range, clubs can support multiple pay models—including revenue splits, flat rates, and hourly compensation—using real reservation and lesson data.
10. Kiosk & Check-Ins
Q: How does QR/barcode check-in work?
A: Members scan at a station linked to CourtReserve; staff see real-time check-ins.
