Start here: set up Party Desk Pro
The fastest path from a new installation to a booking-ready Party Desk Pro workspace.
Guide typeStep by step
Estimated time4 minutes
Best forGetting Started
This is the complete first-time setup path. Work from top to bottom: each phase supplies information used by the next one.
Before you begin
- Sign in as a WordPress administrator.
- Have your business logo, public contact details, package prices, service durations, and payment-provider credentials ready.
- Use test or sandbox payment credentials until the entire booking flow has been checked.
Phase 1: verify the installation
- Open Diagnostics. In Party Desk Pro, choose Administration > Diagnostics and run the production-readiness checks. Resolve missing database tables, unsupported PHP versions, failed scheduled tasks, or public-page warnings before configuring features.
- Review Help. Open Help > Release Notes to confirm the installed version and review navigation or workflow changes that affect setup.
- Confirm the license. Open Help > License, activate the license for this domain, and verify that its status is active.
Phase 2: add your business identity
- Open Business Settings. Go to Administration > Business Settings and enter the public business name, notification address, sender name, sender email, and reply-to email.
- Configure brands and design. Open Administration > Brands for business identities, then use Design Studio for booking forms, portals, agreements, and invoice appearance.
- Save and preview. Open the booking-form and portal previews. Check desktop and mobile widths before continuing.
Phase 3: create the services customers can book
- Create a package. Open Bookings > Packages & Add-ons, select Add Package, and enter its customer-facing name, description, price, service duration, image, and active status.
- Add optional upgrades. Create add-ons only for extras that can be purchased separately. Give every add-on a clear name and price.
- Check the public catalog. Open the booking-form preview and confirm that names, prices, duration, images, and add-ons appear correctly.
Phase 4: publish the customer and employee pages
Open Help > Shortcodes whenever you need to confirm the current public-page shortcode.
| Page | Shortcode | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Book | [foam_party_booking_form] | Public package, schedule, details, extras, payment, and review flow. |
| Customer Portal | [bbfcrm_customer_portal] | Secure customer access to event details, balances, documents, and media. |
| Employee Portal | [bbfcrm_employee_portal] | Team access to assigned work and job actions. |
- Create each page under Pages > Add New.
- Add a Shortcode block, paste the matching shortcode, and publish the page.
- Add the pages to your website menu if customers or employees need to find them directly.
- Open every page in a signed-out or private browser window and confirm that the correct experience loads.
Phase 5: configure payments and communication
- Follow Connect Square and accept card payments using sandbox credentials first.
- Open Automation > Email & SMS Templates and configure the booking confirmation, reminder, and staff-notification messages.
- Send controlled email and SMS tests only to contact details you own.
- Check sender names, reply-to behavior, links, dates, prices, and mobile formatting.
Phase 6: complete an end-to-end test
- Open the public Book page in a private browser window.
- Select a package, choose an available time, enter fictional test-customer details, and submit the booking.
- Open Bookings > All Bookings and confirm the booking, price, date, address, source, and payment status were saved.
- Open the customer portal using the test account and verify event information, balance, and documents.
- Assign a test employee, sign into the employee portal, and verify that only the intended job is visible.
- Confirm emails, payment updates, contracts, reports, and availability all reflect the test booking.
Setup is complete when: a customer can book, receive the correct message, access the portal, pay safely, and appear on the calendar while an assigned employee can see the job.
Recommended: finish the package catalog before styling the booking form. The public form pulls package names, pricing, duration, and availability directly from Party Desk Pro.