User Guide

How to Use SyncStays

A clear, step-by-step manual for every module — from your first check-in to generating GST invoices, managing housekeeping, and tracking revenue.

⚡ Quick Reference

Green Room
Vacant — click to check in
Red Room
Occupied — click to manage
Yellow Room
Checkout today
🧾 Invoice
Open booking → Billing tab
🍽️ Food Orders
Kitchen Dashboard (Elite)
🏁

Getting Started

First-time setup · 2 minutes
1

Contact us to get started

Reach out to the SyncStays team via the contact form, email, or phone. Share your hotel name and number of rooms — we'll create your account and have your dashboard ready, usually within a few hours.

2

We set up your room layout for you

Just share your hotel's room numbers, floor plan, or a quick list (e.g., 101–110, Deluxe Suite, 201–205) with the SyncStays team. We'll configure everything — no technical effort on your end.

📞Reach us via the Contact form or email us. Setup is typically done within a few hours.
3

Your timezone is set automatically

SyncStays detects your browser's timezone automatically so check-in dates, invoices, and the room grid always reflect your local time — no manual setting required.

4

Explore the dashboard

The main dashboard shows your full room grid. Green rooms are vacant, red rooms are occupied, and yellow rooms have a checkout due today. The top bar shows today's occupancy count, revenue, and quick-action buttons.

SyncStays Room Dashboard
📋 Room Dashboard — your full property at a glance
🛏️

Check-In a Guest

New booking · 30 seconds per guest
1

Click a vacant (green) room

The booking form opens on the right side of the screen. You can also click the + New Booking button at the top and select a room from the dropdown.

2

Fill in guest details

Enter the guest's name, phone number, and optionally their ID number (Aadhaar, PAN, Passport, etc.). These are saved for future reference and invoice generation.

3

Set check-in and check-out dates

Choose the check-in date (today for a walk-in) and the expected check-out date. The number of nights is calculated automatically. For advance bookings, see the Future Reservations section below.

4

Upload ID document (optional)

Click Scan ID to use your device camera or upload an image. The AI reads the ID and auto-fills the guest name and number. Available on Elite plan.

5

Click Save

The room turns red immediately. The booking appears in the dashboard and is saved to the cloud instantly. No manual sync needed.

💡For group bookings needing multiple rooms, simply repeat this process for each room — fill in the same guest name and phone number so all rooms are linked to the same guest in history.
🧾

Billing & GST Invoicing

Generate invoices · track payments
1

Open the active booking

Click any red (occupied) room on the dashboard. The booking detail panel opens on the right.

2

Go to the Billing tab

Inside the booking panel, click the Billing tab. You'll see fields for room charges, advance paid, and additional items.

3

Enter room charges and extras

Set the room rate per night (auto-multiplied by number of nights). Add any extra charges — laundry, transport, food — as line items with individual amounts.

4

Apply GST

Select the applicable GST slab (0%, 5%, 12%, or 18%). SyncStays computes CGST + SGST automatically and shows the final taxable amount.

💡Rooms above ₹7,500/night attract 18% GST. Rooms below ₹7,500 attract 12%. SyncStays does not auto-select the slab — verify before printing.
5

Record the payment mode

Select Cash, UPI, Card, or Bank Transfer. This is printed on the invoice and tracked in the cash drawer.

6

Generate & download the invoice

Click Generate Invoice. A GST-compliant PDF is created and downloaded to your device immediately. You can also share it via WhatsApp or email.

SyncStays Billing
🧾 Billing panel — charges, GST, and payment mode
SyncStays Invoice
📄 Generated GST invoice ready to download or share
📅

Future Reservations

Book rooms in advance · allot rooms · manage arrivals
How future bookings work When a guest calls to reserve a room for a future date, you can save the booking in two ways:
  • Allotted — you assign a specific room right away. The reservation is locked to that room, visible in the Timeline view, and conflicts with other bookings on those dates are checked automatically.
  • Unallotted — you save the guest details and dates but leave the room to be decided later. Useful when you're not sure which room will be free. The booking sits in the Upcoming list and can be allotted any time before the guest arrives.
1

Create a future booking — allotted

Click any green (vacant) room on the dashboard, enter guest details, and set the check-in date to a future date. SyncStays saves it as a reservation allotted to that specific room. The room stays green (not yet occupied), but the booking is locked in — no one else can be checked into that room for those dates.

💡SyncStays automatically checks for conflicts. If the room is already booked for overlapping dates, you'll see a conflict warning before saving.
2

Create a future booking — unallotted (room TBD)

If you don't know which room to assign yet, use the Upcoming Bookings panel (accessible from the top bar). Add the guest's name, phone, and expected dates without selecting a room. The booking is saved and listed under Upcoming, visible to all staff, but no room is reserved yet.

3

Allot a room when you're ready

Open any unallotted booking from the Upcoming list and click Allot Room. Select a room from the grid. SyncStays immediately checks for conflicts with other allotted reservations and active bookings on those dates — if there's an overlap, you'll be warned before saving.

ℹ️  Once allotted, the booking appears in the Timeline view as a bar spanning the guest's stay dates on that room's row.
4

Check in on arrival day

On the guest's arrival date, the reservation card shows an Arriving Today badge in the Upcoming list and on the Timeline. Click it and confirm check-in — the room switches to occupied (red) and the booking becomes active.

🗓️

Timeline View

Visual Gantt of all rooms across 14 days

The Timeline view gives you a bird's-eye view of your entire property — every room, every booking, across a 14-day window (3 days past + 11 days ahead). It's the fastest way to spot gaps, plan allotments, and see what's arriving or departing on any given day.

What you see
  • 📌 Each row = one room
  • 📊 Each bar = an allotted booking (active or future)
  • 📅 Today's column is highlighted
  • 🟡 Yellow badge = arriving or departing today
What you can do
  • 👆 Click any bar to open that booking
  • 📆 Click any empty cell to create a new booking for that room & date
  • ⬅️ ➡️ Navigate forward/backward by day
  • 🔄 Reset button returns to the current 3-day-back view
ℹ️  Only allotted reservations appear in the Timeline. Unallotted bookings (room TBD) are shown only in the Upcoming list until a room is assigned.
SyncStays Timeline View
🗓️ Timeline View — 14-day Gantt across all rooms
🚪

Check-Out a Guest

End a stay · free the room
1

Open the occupied room

Click the red (or yellow, if checkout is due today) room on the dashboard. The booking panel opens showing guest details and stay duration.

2

Verify billing is complete

Switch to the Billing tab and confirm the final amount, advance received, and balance due. Generate the invoice now if you haven't already.

3

Click Check Out

Press the Check Out button. A confirmation prompt appears. Confirm to proceed.

4

Room is freed instantly

The room turns green on the dashboard. The completed stay is saved to Historical Stays, searchable by date, guest name, or phone number anytime.

ℹ️  Historical stays are kept permanently. You can view, reprint invoices, or search past guests at any time from Timeline → Past Stays.
🧹

Housekeeping

Assign tasks · track cleaning status
1

Open the Housekeeping module

Click Housekeeping in the top navigation. You'll see a task board with all rooms and their current cleaning status.

2

Create a cleaning task

Click + Add Task, select the room, choose the task type (Clean, Deep Clean, Linen Change), and optionally assign it to a staff member.

3

Staff updates the status

Housekeeping staff log in with their own account and see only their assigned tasks. They mark tasks as In ProgressDone from their phone or tablet.

4

Monitor from the admin dashboard

The main dashboard shows a housekeeping status badge on each room tile. You can filter to show only rooms Pending Clean after checkout.

🍽️

Food Ordering (QR Menu)

Elite plan · real-time kitchen orders
1

Set up your menu

Go to Food Menu in the admin sidebar. Add dishes with names, prices, categories, and photos. Toggle items on/off to control availability.

2

Share the QR code with guests

Each hotel gets a unique QR link (e.g., syncstays.com/food/your-hotel-name). Print the QR and place it in each room. Guests scan it with any phone — no app download needed.

3

Guest places an order

Guests browse the menu, add items to cart, and place an order. They can enter their room number or verify via phone OTP so orders are linked to their stay.

4

Kitchen receives a real-time alert

The Kitchen Dashboard (open on any device in the kitchen) shows a live notification instantly — no refresh needed. Staff mark each order as PreparingReadyDelivered.

ℹ️  The Kitchen Dashboard uses live push updates (SSE). Keep the browser tab open for instant alerts. A chime also plays when a new order arrives.
5

Food charges added to bill

Food orders placed by a guest are linked to their room booking and can be pulled into the final invoice automatically at checkout.

SyncStays Food Dashboard
🍽️ Kitchen Dashboard — live food orders with real-time alerts
👥

Staff Management

Accounts · attendance · roles
1

Create a staff account

Go to Settings → Staff Accounts and click Add Staff. Enter their name, username, and a temporary password. Choose their role: Receptionist, Housekeeping, or Manager.

2

Staff logs in with their credentials

Staff use the same SyncStays login URL. They see only the modules permitted for their role — for example, housekeeping staff see cleaning tasks, not billing.

3

Track attendance

Go to the Attendance page to view daily login records for all staff. Attendance is marked automatically when a staff member logs in for the day.

4

Revoke access anytime

To deactivate a staff account, open their profile in Staff Accounts and click Disable. Their sessions are invalidated immediately.

💡Staff accounts are available on Pro and Elite plans. The Free plan supports admin-only access.
SyncStays Staff Attendance
👥 Staff Attendance — daily login records for all staff members
📊

Analytics & Reports

Occupancy · revenue · guest history
1

Open the Analytics section

Click Analytics in the top navigation. You'll see a summary of today's occupancy, revenue collected, and pending checkouts.

2

View occupancy trends

The occupancy chart shows daily and monthly fill rates. Use it to identify peak seasons, low periods, and average room revenue (ARR).

3

Revenue breakdown

See revenue split by room charges vs. food vs. extras. Filter by date range to compare months or track seasonal performance.

4

Guest history search

Go to Historical Stays and search by guest name, phone number, or date range. Pull up past invoices, re-download them, or look up repeat guests.

5

Expense tracking

Log hotel expenses (supplies, utilities, repairs) in the Expenses module. The analytics panel subtracts these from revenue to show your net position.

SyncStays Past Bookings & Analytics
📊 Past Bookings — full guest history, searchable by name, phone, or date
📷

AI ID Scanning

Elite plan · auto-fill guest details from any Indian ID
1

Open the booking form

Click a vacant room to open the check-in form. You'll see a Scan ID button at the top of the guest details section.

2

Capture or upload the ID

On mobile, tap Scan ID to use the camera directly. On desktop, upload a clear photo of the ID. Supported: Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Driving Licence, Passport, Voter ID.

3

Fields auto-filled

The AI extracts the guest's name and ID number and fills them into the booking form automatically. Verify accuracy and correct if needed before saving.

💡For best results, ensure the ID photo is well-lit, in focus, and the text is fully visible. Avoid glare from laminated IDs.
4

ID photo stored securely

The uploaded ID image is stored in your hotel's private cloud storage. Only your admin account and authorised staff can view it. Images are not shared or used for training.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. SyncStays is free for hotels with up to 40 rooms — just contact us to get your account set up, no credit card required. Pro (₹699/mo) adds analytics and reports; Elite (₹999/mo) adds food ordering, AI ID scanning, and staff accounts.
Yes. SyncStays supports concurrent multi-user access. Each staff member logs in with their own account. All updates (check-ins, task status) are reflected live for every logged-in user.
Yes. SyncStays is a Progressive Web App (PWA) and works on any modern browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox. You can add it to your home screen on Android or iOS for a native app feel. No download required.
Open any active booking → click Billing tab → enter charges and select the GST slab → click Generate Invoice. A PDF is downloaded immediately with CGST/SGST breakdowns, your hotel name, and the guest's details.
Yes. Open the active booking and click Shift Room. Select the target room (must be vacant). The guest's booking is transferred instantly, and the old room is freed.
All data is stored on Google Firestore, which provides automatic replication and backup across multiple data centres. You never need to manage backups manually.
SyncStays supports Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Driving Licence, Passport, and Voter ID (EPIC). The AI extracts name and ID number automatically. Elite plan only.
Use the Contact form at syncstays.com/#contact or email us directly. We typically respond within a few hours on business days.

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