Overview

The Create New Order workflow is where all bookings begin in the Reservations Portal.

It provides a consistent, guided process for creating bookings across different product types, from attraction admissions and workshops to travel journeys and memberships.

System Behaviour
Everything entered here updates the customer order within Expian and flows into Finance, Reporting, and any connected external systems.

From one workflow, users can:

• Select what the customer wants to book
• Choose dates, times, or sailings
• Add visitors, passengers, and vehicles
• Add optional or fixed add-ons
• Apply promotions or vouchers
• Enter contact details
• Collect payment
• Generate an immediate confirmation

Everything entered here updates the customer record inside Expian and flows into Finance, Reporting, Entitlements, and any connected external systems.

Why It Matters

Using the Create New Order process ensures:

• Accurate and auditable bookings
• Consistent customer data across Expian
• Fewer errors and refunds
• Clear capacity and availability management
• A smooth guided flow that works the same for all product types
• Faster processing for high-volume teams

This workflow is the heart of Reservations, it ensures every booking starts clean, consistent, and complete.

Starting a New Order

From the Reservations Dashboard, click:

New Order or use the New Order icon in the left-hand menu.

This opens the main New Order page.
[IMAGE: New Order button – placeholder]

Tip You can start a new order at any time, even if you have just completed one. Use the top-right “New Order” button on any booking confirmation page.

Product Types Overview

Available Product Types depend on the client’s configuration.

Attractions Clients will see:

• Admissions
• Events
• Passes
• Entitlements
• Other (Ancillary Items)

Travel Clients will see:

• Journeys
• Entitlements

These reflect how products are configured in Admin Portal → Products.

Clarification: Product Types reflect how items are configured in Admin Portal → Products. Staff will only see what their client has chosen to make available.

What Products Are

Products are the items customers can book or purchase, such as admissions, events, journeys, memberships, or vouchers.

Each product defines:

• What is being sold
• The services or routes it connects to
• Capacity rules (e.g., venue capacity, vehicle deck capacity)
• Availability
• Pricing and fees
• Restrictions and conditions
• Customer-facing information
• Reporting and integration tags
  

Product Types in Detail

Admissions (Attractions)

For day entry or timed entry to venues.

Links to a single service with defined daily or hourly capacity.

Examples:

• Tower of London Admission
• Hampton Court Palace Entry

[IMAGE: Admissions product selection – placeholder]

Events (Attractions)

Scheduled activities with specific start and end times.

Uses timetabled services.

Note: Events follow the same flow as Admissions, but with session-based timing.

Examples:

• Palace Tour
• Evening Performance

Events follow the same New Order flow as Admissions, but with session-based timings.

Passes (Attractions)

Multi-use or multi-day products.

Examples:

• Season Pass
• Family Pass
• Multi-Site Pass

Entitlements (Attractions & Travel)

Includes:

• Memberships
• Patronages
• Vouchers

Configured in Admin Portal → Products → Entitlements.

Other (Ancillary Items – Attractions)

Extras such as merchandise, guidebooks, parking, and audio guides.

Tip: These can be sold alone or alongside any other booking.

Journeys (Travel)

Used for transport-based bookings such as ferries or shuttles.

Journey products (configured in Admin Portal → Products → Journeys) include:

• Passenger products (Adult, Child, Infant)
• Vehicle products (Car, Motorcycle, Van, Coach)
• Cabin or seating products
• Priority boarding or meals
• Route-specific extras

Important: Travel clients will only see Journeys and Entitlements.

[IMAGE: Journey product selection – placeholder]

The Create New Order Flow

The flow is consistent across all product types:

1. Choose What
2. Choose Who
3. Choose When
4. Select Available Options(Travel only)
5. Add to Cart
6. Add-ons
7. Contact Details
8. Payment
9. Confirmation

1. Choose What

Click on the 'What' to get a dropdown of Attractions, Events or Journeys and select the product the customer wants.

Attractions example: Hampton Court Admission

Travel example: Dover → Calais Crossing

[IMAGE: What selection – placeholder]

2. Choose Who

Attractions

Select visitor types (Adult, Child, Concession, etc.).

Travel

Select items from Journey Products, not “ticket types”.

These are configured in Admin Portal and may include:

• Passenger types
• Vehicle categories
• Cabins
• Route-based extras

[IMAGE: Who selection – placeholder]

3. Choose When

Select the visit date or journey date.

• Attractions: shows time slots
• Events: shows session times
• Travel: determines which Available Options (sailings/routes) appear

[IMAGE: When selector – placeholder]

4. Select Available Options

Select the Product from Available Option, or leave it as the default 'All'.

This represents:

• Outbound sailing
• Return sailing (if applicable as it defaults to SINGLE ONLY)

The Return Route toggle: positioned in the top-right above the 'Travel Entitlements' options bar.

[IMAGE: Travel Available Options with Return toggle – placeholder]

Once selected, Journey Products appear below.

5. Add to Cart

After selecting What / Who / When (and Available Options for Travel), click Add to Cart.

The Cart displays:

• Products
• Dates & times / sailings
• Quantities
• Add-ons
• Sub-total

Tip: Remove an item by selecting the bin icon or to to empty basket click the bin by Clear ALL

[IMAGE: Cart panel – placeholder]

6. Add-ons

You may see:

Fixed Add-ons (e.g., Amendment Fee)

Set up in Building Blocks → Terms & Amendment Fees.

Optional Add-ons

Examples:

• Audio guides
• Guidebooks
• Parking
• Priority boarding
• Meals
• Ticket protection

Users may select items or click Done / Skip.

[IMAGE: Add-ons modal – placeholder]

7. Contact Details

Enter:

• Customer name
• Email
• Phone
• Address (lookup enabled)
• Marketing preferences
• Agreement to Terms & Conditions

The Order Summary updates on the right.

[IMAGE: Contact Details – placeholder]

Click Continue to Payment.

8. Payment

Payment options vary by client configuration but may include:

• Via Card (DNA Payments)
• Via Email
• Via SMS
• Via Invoice
• External (Cheque, BACS, PDQ)
• On Day
• Later External Payment
  

⚠ Important Note:

Payment types are agreed during onboarding and configured in each client’s Expian setup file.

Only the payment methods enabled for your organisation will appear here.

Note: Some payment methods may be restricted based on user permissions or client business rules.

[IMAGE: Payment options – placeholder]

[IMAGE: Card payment modal – placeholder]

[IMAGE: External payment – placeholder]

Once payment completes, the booking is confirmed.

9. Confirmation

The final page displays:

• Order complete message
• Customer details
• Delivery method
• Payment summary
• Options to:
• View Order
• Edit Order
• Go to Dashboard

Success: The order is now complete and the confirmation email is sent automatically.

[IMAGE: Order complete – placeholder]

Best Practice

• Always confirm What / Who / When before checkout
• For Travel, always select an Available Option first
• Use postcode lookup for accuracy
• Ensure customer email is correct
• Review add-ons carefully
• Check capacity when selecting dates or sailings
• Use External payment only when appropriate
• Make careful notes for complex journeys

Summary

The V3 Create New Order flow gives staff a clear, consistent way to create bookings across all product types.

t keeps bookings accurate, updates customer records, and ensures data flows correctly into Expian’s operational and reporting tools.

Whether creating an attraction admission, an event, a membership, or a multi-vehicle journey, the experience is streamlined and reliable.

Feature Highlights Appendix

This appendix provides a quick reference to the key functions and behaviours available during the Create New Order process in V3.

Each feature supports different types of customer journeys across Attractions and Travel, ensuring bookings are accurate, efficient, and operationally consistent.

Attractions vs Travel Behaviour Comparison Table

Although the Create New Order flow is unified, Attractions and Travel behave differently in some areas based on product configuration and operational needs.

This table summarises the key differences for users.

Session Selection

Product Type Segmentation

WHAT Step

Staff add return journey via toggle in top-right. The default setting is NO Return Journey

Product Types Shown

School groups pay by invoice; visitors pay by card.

Payment

Attractions

Add-ons

Customer details entered during booking update the customer record in Expian.

Payment

Example Use

Prevents overbooking.

Attractions vs Travel see only the products relevant to their operation.

Merchandise, audio guides, parking, etc.

Travel

Smooth visitor flow and crowd control.

Operational Focus

Area

Clear booking summary with options to View, Edit, or Go to Dashboard.

WHO Step

Admissions and Events show date/time slots immediately.

Add-ons

Cleaner UI, reduced confusion.

Select Admission/Event product

Extras tailored to each product type.

A consistent, step-by-step structure for all orders.

Fixed Add-ons

Travel

Amendment Fee (if active), route-specific fees

Journeys, Entitlements

Card, Email, SMS, Invoice, External, On Day, Later External.

Same flow, but pricing may vary by vehicle/passenger type

Supports business rules and fee structures.

Orders

Staff create a booking for a museum visit or ferry crossing with the same flow.

Travel

Why It Matters

Selecting outbound sailing shows appropriate journey products.

Shows journey date, then sailing options

Return Journey Toggle

Confirmation Page

Category

General

Visitor experience & venue management

Meals, cabins, seating, priority boarding

General

Mandatory sailing/route selection before products appear.

Products Configured In

Supports single or return bookings.

Draws from venue/time-slot capacity

Admin Portal → Products → Journeys

Products

Journey products (passenger, vehicle, cabin, extras)

General

A visitor books twice with the same email; Expian updates the same customer record.

Same for all product types

Journey Products

Admin Portal → Products → Admissions/Events/etc.

Multiple Payment Methods

DNA Payments Integration

Staff choose a 10:00–10:30 entry slot.

Visitor types (Adult, Child, etc.)

Available Options

Select Journey route

Outbound ferry sailing only appears if capacity remains.

Attractions

Travel clients see Journeys; Attractions see Admissions, Events, Passes, etc.

Customer Record Updates

Supports upselling and operational extras.

Travel

Feature

Reduces training needs and errors.

Staff resend confirmation or amend booking.

Add 2 adults, 1 car, 1 cabin.

Shows only available times, sessions, or sailings.

Transport logistics, manifests, route capacity

Ensures clean data for reporting and integrations.

Add-ons

Return Journey Toggle

Amendment Fee added automatically for certain changes.

Real-Time Capacity

Secure card payment flow in modal.

Shows general entry times or event sessions

Not used

Draws from route/vehicle deck/passenger limits

Supports immediate after-sale actions.

Allows adding a return sailing from the same screen.

Products include passengers, vehicles, cabins, and extras.

Capacity

WHEN Step

Optional Add-ons

Supports different operational needs.

Ensures correct routing and capacity usage.

Admissions, Events, Passes, Entitlements, Other

Visitor enters card details directly in modal.

Non-removable items such as Amendment Fees.

Checkout Flow

Amendment Fee (if active)

Return Journey (NOT Mandatory or set to Return by default)

Flexible, precise travel bookings.

Description

Guided Flow (What → Who → When → Add to Cart → Contact → Payment → Confirmation)

Fixed Add-ons

Fast, PCI-compliant payments.

Attractions add guidebooks; Travel adds meals or lounges.