Key concepts

Definitions of the core terms and concepts used throughout Sailia.

This page defines the key terms you will encounter when using Sailia. Refer back here if you come across an unfamiliar concept in the documentation.

Activity types

Term	Definition
Course	A scheduled, recurring activity with set times — for example, a weekly surf lesson. Courses have sessions that customers book into.
Hire	An equipment rental with a start and end time — for example, kayak hire for two hours. Hires track individual items and their availability.
Event	A one-off or recurring occasion — for example, a beach cleanup or a birthday party. Events work similarly to courses but are typically non-repeating.

All three activity types share the same booking, payment, and scheduling system. See Activities for setup instructions.

Booking terms

Term	Definition
Session	A specific date and time slot for an activity. Customers book a session, not an activity directly.
Capacity	The maximum number of participants allowed in a session. Capacity is shared across all sales channels.
Group booking	A single transaction where one person (the organizer) books on behalf of multiple participants.
Waitlist	A queue for a fully booked session. When a spot opens, the next person on the waitlist is notified.
Add-on	An optional extra that can be attached to a booking — either per-person (charged per participant) or per-booking (charged once).
Basket	The collection of items a customer has selected before completing payment at checkout.

Sales channels

Bookings can come from multiple sources:

Channel	Description
Online	Customers book through your booking page.
Point of sale (POS)	Staff process walk-in bookings and sales through the POS terminal.
Adventuro	Bookings from the Adventuro marketplace (if connected).

All channels share real-time capacity, so a session cannot be overbooked.

Customer terms

Term	Definition
Customer account	A login that lets customers manage bookings, memberships, and waivers on your booking page.
Guest checkout	Completing a booking without creating an account. The customer provides only the information needed for the transaction.
Family account	A customer account with linked family members — each member has their own profile, booking history, and waiver status.
Audience	Your list of email subscribers, used for marketing campaigns.
Waiver	A digital form with text blocks, checkboxes, signature fields, and file uploads that customers complete before an activity. See Waivers.

Pricing terms

Term	Definition
Membership	A recurring subscription plan billed through Stripe. Members receive benefits like auto-applied discounts. See Memberships.
Activity pass	A prepaid bundle of sessions. Customers purchase a pass and redeem it against eligible activities. See Activity passes.
Discount code	A code that reduces the price of a booking or product. Supports fixed, percentage, and tiered pricing.
Gift card	A stored-value code that customers redeem at checkout. Also created when you issue a refund as store credit. See Gift cards.
Instalment plan	A payment schedule that splits a booking’s cost into multiple payments over time. See Instalment plans.

Payment terms

Term	Definition
Stripe	The payment processor that handles all card payments in Sailia. See Payments and Stripe.
Payout	A transfer from Stripe to your bank account, containing the net amount from processed payments minus fees.
MOTO payment	A mail-order / telephone-order payment where staff enter a customer’s card details manually through the POS.
Store credit	A gift card balance issued as a refund alternative. Available immediately for the customer to use.
Gift Aid	A UK tax scheme allowing charities to claim extra on donations. Customers declare their eligibility at checkout.

Staff and operations terms

Term	Definition
Permission group	A set of access controls assigned to staff. See Permissions reference.
Auto timesheet	A timesheet entry automatically generated from a scheduled booking, including setup and pack-down time. See Auto daily timesheets.
Timesheet invoice	A payment request submitted by staff based on their timesheet entries. See Timesheet invoices.
Till shift	A POS session that tracks cash payments and provides shift-level reporting. See Point of sale.
Location	A physical site where you run activities. Used to organize schedules, POS terminals, and card readers. See Locations.

Integration terms

Term	Definition
Workflow	An automated action (email or SMS) triggered by a specific event. See Automated workflows.
Trigger	The event that starts a workflow — for example, “new booking” or “membership past due.” See Workflow triggers.
Merge field	A placeholder in a workflow message that is replaced with real data at send time — for example, {{customer.first_name}}.
Accounting category	A label that maps products to tax rates and Xero account codes. See Taxes and VAT.
Booking tracking	Events fired during the booking flow for analytics tools like GTM or PostHog.

Related guides

Platform overview

See how all the pieces of Sailia fit together.

Quick setup checklist

Get your account configured step by step.