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10:00 Little Acorns
Church use and community hire in one diary
The parish office, the churchwardens and whoever holds the hall keys all see the same bookings, on a laptop or a phone, instead of ringing round to find out who has the diary this week.
- Church services, rehearsals and PCC meetings entered as regular bookings, so hirers see those times as taken
- Community hirers request free slots themselves; nothing is confirmed until you accept it
- Clashes refused before they happen, with the booking already there shown
- Christmas, Easter and the patronal festival blocked out once, for every room
- Private bookings show as taken on the public calendar without saying what they are
What makes a church hall different
A church hall is two things at once: part of parish life, and a building that has to pay its way through community hire. The booking system has to respect both.
Church groups first, hire fitted around them
The Mothers' Union, bell-ringers and Sunday school go in as regular bookings that repeat weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Everything else is booked around them, so an outside hirer never takes the slot before a service.
Different rates for different hirers
Church groups at no charge or a reduced rate, local charities at another, parties and businesses at the full rate. Each hirer type has its own price, so nobody works out the charge by hand.
Children and vulnerable adults on the premises
Toddler groups, youth clubs and lunch clubs mean safeguarding. Keep DBS certificate dates with reminders before they run out, and a private safeguarding log that only the people you choose can open.
The PCC needs to see the figures
Hall income is often a real part of the parish accounts. Every booking, invoice and payment is recorded, so the treasurer can report hall income to the PCC without reconstructing it from a bank statement.
How an online booking works
Hirers do the asking, you do the deciding, and nobody retypes anything.
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1
They check what is free
Your church hall has its own booking page, showing when each room is available. No phone call to find out.
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2
They send a request
The hirer picks a date and time and sends their details. It lands in your diary as an enquiry and you get an email.
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3
You accept it
One click confirms it and the hirer gets a confirmation email. Nothing is booked until you say so.
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4
The invoice follows
The price comes from your rate card, and the invoice is raised from the booking itself.
Beyond the diary
The booking is where it starts. These are the jobs that follow it, which usually land on the same two or three volunteers.
Conditions of hire, agreed online
Hirers read and agree your conditions of hire before the booking is confirmed, and you keep a record that they did. No more paper forms in the vestry.
A hirer portal
Hirers see their bookings and invoices, and a hall guide with the wifi, the heating and how to lock up. A key safe code can be released shortly before each booking.
Invoices and reminders
The invoice is raised from the booking, regular hirers can be invoiced monthly, and payment reminders go out so nobody has to chase people after the service.
Safety and insurance dates
Fire risk assessment, electrical testing, gas safety and insurance renewal, each with a reminder before it falls due.
Meetings and minutes
Agendas, papers, minutes and action points for the hall committee or PCC meetings about the hall, kept together and searchable.
The right access for each role
The vicar, churchwardens, treasurer and hall booker each see what they need. Decide what every role can see and do from a page of tick boxes.
More on the booking system, invoicing and the compliance checklist.
Moving from a paper diary, a spreadsheet or another system
Nobody wants to type a year of bookings in again. Bring across your rooms, rate cards, hirers, bookings and invoices from a spreadsheet or another booking system. You match your columns to ours on screen, and every import has an Undo button.
Still comparing? Read our comparison of UK hall booking software, including Hallmaster, Hall Booking Online and My Hall Wizard, and what booking software really costs.
What it costs
Every plan has unlimited bookings, the public booking page, your own website, invoicing and the phone app. Free for 30 days, no card needed.
Community
£12.99 a month
Up to 2 rooms and 3 volunteers, with your own website
Standard
£24.99 a month
Unlimited rooms, hirer portal, compliance alerts
Professional
£39.99 a month
Everything, plus the full accounts
Questions people ask
What is a church hall booking system?
It is the hall diary, kept online. Church services, groups and community bookings sit in one calendar that the parish office and volunteers can all see, hirers can check availability and send their own requests, and each booking carries its price, invoice and payment. It replaces the paper diary kept in the vestry or one volunteer's kitchen.
Can church groups use the hall free while outside hirers pay?
Yes. Set up hirer types, such as church groups, local charities and private hire, each with its own rate, including no charge at all. The right price is applied when the booking is made.
Can hirers book our church hall online?
Yes. Your hall gets a public booking page showing when each room is free. Hirers send a booking request, it arrives in your diary, and nothing is confirmed until you accept it.
Does it help with safeguarding?
It keeps DBS certificate dates for your volunteers with reminders before they expire, and a safeguarding log for recording concerns, visible only to the roles you choose, on the Standard and Professional plans. It does not replace your diocesan safeguarding procedures; it keeps the records they ask for in one place.
Can we show hall availability on the church website?
Yes, on every plan. Go to Settings, then Embed on Your Website, and copy the line it gives you into the parish website. The calendar updates itself as bookings come in. If the hall has no website of its own, go to Settings, then Your Website, and we make one for you with your rooms, prices and what is on. The Parish Notice look suits a church hall well.
How much does it cost?
Community is £12.99 a month for up to two rooms, Standard is £24.99 with unlimited rooms and the hirer portal, and Professional is £39.99 with full accounts. Every plan includes your own hall website and the calendar for a website you already have. A year costs the same as ten months. Every plan is free for 30 days, with no card needed.
We use Hallmaster or a spreadsheet at the moment. Can we move?
Yes. Import your rooms, rates, hirers, bookings and invoices from a spreadsheet or an export from another system, matching your columns to ours on screen. Every import can be undone if it does not look right.
Video guides
See a booking taken
Short guides, most under a minute, with the steps written out underneath.
