Sirvoy Setup Guide for New Users
Let’s get your account up and running, step by step.
Table of Contents
Whether you’re starting a brand-new property or switching over from another system, this walkthrough will get your Sirvoy account ready for live bookings.
There’s no pressure to rush—your property won’t be live until you install the booking engine on your website or connect to a booking channel like Booking.com. So take your time, explore, and follow each step below when you're ready.
Your account gives you free 24/7 support. If you’d like help setting things up, you can even schedule a one-on-one walkthrough with one of our experts.
Update Your Property & Contact Details
This is where you introduce yourself to your guests. These details appear on booking confirmations, invoices, and guest messages, so it’s worth making sure everything is accurate.
1. Fill in your contact details
Go to Settings > Sirvoy account > Contact details and enter your property’s information.
Set your SMS Sender ID (optional)
The SMS Sender ID is the name or number guests will see when they receive text messages—for example, booking reminders or check-in info.
If left blank, messages will show Sirvoy as the sender.
Note: Due to regulations, messages to guests in the U.S. and Canada will always come from Sirvoy’s number.
Add your VAT ID (if applicable)
VAT (Value-Added Tax) is a type of sales tax used in many countries, especially across Europe.
- If your business is registered for VAT, enter your VAT number so it appears on your invoices.
- If not, just enable the “Our business is not registered for VAT” option.
Create Room Types and Rooms
Now it’s time to set up what your guests will be booking.
In Sirvoy, accommodations include two key parts:
- Room types are where you define the space guests will stay—its amenities, guest capacity, price, and more. All the details about what a guest can expect go here.
- Rooms tell Sirvoy how many individual units of that room type you have. Each room inherits all the features of its room type and represents a single bookable space (like “Room 101” or “Cabin A”).
Room types and rooms don’t have to be traditional hotel rooms—they can be beds, apartments, cabins, campsites, or any other kind of bookable space.
If each of your rooms is completely unique—like individual cottages or apartments—create a separate room type for each one.
Create a room type first, then add one or more rooms to it.
2. Create a room type
Go to Settings > Accommodations and click Add new. Then:
- Enter a name and description
- Upload at least one image
- Set the default and maximum number of guests
- Choose a pricing model (fixed or flexible)
- Select the amenities
- Choose the Class (Room, Bed, Apartment, Tent, etc)
- Click Save
3. Add rooms to your room type
Once the room type is saved, go back to Settings > Accommodations:
- Click New room next to it
- Assign a unique Room ID (like “Room 01” or “Campsite B”)
- Click Save
Example: You manage a small B&B with two different types of accommodations:
- Three upstairs rooms with queen beds and balconies
- One ground-floor room with a king bed and garden access
In Sirvoy, you would create:
- A room type called “Queen Room with Balcony” and three rooms assigned to it: “Queen 1”, “Queen 2”, and “Queen 3”.
- A second room type called “King Room with Garden Access” and assign one room to it: “King 1”.
For more details about setting up accommodations, see our full guide to creating room types and assigning rooms.
Make a Test Booking
Now that your rooms are set up, let’s test out the booking process on the New booking page before going live. The New booking page is very similar to the booking engine you can later install on your website for guests to use (more on that later).
It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the booking process before guests start making reservations.
- Go to the New booking page from the main menu
- Choose a date and select a room
- Fill in test guest details and click Book now to finalize.
Once the booking is made, it will automatically open for your review. Feel free to explore the page and get a feel for how everything works. When you're done, you can cancel the test booking.
Activate Invoicing & Set Up Accounting
If you’d like to generate invoices and track income for accounting or reporting, enable Sirvoy’s invoicing feature and set up your Chart of Accounts.
4. Activate invoicing
Go to Settings > Financials > Invoice module and toggle on the feature.
There are lots of ways to customize invoicing on this page. The default settings work well for most properties, but if you'd like to explore all your options, see our full guide to invoicing settings.
5. Set up your Chart of Accounts
A Chart of Accounts (COA) is a list of account codes that helps categorize your income and charges. Think of it like a labeling system for your financial reports.
To set up your COA:
- Go to Settings > Financials > Chart of Accounts
- Add account codes to each field
What kind of codes should I use?
Most accounting systems use four-digit codes grouped by type (for example, assets in the 1000s, revenue in the 4000s), with clear names and space between numbers so it's easy to stay organized and expand later.
If you're not working with an accountant, you can start with our recommended codes below.
Example Chart of Account Codes
The table below shows example account codes for a sample accommodation. Your rooms and services will be different, but you can follow the same numbering pattern — for example, use 4000, 4010, 4020, etc. for different room types.
Revenue:
| Code | Account Name |
| 4000 Queen Room | Queen Room with Balcony |
| 4010 King Room | King Room with Garden Access |
Assets:
| Code | Account Name |
| 1000 Register | Register (Card/Cash) |
| 1010 Custom | Custom Type |
| 1020 Bank | Bank Transfer |
| 1030 Card | Card |
| 1040 Cash | Cash |
| 1050 Gift Card | Gift Card |
| 1060 Check | Check |
| 1070 Swish | Swish |
| 1080 Cash Receipts | Cash Receipts (Default) |
| 1090 Accounts Receivable | Accounts Receivable |
Liabilities:
| Code | Account Name |
| 2100 Prepaid | Prepaid |
| 2110 VAT Tax | VAT Tax |
Ready to Go Live?
Once your rooms are set up, your test booking looks good, and invoicing is activated, you're ready to start accepting real bookings.
6. Import existing bookings (if you're switching systems)
If you're moving from another system, make sure your upcoming reservations are added to Sirvoy. Otherwise, new guests might be able to book rooms that are already reserved—leading to double bookings and extra work for you.
You can either:
- Add bookings manually from the New booking page—this is a good option if you only have a handful of upcoming reservations.
- Use the built-in Bookings import tool to upload them all at once—ideal if you have many bookings to bring in. You can either fill out a form or upload a CSV file.
Sirvoy will flag any inconsistencies so you can fix them before the import is finalized—for example, if a room isn’t available on the specified dates or if a room ID doesn’t match your setup.
For details, see our bookings import guide.
Note: If you’re connecting to Booking.com, bookings from there will import automatically once the connection is complete—no need to import them manually.
7. Install the booking engine on your website
This makes it possible for guests to book directly with you—commission-free.
- Go to Settings > Booking engines
- Click the three dots next to your default booking engine
- Select Install
- Copy the code snippet and paste it into your website’s HTML
Sirvoy’s booking engine is flexible and highly customizable—from custom fields to guest flow and functionality.
Learn more about customizing the Sirvoy Booking Engine.
8. Connect to booking channels
If you want to receive bookings from platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, or Airbnb, Sirvoy’s channel manager can automatically keep your availability, pricing, and restrictions in sync across all connected channels.
Booking.com is one of the largest and most widely used platforms—and a great place to start.
Follow the full guide: Connecting Sirvoy to Booking.com
Afterwards, you can connect to as many additional channels as you like—such as Expedia, Agoda, Hostelworld, or Airbnb (and many more).
Browse all Channel Connection Guides for setup help.
That’s It—You're Ready!
You’ve completed the essential setup, and your Sirvoy account is ready to take live bookings. But this is just the beginning—Sirvoy has much more to offer as your needs grow.
Explore features like:
- Guest relationship tools
- Guest messaging
- Housekeeping tasks
- And much more
Whether you’re looking to make the most of your bookings, give guests a more personal experience, or take some work off your plate, Sirvoy has the tools to help.
Need a hand or want to go deeper?
- Chat with us 24/7—click the chat button in the corner
- Book a video walkthrough with a Sirvoy expert
- Browse more guides in our Knowledge Base