How to add and edit Categories & Tags

There are a number of places where Sonas captures information related to an event with a drop down menu. These category menus allow for personalisation to enable you to capture things that matter to you. Personalising the options allows you to use the information in different areas such as reports. There are different Categories and the item options within each category are called Tags. Although the uses are different, they are edited in the same place. Here is a guide to understanding Categories, followed by a step-by-step guide to editing Categories.

Understanding Categories

Company > Categories

In the upper right hand corner there is a drop down of all available Categories to customise, Category. Click here to see your options.

The different Categories available are:

Default Items	Used to help couples when populating their Items section, such as cake knife, guestbook, etc. Have the most popular items preselected for ease.
Email	Email categories to organise your inbox, both incoming and out coming emails. For example, if you are Dry Hire you may want to remove Catering and Bar, but add Facilities. A recommended addition is "Planning".
Enquiry Source	All the ways your potential customers reach out to you with that important first enquiry. Defaults are: Web Form, Direct Email, Open Day. Consider adding Expo or Show if you use that for generating enquiries. Very useful for Marketing as it is information that can be pulled through to reports to see enquiry to booking conversion rates.
Event Labels	No defaults, so they are completely customisable! Labels appear on all event related pages in the header with the couple’s name and date. Idea labels include: High Profile, Church Ceremony, Live Music, Pets included, Early Access, etc. Can be used to segment events/enquiries.
Guest Roles	Contains a large set of traditional defaults, Bride, Father of the Bride, etc. Can add extra options to better represent roles within more diverse or non traditional events. These can be non wedding related as well.
Guest Special Requirements	Is pre-populated with some defaults, add any offerings that are unique to your venue.
Heard About Us	Another very useful data collection point for sales and marketing. Include any local sources or unique areas you market. Can be used in reports.
Linen Colours	Pre-populated with some defaults but can be completely customised. Does not have to just be colours, can add sheer overlays and more.
Other Venues	Empty by default. Useful for marketing and sales and the data can be reported on. Can be used for both 'other venues considered' and 'venue booked' when you lose the sale. Fill with your identified competitors and add new competitors as needed.
Reason Not Booked	Defaults: Date not available, Duplicate Enquiry, Facilities, Location, Price. New options can be added to best represent why you see leads drop off. Useful for marketing and sales and can be reported on.
Transaction Categories	The categories in which charges are broken up into/assigned to, each can have their own tax rate, defined in Venue > Invoicing. The default categories, that cannot be edited or deleted, are: Alcoholic Drinks, Food, Gratuity, Soft Drinks, Tax Exempt, Venue Hire, and Venue Services. Suggested additions include- Accommodations, DJ, or Ceremony Fee.

Next to Category, on the left, is Status. This shows the three subtypes of Category Tags- Active, Suggested and Hidden.

Active	The default where you will see all tags that are being used. These will be shown as dropdown options to customers & staff when they are filling in the respective fields.
Suggested	When a customer is able to type in an option not included in the list it will become a Suggested tag. You may either merge it with an Active tag or promote it to Active (see merging below).
Hidden	Tags that have been deactivated. They are kept hidden so you can reactivate as you need. This is for tags that are being used in an event, so instead of deleting it, it simply hides it.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Adding and Editing Tags

1. Choose the Category you would like to add a new tag (item) to. In this example, Enquiry Source is selected.

2. Make sure the Status is Active and click +New Tag.

3. A pop-up box will appear, type in your new Tag name and click Add.

4. Repeat these steps for all category and tag additions.

5. To edit a tag name, click the green Edit box. Please note, some Sonas default tags are greyed out and cannot be edited or deleted.

6. To delete or hide a tag, click the red Delete box. If the tag is NOT being used in any enquiry or event, it will permanently delete. If it IS being used, it will become Hidden and accessible by changing the Status from Active to Hidden.

7. To restore hidden tags you can do so by selecting Hidden on the status and then clicking on the Restore button. This will make it available to choose again under the status of Active.

To Merge Tags:

Merging can be useful if you have spelling mistakes in user input or broader categories to which you'd like to add them. In this example the new Tag of “Expo March 2023” will be merged with “Shows/Expos” as the need to gather the individual expo data is unnecessary and the broader option is sufficient.

1. Click the orange Merge box.

2. Select the tag to which you want to merge your tag. Click Update.

Another example of where Merging would be useful- you have Bride Book and Bridebook as separate tags due to spelling mistake by a customer. You can merge them together so they are under the correctly spelled name. This helps you tidy up your data and ensure your reports are as accurate as possible.

How to add and edit Categories & Tags

September 23, 2024

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