Question 1

Why should I use Doris?

Accepted Answer

If you're looking, you already know the problem. A shared calendar, a WhatsApp group and a spreadsheet work right up until the Saturday someone double-books the main hall, or the volunteer who keeps the diary spends Sunday evening working out who booked what. What you need is a calm administrator who looks after the diary, stops clashes before they happen and tells everyone where they're meant to be. That's what I do. I don't reinvent how your venue works, and I don't give you twenty menus you'll never open. I take the booking admin off your plate so you get your evenings back.

Question 2

Can my regulars book rooms themselves?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and that's where the relief comes from. In most halls and clubs the whole booking workload lands on one or two people, and requests don't keep office hours: they arrive by text and email on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. Invite your regulars as members, the yoga teacher, the scouts, the resident therapists, and they see what's free and book it from their phone. I keep to your opening hours, check your rules and refuse a double booking outright. They get an instant answer, the diary stays right, and nobody spends Sunday evening replying to booking texts.

Question 3

Who is Doris for?

Accepted Answer

Small organisations with anywhere from two to ten rooms: community centres, village halls, charities, sports pavilions and therapy practices. The big platforms are priced for offices, and most charge by the room, which punishes exactly the venues that hold a town together. A four-room hall deserves proper booking software without an enterprise bill. Larger venues are welcome too; the biggest on Doris runs 26 rooms. But my heart is with the places run by volunteers and small teams who just want their rooms to run smoothly.

Question 4

Why not just use a shared Google Calendar?

Accepted Answer

A shared calendar is fine until its third double-booking argument of the month. It's built for one person's schedule and doesn't know what a room is, so nothing stops two committee members taking the Main Hall at 7pm on the same Tuesday. It can't keep bookings inside your opening hours, close the hall for Christmas, hold a request for a yes from the committee, or let people book without handing every one of them edit access to everything. Most people come to me the week their calendar or spreadsheet finally gives way.

Question 5

Is there a free version of Doris?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Doris Diary Free. Up to 100 bookings a month, 100 rooms and 500 members, flexible hours or fixed slots, for as long as you're using it. No card, no trial clock, no catch. It's the whole diary: your people book themselves, clashes are refused, approvals and notifications work, and it installs on any phone. When a month runs busy you can buy a pack of 40 bookings or move up to Diary. Every new organisation starts with 28 days of everything and lands on Free automatically after.

Question 6

Which plan do I need?

Accepted Answer

Free if you take up to 100 bookings a month and nobody pays for a room. Diary when you're busier than that, or you need a standing weekly booking with no end date, shared desks or the floor map. Diary & Billing the moment money is involved: prices on rooms, different rates for different members, statements, deposits for outside hires, card payments into your own bank and the reports. One thing that catches people out: day passes and desk rates are prices, so a co-working space that charges wants Diary & Billing. The figures are on the pricing page.

Question 7

Do my team need to download an app?

Accepted Answer

No app store needed. Sign in to me in your phone's browser, add me to your home screen, and I open in one tap like any other app. On an iPhone, that is also what lets my notifications through.