Written guide
Overview
Appmint Stowbo is a storage-marketplace operations console. We will follow a host, a space and a customer booking through availability, custody, hand-off and money, then resolve the exceptions without losing the original booking context.
Before operating: choose the right console and record
This is the storage marketplace's own operator console, not a storage feature automatically available to every Appmint business. It checks the current organization's Stowbo app access after loading the deployment's organization identity. If you see Stowbo isn't available here, confirm you signed into the marketplace organization with your administrator. Creating another space or changing an ordinary customer's role does not resolve that organization boundary.
Begin with a prepared host, space and customer whose records you are permitted to inspect. Write down the booking identifier when opening a case; names alone can match several bookings. Use the same booking when comparing Items, Hand-offs, Money and Transactions.
flowchart LR
H["Approved host"] --> S["Space and availability window"]
S --> B["Customer booking"]
B --> I["Items and custody"]
I --> C["Authorized collector hand-off"]
B --> M["Bill, payment and holds"]
M --> P["Host earnings and payout"]Conceptual record map, not a screenshot or evidence of a completed booking. Booking, possession, payment and payout are separate states.
The console includes Control Room, Calendar, Items, Hand-offs, Money, Payouts, Transactions, Hosts, Earnings, Spaces, Bookings, Funnel, Add-ons, Discounts, Activity, Map, My coupons and Settings. Some tabs move into the tab bar's overflow on narrower screens. Start with Hosts for an application decision or Spaces for a booking; the later chapters follow the linked operational records.
1. Read the console and inspect host eligibility
Why this matters
Stowbo has a restricted operating context. Its Control Room links operational exceptions to the actual host, space, item and booking.
Follow these steps
Open Stowbo in the organization authorized for it. If Stowbo isn't available here appears, retain that access result rather than presenting an empty console. In Hosts choose Awaiting Review and open a controlled application. Inspect customer identity, application details, documents, history and any existing spaces/bookings. Use the appropriate approve/reject action only after review; rejection requires the decision reason. For an approved controlled host inspect suspension with its reason and verify the new state. Return to Approved Hosts or Not Hosting and confirm the result.
Check the result: The host’s eligibility reflects the actual reviewed application.
2. Inspect space hierarchy and availability
Why this matters
A host can organize spaces as a hierarchy. Capacity and occupancy belong to a particular space and time window.
Follow these steps
Open Spaces and switch between Tree and Table. Search by title, ID, type, city or host and expand the intended parent. Inspect its host, status, capacity, units, in-use count, rate, currency and exclusivity. Open the space detail and follow Host, Units, Bookings and Add-ons to the linked records, returning through the drawer’s back control. Open Calendar and inspect the intended booking window. Do not invent a Create Space control in this operator list: host listing creation is a separate client workflow. For the operator demonstration start from an actual prepared listing and verify its provenance.
Check the result: The selected space and time window are unambiguous before booking.
3. Book on a customer’s behalf
Why this matters
A booking is a space plus a window and a customer. The server checks availability and prices the window; the operator drawer does not collect payment simply because a booking is created.
Follow these steps
Choose Book on the intended space or Book in the header. Search and select the active space, then the Customer. Enter Start and End using the operator’s local wall-clock time, or deliberately choose the open-ended option. Set Quantity and inspect the availability response. Choose offered Add-ons and quantities. Enter the item Identifier where applicable and leave Checked In off unless custody has actually begun. Submit once, then inspect the returned booking detail, space/window, customer, items and price. The current operator request uses skipPayment: true; check the bill/payment workflow separately.
Check the result: The server-created booking matches the customer and window without falsely claiming collection.
4. Trace custody and hand-offs
Concept illustration: Storage operations connect eligibility, physical custody and financial records. Booking, item hand-over and paid-out funds require different outcome checks. This is not an application screenshot or evidence that the action has run.
Why this matters
A booking reservation and an item physically in custody are different facts. Delegated collection introduces another identity that must be verified.
Follow these steps
Open Items and locate the booking’s controlled item. Inspect Owner, Host, Space, Order and Movements. Compare its custody state with the actual authorized check-in/out performed by the relevant operational client. Open Hand-offs and inspect collector, contact, items, owner, booking, space, required checks, expiry and status. Use Resend for a controlled collector and verify the delivered pass privately. Use Revoke only for the intended hand-off; the control states items return to the owner’s own code. Inspect Turned Away records and the item’s movement history for a refused collection.
Check the result: The item’s physical-state record and collector authorization remain distinct and traceable.
5. Resolve a real exception with its playbook
Why this matters
Resolve starts with the caller’s problem but keeps the underlying booking visible. A financial resolution is different from giving access instructions.
Follow these steps
Open Resolve and choose the relevant path: lost code, cannot find the place, nobody available, overstaying, payment failed, damage claim or disputed charge. Search the actual booking/space and verify the customer before continuing. For lost-code/access issues inspect the code/address/hours/request facts and perform only the offered action needed. For overstaying compare the existing window, then inspect Extend Stay and its resulting charge/window. For damage hold the relevant payment before a reviewed decision and verify hold/release state. For disputed charges read the bill and choose a controlled reversal or refund only for the matching item/transaction. Reopen the booking and transaction to verify the outcome.
Check the result: The resolution changes the intended booking or payment with retained context.
6. Reconcile money and payout stages
Why this matters
Money, Transactions and Payouts answer different questions. A host’s earning is not the same as a settled bank payout.
Follow these steps
Open Money for the controlled booking and inspect collected, held and host-earning information. Follow its transaction into Transactions and compare the reference, amount and state. Open Payouts and inspect its Queue, Runs and Rules. Review eligible requests before any approval or bank-file action. The shared Finance ACH workflow distinguishes building a file, sending it to the bank and confirmed settlement. The current rules screen states cycles are manually run, not timer-driven. Compare the host’s wallet/earnings and actual payout evidence before marking the booking financially resolved.
Check the result: Earnings, holds and payout settlement are reconciled without collapsing their states.
7. Communicate, export and review operating trends
Why this matters
Bulk communication needs a reviewed recipient group. A filtered export should match what the operator intended to inspect.
Follow these steps
Use Message a Group from the header and inspect the recipients before composing or sending; verify a controlled delivery before claiming reach. In Spaces or Hosts apply the intended filters and Export, then compare its rows and columns with the filtered set. Inspect Calendar, Map, Activity and Funnel/Insights for the same period and selected entities, keeping missing data visible. Review Discounts, host coupons and platform settings through their current controls and inspect the affected booking quote before claiming a promotion or policy took effect. Do not apply an unreviewed platform setting to make a recording look populated.
Check the result: Communication and reporting stay scoped to the intended people and records.
8. Create and verify a platform discount
Why this matters
A platform discount can apply across hosts; a host coupon belongs to its host. The code, eligible spaces and usage limits determine where it works. Switching it off affects new bookings, not discounts already applied.
Follow these steps
Open Discounts and choose New platform discount. Enter Code and customer-facing Name. A blank Code is allowed for an automatic discount; do not accidentally leave it blank when teaching code redemption. Choose Percent off or Amount off and enter the value. Set At most, Only when the bill is at least, Valid from/to, Total uses and Uses per customer. Enter the operator-facing Description. Under Spaces select the intended space; no selected spaces means every space. Set Can combine with other discounts, First booking only and Switched on deliberately. Save and reopen the record.
Obtain a fresh controlled customer booking quote for an eligible space and redeem the code through the actual customer checkout. Compare the discount line and total. Repeat with an ineligible space, an expired period or a customer beyond the configured limit and retain the actual rejection. Return to Discounts, inspect redemptions and choose Bookings to see bookings using that code. Use Switch off and read that existing bookings retain their discount; verify a fresh quote no longer accepts it. Changing an existing code retires the old one. In the host-coupon view repeat only with that host’s own spaces and verify ownership rather than treating the operator’s all-host access as a host permission.
Check the result: The discount applies only under the intended conditions and its redemption links to the matching booking.
9. Configure marketplace settings and support entry
Why this matters
Marketplace settings apply from now on. An already settled booking retains its settled take rate, and an existing payment retains the gateway that processed it.
Follow these steps
Open Settings and inspect Platform status before changing configuration. In Stowbo site choose the support Chat configuration and Chat app id used by the customer application, Save and reopen. If either picker fails, preserve its saved value and use its retry; an unavailable picker is not evidence that no configurations exist. Test the actual support entry in the customer app and verify the conversation reaches the intended system account.
Under Stowbo Config inspect Take rate, Minimum payout, Payment gateway, Hold on a cart, Stowbo site and Customer app URL. Enter the take rate as a percentage from 0 to 100. Set the payout floor deliberately; a host's higher own minimum remains relevant. Choose the configured payment gateway. Set the cart hold between 1 and 1440 minutes and verify expiry with a controlled reservation. Select another site only when intentionally moving the marketplace. Customer app URL must begin http:// or https:// and controls booking, pay, receipt and pickup links; clearing and saving uses the deployment fallback. Save once and reopen. Test a newly generated link and new quote/payment, keeping previous transaction references unchanged. Undo discards unsaved field edits, not already saved transactions.
Check the result: Saved settings, new links and new transactions use the intended configuration; previous settled records retain their historical values.
10. Add a platform fee and inspect the bill
Why this matters
Platform fees are separate from the host's own fees and the platform take rate. A fee may be charged to the customer or deducted from the host, so its payer and trigger must be explicit.
Follow these steps
In Settings → Platform fees inspect the currently loaded fees. If loading fails, retry before editing; the screen intentionally prevents replacing an unknown list. Add a fee with a unique Name using letters, digits, hyphens or underscores. Enter Label and Accounting code. Choose Type, Paid by, When, Applies and Basis from their actual schema choices and enter its Amount. Configure subtotal minimum/maximum, fee floor/cap, channel scope, space types and Valid from/to. No selected channels means every channel; empty space types means all. Set Taxable, Refundable on cancellation and Order deliberately. Save the fee and reopen it.
Request a fresh eligible quote and inspect the fee line, payer and total. Compare an out-of-scope quote. Exercise a controlled cancellation/refund only when its provider is ready and inspect the fee's actual returned or retained amount. Retire a disposable fee through its confirmation and verify it stops applying to new quotes without rewriting existing bills.
Check the result: Fee scope, amount and payer are visible on the appropriate new bill, with historical transactions preserved.
Troubleshooting and recovery
Keep the exact record and operation visible when reading an error. Inspect persisted state before retrying a write; a timeout does not prove nothing happened. Correct the specific cause and verify the resulting record and consumer independently. An enabled feature, successful configuration save or administrative status is not proof of an external delivery, access boundary or money movement. Preserve unsupported behavior rather than simulating success.
Next steps
You can now use the module’s records and controls in context, and check the result at the point where it matters. Return to the relevant chapter for the advanced path and its verification.
Limitations and checks
Current Stowbo console, space/host lists, entity drawer, booking drawer, resolve playbooks, handovers and shared payouts source inspected. No host decision, booking, custody action, message or money movement executed. Operator booking sends skipPayment true; no automatic collection is claimed. Host listing creation lives outside this operator list and needs its separate client procedure. Discounts, host coupons and platform settings now have documented procedures; their live quote/payment/support outcomes remain unverified. Full host-client listing creation remains outside this operator-console course.