CheckinRules helps you collect a signed acknowledgment of your house rules before guests arrive. You do not need a property management system (PMS) to get started—many hosts send their first verification manually in a few minutes.
Sign up and verify your account
Go to Sign up and enter your email, password, and company name (usually your business or brand name). After you confirm your email, you land in your dashboard at /app.
If you were invited to join someone else's team, use the invite link they sent you. The signup form will skip the company name field and take you straight into their organization after you create your account.
Watch out for:
If your organization is on a waitlist, signup may require an invite code in the URL. Without it, you will be directed to join the waitlist instead.
The dashboard at a glance
Your dashboard is the home base for everything in CheckinRules. The layout is the same on desktop and mobile; the sidebar collapses on smaller screens.
- Properties (left sidebar) — Each active listing appears here. Click a property name to open its Rules, Verifications, Custom Rules, and Settings.
- Settings (below Properties) — Integrations, Billing (owners only), Notifications, Privacy, Reports, Team activity, Shared templates, Team, and Account.
- Main area — Your onboarding checklist (until you finish or dismiss it), recent verifications, and property-specific pages when you drill in.
- Help (top right) — Contact support, send feedback, book a call, or open the changelog.
When you first sign in, you will see a three-step onboarding checklist: add a property, configure house rules, and send your first verification. It tracks real progress in your account—you can dismiss it anytime, but it is a useful guide while you learn the product.
Connect your first property
A property in CheckinRules is one rental unit you manage—an entire home, a condo, or a dedicated apartment. You need at least one property before guests can sign anything.
You have two paths:
- Add manually — From the dashboard checklist or Add property, enter the property name, address, and timezone. New properties start with three default modules (Occupancy, Smoke-Free, Service Animal) already enabled; you can add more on the Rules tab later.
- Connect OwnerRez — On a Starter plan or above, go to Integrations to link OwnerRez and map listings to properties. Bookings can then create verifications automatically. See Integrations for details.
If you are evaluating CheckinRules before you have a listing ready, you can still read the docs and explore the dashboard—you just will not be able to send a guest link until a property exists.
Watch out for:
Onboarding step "Configure your house rules" only completes after you save on the Rules page. Opening Rules is not enough—the checklist looks for a saved template history entry.
Send your first verification (manual)
A verification is a pre-arrival acknowledgment tied to a booking. You create the booking; CheckinRules emails or texts the guest a secure link to complete the wizard.
- Open your property and go to Verifications.
- Click Create verification (or use the checklist link).
- Enter the guest name, booking reference (your own ID or PMS confirmation code), check-in and check-out dates, headcount, and how to notify the guest (SMS, email, or both).
- Submit the form. You will get a guest link and an optional pre-arrival message to copy.
The guest opens /v/your-token on their phone—no login required. They walk through each enabled rule module and any custom rules, then sign. You will see status change to completed on the verification detail page.
Watch out for:
On the Free plan you can send up to three verifications per month across your organization. If you hit the limit, upgrade from Billing or wait until the next month.
Read the signed PDF
After a guest completes the wizard, CheckinRules generates a PDF record of what they saw and agreed to. Open the verification from your dashboard and download or view the PDF.
The PDF typically includes:
- Property name and booking reference
- Guest name, dates, and headcount
- Each rule acknowledgment with the guest's answers
- Signature and timestamps in the property's timezone
- An audit summary (link opened, steps completed, submission details)
That PDF is what you would share with a platform or insurer if there is a dispute—the guest cannot change it after signing, and your template snapshot is frozen at send time.
What's next
- Properties — Timezones, host contact info, and per-property notification defaults.
- Templates and modules — Enable quiet hours, parking, pool safety, and the rest of the built-in modules.
- Custom rules — Add HOA or lease language that does not fit a standard module.
- Integrations — Automate verifications from OwnerRez when you are ready.
Still stuck?
Open your dashboard and use Help to contact support or send feedback. We typically reply within one business day.