How do I connect ChargeAutomation to Smoobu?

ChargeAutomation is a Marketplace partner that automates guest payments, security deposits (pre-authorizations), and chargeback protection. You connect it from Smoobu's Marketplace with an API key. One setup step is easy to miss and stops the whole thing from working: you have to turn off Smoobu's own Stripe and PayPal in the Booking Engine, or ChargeAutomation never sees your bookings.

Before you start

• You need a ChargeAutomation account.
• Know that ChargeAutomation replaces Smoobu's own card checkout for direct bookings. You need to switch off Stripe and PayPal in Smoobu (the critical step below), and ChargeAutomation collects the payment from the guest instead.

Connect ChargeAutomation

1. In Smoobu, open the Marketplace and open ChargeAutomation.
2. Click Connect and copy the API key shown on that page.
3. In ChargeAutomation, open Settings > PMS connection > Smoobu and paste the API key. ChargeAutomation's own setup guide walks you through the rest.

Critical: turn off Stripe and PayPal in your Booking Engine

This is the step hosts miss. Smoobu's own Stripe and PayPal options at checkout bypass ChargeAutomation: if either is switched on, guests pay directly through Smoobu and ChargeAutomation never sees the booking.

Open Configuration > Booking Engine > Payment Methods, remove Stripe and PayPal, and leave only Invoice. With Invoice selected, ChargeAutomation emails the guest for their card details after they book. Do not use "Pay upon arrival" here; it looks similar to Invoice but is not the right choice.

Prepayment: 0% means full payment

One quirk to know: in the Booking Engine, a prepayment of 0% means "full payment at booking", not "no prepayment". The lowest partial prepayment you can set is 1%. See .

Send the pre-arrival link to guests

Add the [caPreArrivalLink] placeholder to a guest message template. It sends the guest to ChargeAutomation's pre-arrival page, where they enter their card details and complete online check-in.

Getting help with ChargeAutomation

ChargeAutomation runs its own support, separate from Smoobu. For setup, billing, or how a charge behaved, use ChargeAutomation's own support email or live chat on their site, not Smoobu Support.

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Still stuck?

If these steps didn't fix it, contact the Smoobu team: open the Help menu to open a ticket or book a call slot, or use the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner. To get the fastest answer, please include:

• Your Smoobu User ID (in the profile-icon menu, top right).
• The property name or ID, if it's about one property.
• The Booking ID, if it's about one booking (Bookings, then View more).
• The channel name, if it's about channel sync (Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, and so on).
• A short step-by-step: what you did, what you expected, and what happened.
• Screenshots or a short screen recording of the problem.
• Your browser and operating system, if something looks wrong on screen.