Go-live checklist

Everything between "we chose Kamra" and "the front desk ran today on it". Worked through top to bottom, a small property goes live in a day; with data migration and OTA sync, plan two to three. Each step links to the deeper guide.

1 - Get a server and install

• [ ] Pick where it runs: a 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM / 40 GB SSD VPS is enough for a full property (requirements). Guides: Hostinger · DigitalOcean · Linode · AWS · bench install · Frappe Cloud
• [ ] Install via Docker quickstart, create your site, point your domain, get SSL (covered in each hosting guide)
• [ ] Log in at /kamra as Administrator (or [email protected]) with the password from --admin-password, then change it if needed
• [ ] Set up daily backups off the server (the hosting guides show bench backup + object storage; Frappe Cloud does this for you)

2 - Property setup

• [ ] Run the onboarding wizard: property name, country (this selects your tax pack - GST slabs, PB1, VAT, SST - and your currency/number format), address, contacts
• [ ] Room types with base prices, occupancy/capacity limits, bed types, photos - then rooms with numbers and floors
• [ ] Rate card: seasons, rate plans, meal plans; optional guardrails, hurdle rates and an overbooking allowance (Revenue menu)
• [ ] Taxes: verify a test quote shows the right tax for your country; set your tax registration number (GSTIN / NPWP / TRN / SST no.) on the property
• [ ] Policies: check-in/out times, free-cancellation window, cancellation fee, no-show charge, deposit expectations - these are enforced in code, not just printed
• [ ] Invoice series: per-property invoice numbering starts clean; do a test invoice and check the format before real money
• [ ] ID retention mode: Store, or Verify & Discard (scans and ID numbers auto-scrubbed at checkout - the DPDP-friendly setting)
• [ ] Clear message text after (days): WhatsApp message text and AI assistant chats older than this are cleared nightly (new properties: 90; properties that existed before this setting start at 0 = keep)

3 - Staff

• [ ] Create a user per staff member - never shared logins; the audit trail is only as good as this
• [ ] Assign roles: Front Desk, Housekeeping, Finance, Revenue Manager, Hotel Admin (menus follow the role)
• [ ] Multi-property? Scope users to their property (User Permissions)
• [ ] Bookmark the phone screens on staff devices: /hk (housekeeping), POS for captains
• [ ] Walk the desk through the front-desk guide - one hour covers a shift's work

4 - Bring your data over

• [ ] Export bookings/guests from the old system (eZee, Cloudbeds, or any CSV) and run the migration importer - preview first, then import; past stays land as history so returning guests are recognised
• [ ] Bring companies (credit terms) and opening balances (in-house folios, city ledger, advance deposits) over from Kamra's CSV templates, and reconcile to the old system's last close - the go-live runbook walks the night step by step
• [ ] Spot-check 10 imported bookings against the old system: dates, rates, statuses
• [ ] Import the laundry rate card (CSV) and the menu (bulk import with preview) if you run F&B

5 - Distribution

• [ ] Booking engine: photos, description, policies, FAQs, brand colour; enable the public page and make a test booking on it; configure advance collection and the payment gateway if collecting online
• [ ] Channel manager for OTA sync - setup guide: Channex self-serve today, STAAH / AioSell with their partner credentials. Map room types, push ARI, send a test booking from the OTA extranet and watch it land as a reservation
• [ ] Until the channel manager is live, set OTA inventories manually and treat Kamra as the source of truth

6 - Guest communication

• [ ] Email (SMTP): set up an Email Account so confirmations and links can send
• [ ] WhatsApp on your own number - guide: Meta app, webhook, the three templates; send yourself a test confirmation and reply to it to see the conversations inbox work
• [ ] Print a QR menu card if guests order F&B by phone

7 - Operations

• [ ] POS: outlets, tables with areas ([Main Hall] T1:4), menu with photos, KOT printer or kitchen display at the pass
• [ ] Kitchen printers (Settings → F&B): each printer's outlets and stations, a print-station screen picked on each kitchen device, a test page from each, Chrome started with --kiosk-printing on tills and kitchen screens
• [ ] Housekeeping: confirm every room shows on /hk, brief the team on claim/accept/done and minibar/laundry posting
• [ ] Service-ticket SLAs and the escalation contact (WhatsApp alerts once connected)

8 - Dress rehearsal (do this before cut-over)

Run one fake stay end to end and check every artifact:

• [ ] Book (on the public page or desk) → confirmation received
• [ ] Check in via the check-in flow → GRC prints, occupant register + ID captured, room assigned
• [ ] Post a room-service charge from POS → appears on the folio
• [ ] Record a payment, then check out → invoice generates with the right taxes and series
• [ ] Run the night audit manually once and read what it did
• [ ] Verify the backup from step 1 actually restored on a scratch site - an unrestored backup is a rumour

9 - Cut-over day

• [ ] Pick a quiet day; freeze changes in the old system at a fixed hour
• [ ] Re-import the delta (bookings created since the export); a re-run skips what is already in
• [ ] Import opening balances and press Reconcile - go live only on Ready for go-live (runbook)
• [ ] Point the channel manager live; retire the old system's OTA connections the same hour (two masters means double bookings)
• [ ] Keep the old system read-only for reference; first night audit on Kamra that night, first reconciliation next morning

Need hands?

All of the above as a done-for-you package: fixed-fee implementation with an annual support contract, or Frappe Cloud where the server side of this list disappears entirely. The software is identical either way - nothing on this page is gated.