Get set up fast.
Eight short steps take you from sign-up to a booking link you can share. Follow them in order, or jump to the one you need.
The journey
Have these ready
- An email address you read every day.
- A phone with an authenticator app, or one you can install in a minute.
- Your logo as a PNG or JPEG file.
- A few good photos of each apartment.
- Your nightly rates and your check-in and check-out times.
- Your Paystack secret key, if you use your own Paystack account.
- Your bank name and account number, for bank transfers.
Step 1 of 8
Create your account
Goal: Get your own Covelet address and start your free trial.
- Go to covelet.app/signup.
- Enter your business name, your name and your email address.
- We email you a 6-digit code. Type it in. The code works for 15 minutes, and you can ask for a new one.
- Choose your address, for example yourname.covelet.app. Use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens. The page tells you at once if the name is taken.
- Tick the box to accept the terms, then finish.
What you should see. A page that says "Your site is ready", with your preview address and your admin address. Your 30-day free trial has started. You do not enter a card.
Tip. Use an email address you read every day. Your admin link is sent there.
Step 2 of 8
Set your password and sign in
Goal: Get into your admin safely.
- Open the email we sent you and click the link to set your admin password.
- Choose a strong password.
- Set up two-step sign-in. Scan the QR code with an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator, 1Password or Authy, then type the 6-digit code it shows. Every admin must do this.
- Save your backup codes somewhere safe. Each one works once if you lose your phone.
- Sign in at yourname.covelet.app/admin.
What you should see. Your admin dashboard, with the menu down the side.
Tip. If the email link has expired or you cannot find the email, write to [email protected] and we will help.
Step 3 of 8
Make the site look like you
Goal: Guests should see your name, your logo and your colours.
- Open Settings, then Brand.
- Type your site name and a short tagline.
- Upload your logo. PNG or JPEG, up to 2MB.
- Pick a theme: Warm caramel, Coastal or Modern minimal. Change the primary and accent colours only if you need to.
- Add your contact email and your phone or WhatsApp number, with the country code. Add Instagram and your address if you like.
- Press Save brand. A preview beside the form shows the result.
What you should see. The preview card updates with your name, logo and colours.
Tip. Choose the theme first. Picking a theme resets the colours, so set your own colours after it.
Step 4 of 8
Add your apartments and prices
Goal: Get at least one apartment ready for guests to book.
- Open Apartments and press New apartment. Give it a name, a description, the maximum number of guests, and check-in and check-out times. Press Save.
- Press Edit on the apartment to set its Cleaning fee and Caution deposit in naira. Leave a box blank to use the standard amount. Press Save.
- Press Photos on the apartment and upload your pictures. Start with your best one.
- Open Pricing and add a rule. Choose Weekday or Weekend, give it a name, and enter the nightly rate in naira. Add one of each if your weekend rate is higher.
- Go to Settings, then Taxes. Switch on VAT or the Lagos consumption tax if you charge them, and set the rate. Ask your accountant first. Press Save changes.
- Back in Apartments, check the list under the apartment, then press Activate.
What you should see. A tick beside each item: description, at least one photo and at least one active rate. Only then can you activate the apartment and show it to guests.
Tip. Guests pay a refundable caution deposit, which starts at ₦50,000 per booking, and a cleaning fee, which starts at ₦0. You set both for each apartment, so a studio and a three-bedroom can differ. A change applies to new bookings only. Bookings already made keep the amounts they were made with.
Step 5 of 8
Set up how guests pay you
Goal: Take card payments through Paystack and show your bank details for transfers.
- Open Settings, then Payments & payouts.
- Under Card payments (Paystack), paste your own Paystack secret key. Find it in Paystack under Settings, then API Keys. It starts with sk_live_. We check the key with Paystack before saving, and it is never shown again. Press Save key.
- Prefer not to use your own Paystack account? Write to us and we will set up a Covelet subaccount for you. We look after the payout bank for it.
- Under bank transfer details, search for your bank in the list and enter your 10-digit account number. The account name is filled in from the bank where it can be.
- Press Save changes when the bar appears at the bottom.
What you should see. The card payments panel says "Configured". Your bank details appear on invoices, under "How to pay".
Tip. Want to rehearse first? Save a test key (it starts with sk_test_), try a booking, then replace it with your live key before you share your link.
Step 6 of 8
Add your team and connections (optional)
Goal: Bring in staff and connect the tools you already use. Skip anything you do not need yet.
- Staff. Open Settings, then Team & permissions. Enter an email, choose Staff, add a name and WhatsApp number, and press Grant. They get a link to choose a password. Use the switches to decide what staff can do.
- Calendars. Open Settings, then Calendars (iCal). Copy each apartment's link and paste it into that apartment's listing on Airbnb or Booking.com. To bring their bookings in, open Calendar, find iCal Sync Sources, paste the link they give you and press Sync now.
- Before you paste your links anywhere, press Protect my feeds. It adds a private key to each link. Old links stop working, so do this first and paste the new links once.
- Smart locks. Optional. Open Settings, then Smart home (Tuya) and connect your Tuya project. Then pick the lock for each apartment. Tell us first so we can check your devices.
- WhatsApp. The number you saved under Brand is the one guests are given in check-in messages.
What you should see. Your staff in the team list, a protected status on your calendar links, and Connected beside Tuya if you set it up.
Tip. Airbnb and Booking.com read your link on their own schedule, so a new booking can take a while to show there. Block dates by hand if a gap matters.
Step 7 of 8
Check your site and share your link
Goal: See what guests see, then send them your link.
- Open your address, for example yourname.covelet.app, in a new window. Look at it as a guest would: your name, your photos, your rates.
- Open an apartment page. Its address looks like yourname.covelet.app/stays/your-apartment. Check the dates and the price.
- Share that link on WhatsApp, Instagram and your listings.
- Want your own domain, like stays.yourbusiness.com? Today the Covelet team adds it for you. Write to [email protected] with the domain you own. We reply with the DNS records to add at your domain provider, and we confirm once it is verified. Until then, keep using your covelet.app address.
What you should see. Your guest site loads with your brand, and each activated apartment shows photos and a price.
Tip. An apartment that is not activated does not show to guests. If one is missing, go back to step 4.
Step 8 of 8
Know your trial and your plan
Goal: Keep your site running after the trial.
- Open Settings, then Subscription (admins only). It shows your plan, your status and the days left in your trial.
- The trial lasts 30 days. After that the plan is ₦50,000 a month, for unlimited apartments, staff and bookings.
- To pay, press Add card. Paystack opens. The first month is paid when you add the card, and any days left in your trial are added on top. You lose nothing by paying early.
- Use Manage card or cancel later to change your card or stop renewing.
- If a payment is missed, we send reminders by email. Your site keeps working for a 7-day grace period. After that it is suspended. Your data is kept, and paying brings the site back straight away. Every reminder has a pay link, and you can ask for a new one at covelet.app/billing.
What you should see. The status "Free trial" with a count of days left. After you add a card it changes to "Active", with a "Paid until" date.
Tip. Add your card a few days before the trial ends, so a busy week never pauses your site.
Checklist
Tick these off and you are ready for your first guest.
- I signed up and chose my covelet.app address.
- I set my password and turned on two-step sign-in.
- I saved my backup codes.
- My name, logo and colours are saved under Brand.
- At least one apartment has a description, a photo and a nightly rate, and is activated.
- My taxes are set, or I have chosen to charge none.
- My Paystack key and my bank details are saved.
- I opened my site as a guest and it looks right.
- I know when my free trial ends.
Need help?
Write to us at [email protected] and a person will reply. You can also book a walkthrough, or read the questions people ask and the pricing.