Overview
In this document, we will go over the process of obtaining your API keys from Bokun so that you are able to put them into the Ice Floe Portal and begin importing your products. The API keys are required to act as the bridge between the Ice Floe portal and the Bokun inventory system, which is what allows information to flow between the two.
Step One: Sign up to/Log into Bokun
As well as a Ice Floe Portal account, you will also require an account with an inventory provider. In this instance, we will be assuming that the inventory provider is the Tripadvisor Bokun system.
Navigate to your Bokun account by going to company-name.bokun.io and logging in with your user account details. Alternatively, go to bokun.io and sign up for an account with them.
Step Two: Create a Booking Channel
Before we can generate the API keys, it is important to make sure that the settings behind them are done properly. By creating a booking channel, you have the advantage of being able to easily track the sales from your Ice Floe website, and separate them from sales from other sources. You are also able to set a number of important settings that determine how things are priced.
To get to these settings, navigate to the left-hand menu of Bokun, and click the Online Sales drop-down tab. This will open a collection of links, and the Booking Channel link will be found here.
On the Booking Channel page, click the blue button on in the top left that says "New Channel".
You will first be requested to give the channel a name. We recommend naming the channel with the URL or planned URL of your final site, or something along the lines of 'Ice Floe Website', so that it can be easily identified.
Once the channel has been named, you will gain access to all the assorted settings that you can change - but there are a few key ones that we are going to focus on here.
- Pricing and Payments: This is the next option in the list. Here you are able to set a payment provider that you are using, as well as change settings for how payments are taken. If you intend on taking payments through Bokun, then it is wise to put the payment provider settings into here. Be sure to also select the "Allow all currencies" option that will appear as a toggle on this page.
Beyond this, the rest of the options are not important at this time. However, it can be worth going over them, in order to become aware of the control you have over the payments that will come through this channel.
Step Three: Create the API Keys
Now that you have the underlying settings correctly set up, we can create the API keys. If you already have an API key set up that you want to use, move to step four.
Please note that this feature is locked behind a Bokun Pro subscription - you will require Bokun Pro to continue.
Returning to the left-hand navigation menu in Bokun, you will now need to click the gear icon at the bottom of this menu to access your Bokun Settings. Once in the settings page, you will notice that the settings are grouped into "Settings" and "Other Settings" sections. Navigate to the "Other Settings" section, under which you will see the option API Keys, which should be the first option available to you.
In the API Keys settings screen, you will again see a blue button in the top right that says "Add".
After clicking the blue “Add” button, you will be asked to enter a title for this key. Make sure it is something memorable that you can easily identify as being for your Ice Floe site. There is a toggle for "Allow offline payment", which you will want to make sure is turned off (it should be off by default). The "User Role" should be left as Admin, and then finally, select the booking channel you created in step two as the booking channel.
Once the above details are entered, you can then press the blue "Save" button to create the keys.
Step Four: Connect the Keys
Once you have created the API key, or if you have an API key already set up that you want to use, then the next step is to get the keys and connect them.
Returning to the left-hand navigation menu in Bokun, you will now need to click the gear icon at the bottom of this menu to access your Bokun Settings. Once in the settings page, you will notice that the settings are grouped into "Settings" and "Other Settings" sections. You will want the "Other Settings" section, under which you will see the option API Keys, which should be the first option available to you.
From the API settings screen, you should see a list of all the available API keys that you currently have. Click the title of one that you have chosen to use with your Ice Floe site. You will now be brought to a screen that looks similar to the screen for creating the API keys, however now there will be additional information: namely, you will see that you now have access to the "Access Key" and "Secret Key". These are the Keys that you will need to paste into the Ice Floe Portal in the relevant area in order to connect to your Bokun account and start importing your inventory into your site.