Inventory Hub

The Inventory Hub is the main place to plan and operate inventory in Sponsy. It combines every publication, placement, open slot, booking, block, and deal hold in one workspace.

Open the Inventory Hub

What happened to the old Inventory and Calendar pages?

Deprecation notice: The legacy Publications page and the old publication-specific Ad Inventory and Calendar page were retired on August 1, 2026. Their links were removed from the left sidebar, the old pages are no longer accessible, and there is no option to restore or switch back to the previous Calendar view.

If your calendar looks different or the Calendar link has disappeared from the left sidebar, this is expected. Open Inventory from the left sidebar instead. Your publications, placements, schedules, slots, bookings, and availability were not deleted; they are all available in the Inventory Hub. Use the publication selector to focus on one publication, then choose List, Calendar, Timeline, or Table for the view you need.

Understand the inventory model

• A publication is a newsletter, podcast, website, or other property that carries inventory.
• A placement is a sellable ad position within a publication.
• A slot is one placement on a specific date or date range.
• Available slots can be booked. Unavailable slots fall outside the placement's schedule.
• A booked slot shows its advertiser and workflow status. It can also show its deal, tags, assignee, price, custom fields, or task progress.
• A blocked slot is deliberately unavailable. A deal hold reserves capacity for a deal before a slot is booked.

Publication headers summarize booked slots, open slots, and booked revenue for the visible period. Financial totals are hidden for team members without permission to view financials.

Choose your scope

Use the selector beside Inventory to move between two scopes:

• All publications gives you a portfolio view across the workspace. Use it to compare availability, spot gaps, and act across publications.
• One publication focuses the hub on that publication. Newsletter and podcast publications open in List by default. Website publications open in Timeline because their slots can span date ranges.

The selector is searchable and shows a 30-day snapshot for each publication. Choose New publication at the bottom of the selector to add one. To archive or restore a publication, open Settings → Publications.

Pick the view for the job

The four view buttons share the same scope, date, and filters. Switching views changes how the same inventory is presented.

List

Use List for day-to-day operations. In a single publication, dates form rows and placements form columns, so you can work through bookings and open capacity in sequence. Choose Show rest of month when you need more than the initially visible dates.

At the all-publications scope, List becomes a chronological agenda of booked slots. Use the date filters to control the range.

Calendar

Use Calendar to answer what is booked and what is still open.

• Day shows the selected day's inventory in detail.
• Week shows publications and placements together in a seven-day grid.
• Month, 2 Months, Quarter, and Year show portfolio capacity at progressively wider planning horizons.

Longer calendar ranges display the booked-to-total capacity for each day. The legend distinguishes empty, partially booked, full, blocked, and deal-held inventory. Select a day to inspect its slots.

Timeline

Use Timeline for campaign and flight planning across Week, Month, Quarter, or Year.

Website bookings appear as continuous bars across their start and end dates. Newsletter and podcast bookings appear as individual ticks. Dashed bars represent deal holds, and the vertical line marks today.

Table

Use Table when you need operational detail. Sort booked slots and use Columns to show or hide fields such as date, customer, publication, placement, deal, status, tags, assignee, and price.

Navigate dates and ranges

Choose Today to return to the current period. Use the arrows to move backward or forward, or select the displayed date to jump to another date.

You can also use these single-key shortcuts when you are not typing in a field:

• D for Day
• W for Week
• M for Month
• 2 for 2 Months
• Q for Quarter
• Y for Year

Only shortcuts supported by the current view are active.

Filter inventory

Choose Add filter to reveal only the controls you need. The portfolio scope includes filters for Publications, Placement, Status, Availability, Tags, Assignee, Created by, Sales rep, and Customers.

The List view also offers After date, Before date, and Days. When you focus on one publication, filterable publication custom fields become available too.

Added filters appear as controls in the toolbar. You can change their values, remove one filter, or reset all filters. Filters carry across views so you can inspect the same result as a calendar, timeline, list, or table.

Customize slot cards

Choose the gear icon on a card-based view to open Customize slot card. Select a position in the live preview, then choose what it should display.

Shared choices include advertiser name, status, deal name, tags, placement, advertiser category, and task progress. Publication custom fields are also available. You can save a layout for the current publication or apply a shared layout to all publications. If a publication does not contain a chosen custom field, that position stays blank.

Book slots

You can start a booking in three ways:

1. Choose Book slots in the top-right corner.
2. Select an available cell, then choose Book slot from the selection bar.
3. Select several available cells to book them together.

The booking panel requires at least one date and placement. You can also add a customer, status, deal, tags, assignee, pricing, a copy and assets due date, and publication custom fields. Choose Create flight when you want to build a sequence of dates for a campaign.

If the customer does not exist yet, choose Add beside Customer. A selected customer gets a direct link to its Customer Portal. Deals can belong to the customer or to a directly related parent or child customer.

Set a flat price or choose a dynamic pricing model such as CPM or CPC. The due date appears in the Customer Portal and can trigger reminders through Automations.

Open and manage a booked slot

Select a booked card or table row to open its details. The slot panel contains:

• Details for dates, customer, status, deal, tags, assignee, price, due date, and custom fields. Changing the slot date updates the due date automatically: the publication default when one is set, otherwise the same business-day gap. Weekend due dates snap to the previous weekday.
• Content for the copy and assets configured by the placement. Use Reuse assets to pull content from an earlier slot for the same customer.
• Metrics for manual or ESP-synced performance. Podcast slots can also store an episode URL for Apple Podcasts and Spotify previews.
• Activity for the change history, private team comments, and public comments shared through the Customer Portal.

Choose Next beside the status to advance a slot to the next status in the publication workflow.

Work with multiple slots

Use the checkbox in the corner of a slot to select it. As soon as you select a slot, an action bar appears at the bottom of the Inventory Hub. The available actions depend on whether you selected open or booked slots. A selection cannot mix open and booked slots: selecting a slot of the other type clears the current selection and switches the action bar. Choose Clear at any time to cancel the selection without changing anything.

Take action on open slots

Select one or more available slots when you want to reserve capacity, build a sales opportunity, share dates, or make dates unavailable.

• Book slots opens the booking panel with every selected date and placement already added. Complete the customer, status, deal, tags, assignee, pricing, due date, and custom fields, then create the bookings together.
• Create deal starts a new deal with one draft item for each selected date. The publication, placement, and date are prefilled. Add the deal name, customer, status, sales rep, prices, and any other details before creating it.
• Create proposal starts a proposal using the selected dates as its inventory items. Use this when the dates are candidates for an advertiser but should not be booked yet.
• Copy dates copies the selected dates to your clipboard. You can paste them into an email, proposal, note, chat, or any other text field.
• Block dates makes the selected slots unsellable. Select a reason so teammates can understand the block directly from the calendar.

When blocking dates, choose Holiday, House ad / internal, Editorial / no ads, Maintenance, Sold off-platform, or Other. The selected reason appears on the calendar. Blocking availability does not create a booking or deal.

Take action on booked slots

Select one or more booked slots to reveal the booked-slot actions. You can select bookings in the all-publications scope when you need to update inventory across several publications at once.

• Edit slots opens one editor for the complete selection. Use it to update dates, customer, status, deal, tags, assignee, price, copy and assets due date, or custom fields. Fields with different existing values are marked Multiple values so you can tell which information is not shared by every selected booking. Review the selection and choose Save to apply the edits.
• Swap moves one booking to another available date or exchanges two selected bookings within the same publication. It is available for one or two bookings selected in a calendar or grid view. Review the source and destination at the top of the dialog, use the calendar to choose the destination when needed, optionally add a comment, and choose Save.
• Duplicate copies one booked slot. This action is available when exactly one booking is selected in a calendar or grid view; select the new date and placement in the duplicate flow before saving.
• Copy dates copies the selected booking dates to your clipboard without changing the bookings.
• Delete removes all selected bookings after you review and confirm the deletion.

The bulk editor keeps every selected date visible at the top. If the selected bookings have different customers, statuses, assignees, prices, or other values, the corresponding fields show their mixed state until you replace it.

The swap dialog shows both bookings before you save the exchange. For a move to an open slot, use its calendar and placement list to choose a valid destination. Enable Allow any unscheduled date only when the booking should fall outside the publication's normal schedule.

Publication tools inside the hub

When you focus on one publication, the header adds Slots, Metrics, Revenue Recognition, and Settings. Use Publication settings to control the schedule, placements, statuses, custom fields, notifications, integrations, ad blocks, and task templates that drive the Inventory Hub.

Publication settings

Open the Inventory Hub, select one publication, and choose Settings. These settings define the availability, workflow, and content structure used throughout the hub.

Basics

Update the publication's type, name, and categories.

Schedule

The publication schedule determines which dates and placements are available in the Inventory Hub. Choose a Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly frequency.

Weekly schedule

For weekly schedules, you can specify the exact days your publication runs. Additionally, you can adjust the frequency:

• Every Week: The publication runs on the selected days without interruption.
• Every X Weeks: If your publication follows a less frequent schedule (e.g. every 2 weeks), you can set a reference date to establish the starting point. Sponsy will use this date as the "base week" to calculate subsequent schedules.

Monthly schedule

For publications that run monthly, the reference date determines the pattern. Once you select a date (e.g. Thursday, January 30, 2025), you can choose how the schedule repeats:

• On the 30th of every month.
• On the fifth Thursday of the month.
• On the last Thursday of the month.

This flexibility ensures your schedule aligns perfectly with your content calendar.

Yearly schedule

If your publication runs just once a year, you can select the exact date it occurs by choosing a reference date.

These settings keep the Inventory Hub aligned with the publication's real schedule.

Block dates

Add blocked dates when you know the publication or placement will not run, such as on a holiday. Blocked dates appear as unavailable in the Inventory Hub and cannot be booked.

Default due date

Save time by setting a default Due Date for slots in your publication. It is applied to new slots and whenever a booked slot is moved to a new date.

Placements

A placement is a sellable ad position within a publication. Its settings control availability, pricing, content requirements, and how the placement appears throughout Sponsy.

When creating a placement, here’s what you can define:

• Name: Every placement needs a name to identify it.
• Color: Assign a color to make it visually distinct in your weekly calendar.
• Base Price: Enable the Use base price toggle if you want all slots in this placement to default to a specific price when no custom price is set.
• Scheduling: For publications running on a weekly schedule, you can specify which days of the week this placement is available. This is especially useful for placements that are tied to specific publication days.
• Placement Groups: If you have multiple identical placements, toggle the Create a placement group option. This allows you to create several identical placements at once. For example, if you have a "Bottom Quick Links" section with multiple ad slots, you can define how many identical placements should be created.
• Customer Portal Description: You can add a short description for the Customer Portal. This text will appear on slots from this placement, helping advertisers understand its purpose or requirements.

Configure placements carefully so customers see clear requirements and the Inventory Hub reflects your actual capacity.

Setting up content fields

The next step is to configure the Content Fields. These fields determine what information or assets are required for ads in that placement. Sponsy provides several field types to choose from:

• Rich Text: Ideal for long-form content, allowing formatting options like bold, italics, and hyperlinks.
• Short Text: A single-line input, perfect for concise entries like CTAs or headlines.
• File: For uploading assets such as images or other media files.
• URL: Specifically designed to capture links.
• Single select: A dropdown where the customer chooses one option from a predefined list.
• Multi-select: A structured list where the customer can choose multiple options.
• Collection: A repeatable group of fields, useful when customers need to submit several related items, such as multiple products, links, or creative variations.

You can also organize related content fields into groups. Field groups keep larger placement forms easier to scan in Sponsy, the Customer Portal, and Storefront.

Content field options

Use these options to control which fields customers can see and what they must provide.

Choose the gear icon beside a field to configure its behavior in customer-facing pages such as the Storefront and Customer Portal:

• Helper Text: Add a brief description or guidelines for the field (e.g., "Provide a link to your landing page"). This appears beneath the label for better clarity.
• Character or Word Limits: In Rich Text and Short Text fields, you can set maximum character or word limits to ensure concise input. Leave it blank for no limit.
• File Size: For File fields, specify the maximum allowed file size in MB.
• Required: Makes the field mandatory for completion for customers.
• Locked: Prevents customers from editing the field.
• Private: Hides the field to customers, making it visible only to your internal team.
• Public visibility: Choose whether a field should appear in customer-facing flows such as the Customer Portal or Storefront.

By customizing these fields, you can ensure each placement captures exactly the information needed, streamlining the process for both your team and advertisers.

Statuses

Statuses define the stages a slot moves through. Add, remove, reorder, rename, or recolor statuses to match your workflow. The current status appears on booked cards throughout the Inventory Hub.

Custom fields

Custom fields provide flexibility by allowing you to add specific attributes to your slots. These can be tailored to meet the unique needs of your publication or workflow.

• Text: Store freeform notes, descriptions, or labels.
• Dropdown: Choose from a predefined list of options and set a default when needed.

Custom fields appear on every slot, giving you the ability to track additional details such as payment terms, campaign status, or any other relevant information.

Deal custom fields and publication custom fields can also be used as variables in automation emails and Slack messages. See Automations for details.

Notifications

Notifications help you stay on top of your publication's workflow and ensure seamless communication with your team and customers.

You can toggle default notification settings for each publication. If you’ve connected a domain to Sponsy, you can also configure all communications to be sent from your domain and default workspace email. This makes your messages more reliable and personal, enhancing your brand's professionalism.

Here’s an example of the available notification options:

• Send email to the slot assignee when a slot gets approved: When a slot is approved in the Customer Portal, Sponsy emails the assigned team member or, if no assignee is set, the user who created the slot.

ESP

If you’ve connected an ESP in your workspace integrations, you can link it to this specific publication.

By doing this, you can:

• Fetch Metrics Easily: Use the sync button on the metrics tab to pull in performance data with just one click.
• Automate Fetching: Leverage automations to schedule automatic metric updates, ensuring your data stays up-to-date effortlessly.

Link tracking

Link tracking lets Sponsy add consistent query parameters to sponsor links when slot content is saved. This helps your team avoid manual UTM cleanup and keeps each click tied back to the right publication, placement, deal, slot, and sponsor.

To set it up, open the publication settings and go to Link Tracking. From there you can:

• Turn link tracking on for the publication.
• Define the parameters Sponsy should add to sponsor links.
• Use dynamic values such as publication slug, placement slug, parent placement ID, deal ID, slot ID, and sponsor name.
• Choose what happens when a link already contains query parameters: append new values, overwrite existing values, or leave the link unchanged.

When link tracking is enabled, Sponsy applies the configured parameters when slot content is saved. The preview shows how the final URL will look before you apply changes.

If you update the publication settings after many slots already exist, use the bulk link update flow to update matching slot links and tracking links in one job. Bulk updates are recorded in the slot activity history so your team can see which links changed and when.

Ad blocks

This is an advanced feature which requires some technical knowledge. If you feel stuck, please contact us!

Ad Blocks are text or HTML templates used to preview your ads within Sponsy.

You can create multiple Ad Blocks for each placement, customize the HTML content to match the template you're using for ads, and select an existing slot to see a live preview.

You can also import an ad block from an existing source. Upload HTML, paste a newsletter URL, or provide a screenshot so Sponsy can draft the block from the real example instead of requiring you to rebuild it by hand.

HTML variables suggestions

When editing the Ad Block Content field, type $ to view the available variables you can use. The list includes the selected placement fields and additional options to customize your final ad.

Styling

To generate a more accurate preview, you can add the HTML <head> tag from your newsletter. This helps Sponsy render a more realistic preview by applying your newsletter’s styles. Don’t worry—this data is only used for preview purposes and won’t be included in the final ad HTML when used outside of Sponsy.

Chrome extension workflow

The Chrome extension can help you work with Sponsy ad blocks from external tools. Use it to find inventory, copy ad block HTML, and keep placement content aligned with the slot in Sponsy.

If your team uses beehiiv, the extension also includes a beehiiv-specific workflow for copying ad blocks directly into the beehiiv editor.

Task templates

Configure the tasks that Sponsy should create with every new slot. Use this for repeatable SOPs with predefined steps, due dates, tags, and assignments.

For each task, assign one or more team members, add tags, and set a due date relative to the slot date.

When a new slot is created for the publication, Sponsy creates the configured tasks automatically.