Table Services

Services enable restaurants to manage several aspects of their online booking system, including the ability to specify which tables are open for online reservations based on designated table areas, the availability of these services on particular days and during specific hours, and the option to request card details or deposits when customers make a booking. Additionally, services provide the flexibility to adjust the expected duration of dining covers and determine whether smaller parties can reserve larger tables.

Adding a Service

To create a new service after signing in to the Back Office select >Settings > Tables and then select Services and a list of the current services are displayed.

To create a new Service select the +New button.
Enter the Description of the Service

Note: This is the name that is displayed to customers on the online reservations widget. If only one service is configured this is not shown on the widget.

When Finished, select the Next button

Editing a Service

Select the Tables Area or multiple Areas where this service is available . This is a required field

Note: the table areas must be created before creating a service, please read the following article Table Areas

Enter the booking Interval in minutes for this service

e.g.

15 minute intervals allows reservations at 6:00 PM, 6:15 PM, 6:30 PM, 6:45 PM, 7:00 PM etc

30 minute intervals allows reservations at 6:00 PM, 6:30 PM, 7:00 PM etc

60 minute intervals allows reservations at 6:00 PM, 7:00 PM, 8:00 PM etc

If a configured package must be selected select Require Package

Note: Packages are products that can be pre-sold and used to determine which menu customers would like to have for a reservation. For example, options such as Tasting Menu, Early Bird, or A La Carte allow customers to choose specific menu offerings in advance.

Select the Time Profile that applies to for this Service. Time profile determines the days and times this service is available.

Note: A time profile must to be created first, please read the following article Time Profiles

Note: Exceptions can also be configured in the Time Profile for days when the restaurant is closed e.g. Christmas Day

Enter the Min Covers which is the smallest party size required for online bookings.
Enter the Max Covers which is the is the largest party size allowed for online bookings. Larger parties would have to call the restaurant directly to make a reservation as this can be overwritten on the point-of-sale at a user’s own discretion
Enter the Max Advance which is the maximum number of days ahead in the future for which reservations are permitted. For example this allows restaurants to only open online reservations for only up to one month at a time
Finally enter the default table Duration in minutes. The default Duration determines how long a table takes from seating to completion and then seating the next guests.

Note: Duration Rules based on the number of covers will overwrite this default duration.

Cancellation

The cancellation section outlines the procedures for managing cancellations within the system, including automatic cancellation policies for unconfirmed bookings, as well as the application of any card charges or deposits to customer cancellations.

Auto Cancel refers to the automatic cancellation of reservations if a guest has not confirmed the reservation within a set time frame, this time frame may begin either from the time a reservation was made or the time prior to their expected arrival. Select the tick-box if you want to automatically cancel unconfirmed reservations.
Enter the Time in minutes.

60 min = 1 hour
1440 min = 24 hours
10080 min = 1 week
20160 min = 2 weeks
43200 min = 30 days

Note: The system checks every 15 minutes for any reservations to be canceled so minimum Time must be greater than 15.

Select the Direction for the auto cancellation.

From Booking -Guests must confirm within the time set from when a reservation was made e.g. guests may have 24 hours to provide confirmation from the time they made their booking
From Arrival -Guests must confirm within the time prior to their expected arrival. e.g. guest must confirm one week before their reservation.

Note: If a reservation is made within the time frame entered these reservations are exempt from automatic cancellation. e.g. if guests must confirm within 24 hours but make their reservation on the same day their reservation will not be automatically canceled, likewise if a guest must confirm within one week before arrival and they book the day before their reservation will not be automatically canceled.

Select Min Cancellation time in minutes. This minimum cancellation time refers to the duration after which deposits become non-refundable or any saved credit cards are automatically billed in the event of a reservation cancellation or no show. e.g. If set as 1440 guests will not be entitled to a deposit refund or will have a no show fee applied to their stored card if they cancel their reservation less than 24 hours before their expected arrival.

Online

Online determines whether this service is available for the public to book online using the customer widget. If online bookings are not required for the service, simply leave this section blank.

Firstly, select the Accept Booking Online option. This will then allow the Service to be booked on the reservations widget.
FUTURE- If you want guests to be able to edit their own reservations online select Allow Booking Changes, this will allow guests to edit a booking from their confirmation email.
Prevent Booking Within, sets the minimum time in minutes that guests can book online before their requested reservation time.

e.g. If this is set as 60 minutes and the current time is 6:00 PM the next available reservation will be the first Interval after 7:00 PM

FUTURE- If Allow Booking Changes has been set Prevent changes Within determines the number of minutes before a booking that guests can make a change or cancel their booking online.

Communications

This section allows restaurants to customise automatic messages for customers and is designed to provide you with the flexibility to tailor communication according to your preferences.

Booking message: this is will be added to the confirmation email sent to the customer.
Terms & Conditions: This will let the public know the terms, rules and guidelines for booking a table with your organisation.
Reminder Message: Create a message that will be emailed to customers 24 hours before their expected arrival time.

Duration Rules

Duration rules specify time limits assigned to each reservation for a particular table size. These durations help manage and optimise the restaurant’s seating capacity by controlling the length of time a table is occupied for and fitting as many reservations into a service as possible.

To create a new Duration Rule select the +Add Rule button.
Enter the Minimum Covers
Enter the Maximum Covers

Note: It is important to ensure that any duration rules do not overlap the numbers of covers

Enter the Time Profile when this rule applies to

Note: Generally the Time Profile will be set the same as the Service time profile however it is possible to set multiple duration rules at certain times during a service by setting up additional time profiles

Enter the Duration length in minutes that any tables with the above rules are reserved for.

Note: Any time required to clean and prepare a table between reservations must be included in the duration time.

Rules

Additional rules can be applied to a service, these rules include Minimum and Maximum Covers, Table Size rules, Deposit rules, Credit Card rules and Maximum Capacity rules.

To create a new Rule select the +Add Rule button.
Select Enabled so that this rule will apply
Enter the Description for this rule

Choose the Type of rule

Min Covers- the minimum covers that can reserve
Max Covers- the maximum covers that can reserve
Table Size- the minimum covers that can be seated on each table size
Require Card- the number of covers above which card details are required to confirm a reservation
Require Deposit- the number of covers above which a deposit is required to confirm a reservation
Max Covers per Interval- the maximum number of covers that can book for each interval

Select the Time Profile that applies to this rule

Note: Generally the Time Profile will be set the same as the Service time profile however it is possible to set multiple duration rules at certain times during a service by setting up additional time profiles

Rules Examples


Table Size
This allows a restaurant to set table capacity rules to help which ensure that they maximise their seating capacity. This can stop small parties from being seated on larger capacity tables. This can be set by time profile so for example on busy days the capacity rule applies but on quieter days you can allow smaller parties to be seated on larger tables.
Note: This rule must be set for each Table size configured in your Table Area. This rule can be overwritten when manually taking reservations on the point-of-sale so that table sizes can be undersold or overfilled at a users own discretion
Require Card
This allows a restaurant to set whether card details are required based on a minimum number of covers and time profile. This can ensure that reservations for larger capacity tables will always be honored, reducing the likelihood of no-shows. This can be set for only certain time profiles for example busier times and can be set by the number of covers or based on the overall booking
Note: The amount entered for the Require Card rule will be automatically charged to a guests stored card if the table is canceled within the Cancellation time or if a table becomes a no show and is canceled
Require Deposit
This allows a restaurant to determine how much of a deposit is required based on a minimum number of covers and time. This can ensure that reservations for larger capacity tables will always be honored, reducing the likelihood of no-shows. This can be set for only certain time profiles for example busier times and can be set by the number of covers or based on the overall booking
Note: The deposit amount will not be refunded if the cancellation is within the set Cancellation time
Interval
This allows a restaurant to set a maximum number of covers that can be reserved online for the default Service Interval. This can ensure that reservations are staggered so that not all guests arrive at the same time and overwhelm the kitchen by ordering at the same time.
Note: This rule can be overwritten when manually taking reservations on the point-of-sale so that slots can be overfilled at a users own discretion