Reservations

Admin Manager Cashier

Use this page to book a table for a guest ahead of time, and to seat them when they arrive.

Quick steps

To book in the admin:

1. Click Reservations in the top navigation, then click New Reservation.
2. Fill in the Customer Name, Table, Date, Time and Party Size. Add a Phone number and any Notes.
3. Click Create Reservation.

To book at the register:

1. Open the Tables screen and tap a green table, then tap Reserve Table.
2. Enter the Customer Name, pick the Date, tap a Time and set the Party Size.
3. Tap Confirm Reservation.

When the party arrives:

1. On the register's Tables screen, tap their table.
2. Pick the Server if the list shows, then tap Seat Reservation (it shows the guest's name).

info

Reservations are taken by your staff, by phone or in person. Guests can't book online, and no confirmation or reminder messages are sent.

Common questions

Why was my booking refused? A table can't be booked twice within 90 minutes. Pick another time or table.

The guest cancelled. Click Cancel next to the reservation and confirm. It stays on today's list marked Cancelled, and the table is free again.

The guest never showed up. Click Edit, set Status to No Show, and click Update Reservation.

Why can't I seat a walk-in at a table? A free table turns blue and Seat Table is greyed out when a reservation for it starts within 30 minutes. Seat the walk-in somewhere else.

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More detail: the Reservations page

Reservations hold a table for a guest at a set date and time. Managers can book and manage them in the admin, and staff can book a table and seat the party right from the register's Tables screen.

Reservations are part of table management. They use the tables you set up in Tables & Floor Plans, so add your tables first.

Taken by staff

Reservations are entered by your staff, by phone or in person. Guests can't book a table online, and Brother POS doesn't send confirmation or reminder messages for table reservations.

The Reservations Page

Click Reservations in the admin's top navigation. It's there once table management is switched on for your store, and it's open to admins and managers. The Floor Plans & Tables button at the top takes you to your floor plans.

The page has two lists:

• Today: every reservation for today, whatever its status, in time order. It shows the Time, Customer (with phone number), Party, Table, Status and Notes.
• Upcoming: the next 20 Confirmed reservations after right now, with their Date, Time, Customer, Party and Table.

The heading shows how many reservations there are today, such as "6 today".

More detail: booking in the admin

Booking a Reservation in the Admin

1. On the Reservations page, click New Reservation.

2. Fill in the form:

   Field	Notes
   Customer Name	Required.
   Phone	Optional. It shows under the name in the Today list, and on the register.
   Email	Optional.
   Table	Required. Each choice shows the table number and seats, such as "Table 4 (6 seats)".
   Date	Required. Starts on today.
   Time	Required.
   Party Size	Required. At least 1.
   Notes	Optional. Allergies, a birthday, a high chair.

3. Click Create Reservation.

New reservations are Confirmed.

One table, one booking at a time

A table can't be booked twice within 90 minutes. If Table 4 has a 7:00 PM reservation, a new booking for Table 4 at 6:00 PM or 8:00 PM is refused with This table already has a reservation within 90 minutes of that time. Pick another table or time. Cancelled and no-show reservations don't block the table.

The same check runs when you edit a reservation to a new table, date or time, or set a cancelled one back to Confirmed.

More detail: changing or cancelling a reservation

Changing a Reservation

Click Edit next to a reservation. You can change any field, then click Update Reservation.

The edit form also has a Status:

Status	Meaning
Confirmed	Booked and expected. Only confirmed reservations show in Upcoming and on the register.
Seated	The party has arrived and been seated. Set automatically when staff seat the reservation at the register.
Cancelled	The guest cancelled.
No Show	The guest didn't come.

Cancelling

Click Cancel next to a reservation and confirm. It's marked Cancelled and stays on record, so today's list still shows it with a red Cancelled badge. The table is free again for other bookings. Cancelled and no-show reservations don't have a Cancel link.

More detail: reservations at the register

Reservations at the Register

The register's Tables screen shows reservations on the floor plan. See Table Service at the Register for the rest of the Tables screen.

• A free table with a coming reservation shows the reservation's time in a small blue badge.
• Within 30 minutes of the reservation, the table turns blue and Seat Table is greyed out for walk-ins.

Tap the table to see the Upcoming Reservation: the guest's name, time, party size, phone number and notes.

Booking from the register

1. Tap a green (available) table.
2. Tap Reserve Table.
3. Enter the Customer Name, pick the Date, and tap a Time. Times run every 30 minutes from 10:00 AM to 10:30 PM. Times within 90 minutes of another booking for this table are crossed out.
4. Set the Party Size, and add a Phone number and Notes if you like.
5. Tap Confirm Reservation.

Tap Back to leave without booking.

Seating a reservation

When the party arrives:

1. Tap their table.
2. Check the Server.
3. Tap Seat Reservation (it shows the guest's name).

The table turns red and a tab opens named after the guest and table, for example "Smith - Table 4", with the party size as the number of guests. The reservation's status changes to Seated.

tip

The table has to be free to seat a reservation. If the previous guests are still there, or the table is waiting to be cleared, finish and clear that table first, or edit the reservation in the admin to move it to another table.

More detail: troubleshooting and best practices

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
No Reservations link in the admin	Table management isn't switched on for your store. Contact support.
Table must exist or the form asks you to select a table	Choose a Table. Every reservation needs one.
The table you want isn't in the Table list	Only active tables are listed. Inactive tables are in the table list on their floor plan, with a Reactivate button.
This table already has a reservation within 90 minutes of that time	Another confirmed or seated booking is too close. Choose a different time or table.
A reservation doesn't show in Upcoming	Upcoming only lists Confirmed reservations still to come, up to 20. Today's reservations are in the Today list.
A cancelled reservation isn't in Upcoming	Upcoming only lists confirmed reservations. Cancelled ones for today still show in the Today list.

Best Practices

• Always take a phone number. It shows on the Today list and on the register, so staff can call if the party is late.
• Put allergies and special occasions in Notes. Servers see them when they tap the table.
• Set No Show instead of cancelling when guests don't turn up, so today's list shows what really happened.
• Match party size to the table. The reservation form shows each table's seats.

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What's Next?

• Tables & Floor Plans: set up the tables you book.
• Table Service at the Register: seat guests, run the tab and clear the table.