A table is more than a seat count
A table has a shape, a size, a room or section, and a number that staff say out loud. Draw your rooms and tables once, so what is on the screen is the room people are standing in. If staff have to translate between a list and the floor, they will stop using the list.
Every booking holds a table for a length of time
A booking occupies its table from its start for a duration, and the table is free only when no other booking’s window overlaps. Two tools that define “free” differently will disagree: the booking form offers the table, the floor shows it taken, and you have a double-booking.
Two rules follow. A party still seated past its expected end keeps the table until you close the visit, because nobody knows when they will leave. And a cancelled booking, or one marked as a no-show, should release the table at once, so it can be sold again.
Join tables for one night, and let the join expire
A party of eight needs a six-top and a two-top pushed together. The right model is a join that lasts for one service: the chairs move rather than multiply, total seats stay the same, and the next morning the floor is back to the plan without anyone remembering to undo it.
Moving a table for a night, for an event or a private party, works the same way. The plan you drew is the default. Tonight is an exception.
Know what “tonight” means
A venue open from Friday 17:00 to Saturday 04:00 is still on Friday at 02:00. Software that flips its day at midnight splits your night in two: half the bookings on one date, half on the next. Ask which day a 01:30 booking belongs to.
Read the evening at a glance
You need two views. One for the night: requests waiting on one side, tables on the other, so seating a booking is putting it on a table. One for the week: a calendar by day, week and month, to see the gaps and the busy services before they arrive.
Then look back. Covers by day, no-show and cancellation rates and walk-ins for any date range tell you which services to tighten up. Reminders and a clear cancellation route are the usual first fix, and our no-show guide goes through them.
Leave room for walk-ins
Table management is also deciding which tables you do not book. Keep them visible on the plan so the person at the door can see what is free without asking. Be clear about what the software does not do: a waiting list that texts guests when a table opens is a separate feature, and many products do not have one.
What to ask in a demo
Seat a party of eight by joining two tables, then show me tomorrow. Move a table for one night. Show me what a 02:00 booking belongs to. Cancel a booking and show me the table free again. Open the floor on a phone, because that is where your team will use it.