The dine-in difference
Counter service charges first and hands over a cup. Dine-in flips the whole order of operations: guests sit, a check stays open on the table through drinks and dessert, the kitchen gets courses in the right rhythm, and payment comes last. Table service mode is the app rebuilt around that flow, Table Service: "Seat guests, open checks, hold tabs open."
Build your floor plan (one-time)
Open Floor Plan. First visit prompts you: "Place tables on your floor plan so you can start seating guests.", take the Add Tables Now path; a floor plan with no tables can't seat anyone.
Place your tables. Shapes match reality, Circle, Rectangle, Oval, Bar, drag them where they actually stand, and Fit to Screen keeps the whole room in view.
Got a phone with a camera? Scan Room can capture the room's real dimensions and give your plan honest proportions.
Make it match the physical room, not an idealized one. Servers glance at this screen mid-rush; it works when the third table on the left IS the third table on the left.
The nightly rhythm
Seat. Party walks in, tap their table, Seat Guests, a check opens on that table and stays open.
Order in courses. Items carry a course, Appetizer, Entrée, Dessert, Beverage, so the kitchen fires food in eating order, not typing order. Hold a course, fire it when the table's ready.
Send to kitchen. The ticket lands on your kitchen printer or display (both have their own guides) with the table and server on it.
Watch the board. Table colors tell the floor at a glance: Vacant, Reserved, Sent, Paid, Dirty, and Open Checks lists every table with a running tab.
Pay after the meal. Close the check at the end, the payment screen brings the tip step (that guide's live) and Split Check for the "we're splitting it" table.
If something's off
- "Seat guests at a table to start a new check", checks belong to tables in this mode. Seat the party first; the check follows.
- Can't edit the floor plan. Your business day is open, close the batch first. Tables are in use during service, on purpose.
- You're actually a food truck or counter spot. Switch the service model in Settings → store operations, but "Open table checks must be closed and paid before switching to counter service." Settle the room, then flip. The counter-service guide covers the other mode.
- A table's stuck Dirty. That's the bus-and-reset state, mark it available once it's cleaned and it returns to Vacant.