# Reservation Setup Checklist

Use this checklist in order. It starts with physical inventory, then controls
demand, then opens the guest journey.

## 1. Prepare the venue

- Confirm the venue address, timezone, contact details, and published site.
- Create the intended seating tables with their actual capacities and
  automatic-use modes.
- Mark only genuine seats as available for reservations.
- Create table combinations for layouts staff can actually join in service.
- Check that floor-plan areas and tables match the host team's language.

See [Tables & Allocation](/reservations/tables-and-allocation).

## 2. Set the booking rules

- Review settings in draft before making them live. With Reservations off in the
  draft, several tabs are disabled; set the draft switch as needed to access
  configuration, then review all intended changes before saving. Do not publish
  unfinished setup or disable a live service merely to edit one rule.
- Set the normal booking duration, slot interval, advance window, and online
  party-size range.
- Choose the inbox that receives enquiries.
- Decide whether guests may choose a seating area.
- Add reservation tags your team will use consistently.

See [Reservation Settings](/reservations/reservation-settings).

## 3. Describe what guests can book

If every booking is the same, the built-in **Standard** offering is enough.
Otherwise choose a preset or add offerings such as Food & drinks, Drinks only,
or Tasting menu. Keep one active, guest-selectable default.

Add spaces only when a distinct room, group flow, or private-hire footprint
needs its own rules. Ordinary table reservations do not need a space.

For private hire, configure the offering first, then each space's seated and
optional standing capacity, complete inventory footprint, allocation mode,
request/direct/enquiry flow, and setup/clear-down. Set a dedicated event
duration on the offering when it should not inherit normal table turn times.

See [Offerings](/reservations/offerings) and
[Rooms, Groups & Private Hire](/reservations/spaces-and-private-hire).

## 4. Protect service capacity

- Add every bookable shift and its first and last arrival slots.
- Add an optional last-order message and venue closing time.
- Set realistic turn times by party size.
- Set total shift, concurrent-cover, and rolling pacing limits where needed.
- Review busy days separately; pacing should reflect kitchen and host capacity,
  not only the number of chairs.

See [Shifts, Pacing & Turn Times](/reservations/shifts-pacing-and-turn-times).

## 5. Set commercial policies

- Decide whether a deposit is charged upfront.
- Decide whether to hold a card for late-cancellation and no-show fees.
- Write clear guest-facing cancellation and change messages.
- Set cancellation and modification cutoffs.
- Review any shift-specific policy overrides.
- Add known closures and one-off service dates.
- For paid experiences, verify menu items, promotion, refund terms, and
  final-bill treatment.

See
[Deposits, Cancellations & Changes](/reservations/deposits-cancellations-and-changes).
See
[Special Days & Paid Experiences](/reservations/special-days-and-experiences)
for holidays and date-specific packages.

## 6. Configure walk-ins and full services

- Enable the waitlist if you accept walk-ins.
- Set an optional waitlist party-size range.
- Enable **Notify me when full** only if you want availability alerts for
  sold-out searches.
- Train staff on the difference between notifying a waitlist party and an
  availability alert.

See [Waitlist & Availability Alerts](/reservations/waitlist).

## 7. Test before publishing

Use an agreed test environment and owned test records where possible. Review the
saved enabled state and test the intended guest entry:

- smallest, typical, and largest online party sizes;
- each guest-selectable offering and space;
- first and last slot of each shift;
- a closed date and a custom special-service date;
- direct confirmation, request, and enquiry flows;
- deposit or card collection where required;
- private-hire request card saving, acceptance charge, venue decline, and a
  simulated failed acceptance charge;
- private-hire full-day availability against overlapping regular bookings and
  setup/clear-down buffers;
- paid experience, included-item order handoff, and linked promotion;
- guest modification and cancellation links;
- a full slot with **Notify me when full** enabled;
- waitlist join, table-ready notification, and seating;
- booking and waitlist visibility in both Console and App.

Confirm that emails or text messages contain the right venue, time, status, and
policy. Review results with the manager and clean up only the owned test
artifacts through supported workflows. Do not delete live guest or financial
history as a generic cleanup. Review
[Troubleshooting](/reservations/troubleshooting), then verify the intended
published Reservations state and links.