Shifts, Pacing and Turn Times
Console: Settings → Location settings → Reservations → Shifts. Shifts define
bookable service windows. Capacity and pacing then protect the floor, host team,
bar, and kitchen from more demand than they can serve well.
Shift schedule
Each shift can set:
- name and operating weekdays;
- optional valid-from and valid-through dates;
- first and last guest arrival slots;
- optional last-order time and guest-facing last-order note;
- venue closing time; and
- shift-specific deposit or cancellation-fee overrides.
The last slot is an arrival time, not the end of service. If the next shift
starts at that same time, the current editor says that booking belongs to the
next shift. If a closing time is set, the full booking duration must finish by
it.
Use date ranges for seasonal services or one-off schedules instead of repeatedly
editing a permanent shift.
Turn times
A matching shift party-size turn-time rule takes priority. Without one, the
offering duration applies when set, then the venue default. Check the returned
booking duration and occupancy, including private events. Turn-time rules let
larger parties stay longer, for example:
| Party size | Example turn time |
|---|
| 1–2 | 90 minutes |
| 3–4 | 105 minutes |
| 5–6 | 120 minutes |
| 7+ | 150 minutes |
These are examples, not TablePort defaults. Use actual service data and include
enough time for payment and departure. Space setup and clear-down are added
outside the guest duration.
Three capacity controls
| Control | What it limits | Use it to protect |
|---|
| Total shift guests | All booked guests across the shift | Overall service volume |
| Concurrent covers | Guests in overlapping active bookings | Dining-room occupancy and floor workload |
| Rolling pacing | Weighted covers arriving within a moving time window | Kitchen, bar, host, and pass workload |
Rolling pacing
Set a maximum number of pacing covers per window, from 1 to 720 minutes. The
window rolls with every candidate arrival; it is not divided into fixed clock
buckets. Moving a booking or changing party size is checked against the same
rule as a new booking.
Offering weights adjust only rolling pacing. Four guests on a 0.5 drinks-only
offering contribute 2 pacing covers; four guests on a 1.5 menu contribute 6.
They still occupy four real seats and count as four concurrent covers.
An exclusive hire configured as Dedicated event — use space capacity does
not consume these three normal-service limits. Use that mode only when the event
has a separate service plan. Its table footprint, opening hours, setup,
clear-down, and overlap checks always remain enforced.
A practical tuning method
- Set correct tables and turn times first.
- Add a concurrent-cover ceiling if physical or staffing capacity is below the
total seats available.
- Add rolling pacing where arrival bursts cause recurring service pressure.
- Use offering weights only for a repeatable, material load difference.
- Review dashboard and daily-report outcomes, then change one control at a
time.
Avoid using every maximum simply because it exists. A shift with accurate table
inventory and turn times may need only pacing; another may need all three.
Validate a shift
Test its first arrival, last arrival, booking finish before closing, parties on
both sides of every turn-time threshold, overlapping covers, and several
arrivals inside one rolling window. Also test any shift-specific payment policy.
If a valid-looking slot is missing, use
Troubleshooting.
Special-day precedence
An exact special-day override replaces weekly reservation shifts for its date.
Use it to close a bank holiday or set one-off hours and offerings. Overnight
service remains attached to the date on which it opened. See
Special Days & Paid Experiences.
Save and review conflicts
Review Custom offerings against inherited, only-selected, or all-except
choices. A default that is unavailable for the party can fall back to another
eligible offering; a configured label alone is not proof it can be booked. Check
shift overrides for deposits and cancellation fees separately.
Save, reopen, and verify first/last arrivals, overnight dates, closing time,
turn-time thresholds, and offering eligibility through an agreed safe test. A
pacing warning shown to staff differs from an actual table conflict. Preserve
existing configuration after failed loading or saving, and inspect the same
records before repeating changes.