In this article, you will find everything you need to know about Timeline Payment View: what it is, how to activate it, and how it works for your team and your guests.
Summary
What is Timeline Payment View and why use it?
How to activate Timeline Payment View
Troubleshooting & FAQs
💡What you need to know
Timeline Payment View adds two payment context indicators — Payment Options (prepayment or credit card hold) and Gift Cards — directly on each reservation card in your timeline. Both indicators are turned on by default, configurable per restaurant from the Reservation Display settings, and visible to anyone on your team with reservation access.
1. What is Timeline Payment View and why use it?
See exactly who has paid, who has a credit card on file, and who is redeeming a gift card — without leaving the timeline.
Before, your hosts had to open each reservation to check the payment status. Now, payment information appears directly on the timeline card so the floor team can scan the entire service in one glance and serve every guest with the right context — whether they prepaid an experience, secured their booking with a credit card hold, or are coming to redeem a gift voucher.
Available indicators:
• Payment Option — appears when a prepayment OR a credit card hold is on the reservation. The icon distinguishes the two, and the amount is shown next to it.
• Gift Card — appears when an active gift voucher is on the reservation. Hover the icon at any zoom level to reveal the amount.
What doesn’t change: how prepayments, credit card holds, and gift cards work today. Timeline Payment View only adds visibility — it doesn’t change payment configuration, refund flows, or guest-side behaviour.
2.How to activate Timeline Payment View
Both indicators are turned on by default for every restaurant. To change this:
Settings → Reserve → Area and Table → Timeline display
You’ll find two toggles:
• Display payment options — turns the prepayment / credit card hold indicator on or off
• Display gift cards — turns the gift card indicator on or off
The change applies immediately on the timeline for everyone using your restaurant.
3.Troubleshooting & FAQs
Common Issues
• I activated the toggle but no indicator appears on the card — the reservation must have a prepayment, credit card hold, or active gift voucher on it. If it doesn’t, no indicator shows. This is intentional — we don’t display empty placeholders.
• A timer covers the Payment Option indicator when a guest is Seated — that’s expected. The Seated timer overlays the tag during service. Once the guest leaves and the Seated state ends, the timer disappears and the Payment Option tag is fully visible again.
• My cards are very narrow and I can’t see the gift card amount — the gift card indicator collapses to an icon-only state on narrow cells. Hover the icon to reveal the amount.
• I don’t see the new toggles or any indicator — access depends on your role. Users on the minimal “mini” role won’t see Timeline Payment View. Ask your account admin if you need access.
FAQ
• Does Timeline Payment View change how prepayments or credit card holds work? No. It only changes what’s visible on the timeline. Payment products themselves work exactly as before.
• Who in my team can see the indicators? Users with reservation access (the resa ACL). Users on the minimal “mini” role won’t see the indicators or the settings toggles.
• Can each user choose to show or hide indicators individually? Not yet — the toggle is set per restaurant. All users at the restaurant see the same display.
• Do I need to be on a specific Zenchef plan? No. Timeline Payment View is available on all tiers. To see indicators, your restaurant needs to use at least one of: prepayments, credit card holds, or gift cards.
Related to