In this article, you will find instructions to activate and configure Table Inventory in Zenchef. This feature allows you to manage your restaurant's availability based on your table plan, and therefore your actual capacity.
Contents
- Activate Table Inventory from the web application
- Activate Table Inventory from the iOS application.
- Common cases & FAQs
What you need to know
Table Inventory calculates your restaurant's availability based on the tables or groupings of tables available. This helps you avoid overbookings and better optimise your occupancy.
The software will automatically place your new reservations on the plan according to the available tables, their capacity, and the defined placement rules.
Without activation, the tool will calculate your stock based on the maximum number of covers defined in your typical services.
1. Activate Table Inventory from the web application
To activate Table Inventory effectively, follow the steps below in the indicated order.
Go to the tab Settings > Reserve > Operations > Tables
In this Tables tab, create your rooms: Detailed article
Add the tables of your room plan: Detailed article
Be sure to correctly define the minimum and maximum capacity of each table.
If you want a table for 2 to only accommodate 2 people, set both Min and Max to 2.
Conversely, if you want a table for 4 to also be bookable by 3 people, set Min to 3 and Max to 4.
Configure the table groupings:
Table groupings allow the software to understand possible table combinations. A reservation for 6 people can thus be assigned to a group of 2 tables (4PAX and 2PAX)
Return to the Tables tab
On the relevant room, click on the "Table Groups" icon:
Click on "New grouping"
Select the tables that can be combined.
Define the name of the grouping (for example: "Table 1 + 2")
Define the minimum and maximum number of covers that can be accommodated on the grouping.
Example 1: you group 3 tables of 2 to accommodate a reservation of 5 to 6 people.
Example 2: you group 2 tables of 4 to accommodate a reservation of 7 to 9 people.Click Create to save
5. Define assignment preferences
Assignment preferences tell the software in which order tables should receive reservations.
Still in the Tables tab, click the Assignment button
-
Tables contain the following information:
Relevant room
Capacity in number of people
Bookable (white) or Non-Bookable (black)
Arrange the desired assignment order by selecting and dragging the tables.
6. Activate Table Inventory:
Return to the configuration page of the room plan.
Check the "Table Inventory" box, and validate.
7. Associate your rooms with your services.
Thanks to table stock, you can now choose which rooms you want to make bookable for each of your services. For example, open your Indoor and Terrace rooms for Lunch, and only the Indoor for Dinner.
Go to your Schedule, modify the service, and adjust the section dedicated to Rooms.
3. Activate Table Inventory from the iOS application.
Table Inventory configuration is also available on the iOS application. Find the dedicated tabs under Settings > Reservations > Rooms and tables. Then follow the detailed process above.
However, for an optimal experience, it is recommended to perform this operation from a computer, via the Web application.
4. Common issues & FAQs
Common cases
Tables are not automatically assigned to reservations.
Make sure the "Activate table stock" box is checked, as this allows automatic assignment.
The table assignment does not match my restaurant's capacity.
Check your room plan settings. The minimum and maximum capacity of your tables and groupings must be perfectly configured.
FAQ
Why do my reservations exceed the number of available tables?
This may be due to table turnover, which is managed by the software according to the configured meal durations. Check the list of meal durations in your Services.