# Reservations

> Bookings from creation to seating, with deposits, no-show handling and email reminders.

Source: https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/reservations

Section: Run service

Sofra’s reservation engine decides in one place whether a table is free, so bookings made from the POS, the online booking page, reschedules, walk-ins, the waitlist and table merges can never overbook the same table.

> **Available on Basic and above:** Reservations are available from Basic. The public booking page needs Pro.

_Screenshot: The reservations calendar in Day view, by table._

## Create a reservation

Go to **Floor & Tables → Reservations** and choose **New Reservation**.

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Customer | Search an existing customer or type a name, phone and email. Different names on the same phone number trigger a warning. |
| Date and start time | Must be within the branch’s opening hours and not in the past. |
| Duration | 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 or 3 hours. Default 90 minutes. |
| Guests | Party size. |
| Occasion | None, birthday, anniversary, business dinner or other. |
| Source | POS, phone, website, QR or WhatsApp. |
| Table | Choose a table, or **Auto-assign best available table**. Optionally filter by floor area. |
| Special requests and internal notes | Requests are the guest’s; internal notes are for staff only. |

_Screenshot: The New Reservation form with auto-assign._

Auto-assign picks the **best-fit** table (least wasted seats). For groups larger than any one free table, Sofra suggests **combinations** of tables (pairs first, then triples) in the same area.

## What makes a table available

- The table is not blocked or out of service (a block with an end time stops applying when it ends).
- The party fits its capacity (staff can override with a reason).
- The dining area is not closed on that date.
- The window is inside the branch’s opening hours and not on a closed day. Overnight hours are supported.
- No other active reservation overlaps, counting a **cleaning buffer** after each booking (default 15 minutes).
- The table is not part of an active merge.
- If the table is physically busy right now, it only blocks bookings that start in the next 30 minutes, so an 8 pm booking is fine even if the table is occupied at 6 pm.
- A party still seated past its booked end keeps the table until it leaves.

## Lifecycle

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Created, awaiting confirmation (online bookings start here). |
| Confirmed | Staff confirmed it. |
| Arrived | The guest is at the restaurant. |
| Seated | Seated at a table. |
| Ordering / Dining / Bill | Progress while the party is at the table. |
| Completed | Finished. |
| Cancelled | Cancelled, with a reason. |
| No-show | The guest never came and staff recorded it. |
| Expired | Never arrived and was closed automatically (see below). |

1. **Confirm.** Marks a pending booking as confirmed.
2. **Arrive.** Marks the guest as arrived. Sofra warns if they are early or late, if the booking is not for today, or if the table is not ready yet.
3. **Seat.** Seats the party at the booked or a chosen table (today only), optionally with the real guest count and a waiter. Overriding capacity needs a written reason. The table becomes occupied.
4. **Create order.** Opens a dine-in order on the table, linked to the reservation, ready for items.
5. **Complete.** When the order finishes the reservation completes and the table frees up for cleaning.

## Moving and changing bookings

- Edit date, time, table, duration or party size; Sofra re-checks availability atomically, so a change either succeeds fully or is refused.
- **Drag and drop** a booking on the calendar to move it.
- A booking can be **combined** with other tables for a large party, and a **waiter** can be assigned.
- Cancelling a seated party is refused, and cancelling is idempotent.

## Calendar views

The calendar offers **Day**, **Week** and **Month** views, can group by **table** or by **area**, and is colour-coded by status. The reservations list has filters for area, status and date.

## Deposits

- A customer flagged as high-risk (see below) is asked for a **deposit** when booking online. The default is 10 per guest.
- Staff record a deposit payment against the reservation (method, amount, reference). It is marked paid once it covers the required amount.
- Changing or cancelling **within 24 hours** of the start is restricted when a deposit is paid: changes need manager approval, and cancelling forfeits the deposit. Outside that window cancelling makes a **refund due**, which a manager marks refunded.
- A no-show always forfeits a paid deposit.

## No-shows, expiry and guest risk

- A booking still pending or confirmed **30 minutes after its start** (in the branch’s timezone) is **expired** automatically and counted as a no-show. The check runs every five minutes.
- Each no-show raises the customer’s count: **2 no-shows** make them medium risk, **4** high risk, and any risk above low requires a deposit.
- **5 no-shows** restrict the customer from booking online for **7 days**; they are told to call instead.
- Staff can also record a no-show by hand. Cancellations are counted separately.

## Guest emails

If the guest’s email is on the booking, Sofra sends a **confirmation**, a **reminder** shortly before the booking (retried up to three times), an **update** when it changes and a **cancellation** notice. A failed email never blocks a booking; the failure is stored on the reservation so staff can phone the guest instead.

## Bookings that need a new table

If a table is blocked or taken out of service after being booked, the affected bookings are flagged **needs reassignment** so staff can move them to another table.