Which table booking software do UK restaurants use?
A restaurant needs a booking module tied to its floor plan, not a plain calendar. A calendar tells you 25 guests are coming at 8pm; a floor plan tells you whether a table for six is free at that time.
Short answer
- Look for a booking module tied to the floor plan, linking each booking to a specific table.
- All bookings should sit in one list you can see from the same application.
- It should show which tables are free and which are booked at each time.
- It should sit in the same application as your menu and table orders.
- Contact details in a booking are personal data under UK GDPR, used only for that booking.
What the software must do
- Show the floor plan, with free and booked tables for each time slot.
- Let you pick a table of the right size.
- Show bookings by day and by time slot.
- Cover more than one room or terrace, each with its own tables.
- Keep the party size and time on every booking.
- Live in the same application as the menu and orders.
What the law says
- Names, phone numbers and emails in a booking are personal data under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
- A reminder for an existing booking is a service message; marketing needs separate consent under PECR.
- State cancellation terms before confirming, and check any fee wording with a solicitor.
A practical example
Example: a 60-cover restaurant with 25 Friday bookings. Each empty table is covers you can no longer sell. Multiply the empty tables by your average spend per table to see the loss.
A calendar or paper book does not show which tables are free before the rush. A floor plan does.
Common mistakes
- A generic calendar that knows nothing about tables and their size.
- Phone bookings in a notebook and online ones elsewhere, so they never line up.
- Not stating cancellation terms before confirming, which can be a legal risk.
- Not recording missed bookings, so you repeat the same mistake.
How 4restaurants.net helps
- The floor plan and bookings sit in the same application as the evening's orders.
- Each booking is placed on a table, with its party size and time.
- The floor plan stays accurate as bookings change.