Which software do New Zealand restaurants use for table bookings?

Restaurants tend to use a booking module tied to the floor plan, rather than a plain calendar. The practical difference: a calendar tells you that 25 people are coming at 8pm, while the floor plan tells you that you have no free table for six at that time. The gap matters most on a busy Friday, when a calendar cannot tell you which table to offer.

Short answer

Restaurants use a booking module with a floor plan, which ties each booking to a specific table rather than only to a number of covers.
The software keeps bookings in one list that you see from the same application as the menu and orders.
A good module shows free and reserved tables for each time slot, so the host can seat a party without guessing.
Guest names and phone numbers are personal information under the Privacy Act 2020, so keep them only as long as you need them.

What the software must do

Show the floor plan, with the free and reserved tables for each time slot.
Let you pick a table of the right size, so you do not block a table for six with two guests.
Show bookings by day and by time, so you can plan the service.
Live in the same application as the menu and orders, otherwise the host works in two places.

What the law says

Names, phone numbers and emails in a booking are personal information under the Privacy Act 2020, kept only as long as you need them.
A reminder about an existing booking is not marketing, but promotional messages need consent and an unsubscribe option under the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.
State your cancellation terms before the booking is confirmed. The Fair Trading Act 1986 applies to what you tell customers about them.

Practical example

Hypothetical example: on a Friday night, a 60-seat restaurant in Wellington has 25 bookings, and some guests do not show. Every empty table is covers you can no longer sell. Work out the loss with your own figures: the empty tables, multiplied by your average spend per table.

A calendar or a paper book does not show which tables are free before the rush. A floor plan shows at a glance which tables are still available.

Common mistakes

Using a generic calendar that knows nothing about tables or their size.
Keeping phone bookings in a notebook and online ones somewhere else, so the two never line up.
Not stating your cancellation terms before confirming, which can become a legal risk under the Fair Trading Act 1986.
Not recording the bookings that were not kept, so you repeat the same mistake with the same guests.

How 4restaurants.net helps

The floor plan and the bookings sit in the same application as the evening's orders.
Bookings are placed per table, per room and per time.
It does not sync with calendars. SMS confirmations to guests are optional (Plus plan and above, through your own 4notify account); otherwise confirmations stay with your team.