Lunch service in a restaurant

Lunch in a busy restaurant is a short, hard window. In the sample restaurant in this tour there are twelve tables, two of them booked for 13:00 and 13:30, a kitchen that is already plating starters, and a front-of-house lead who has to know the state of every table without walking the room. This tour follows that lunch through four screens: the floor plan, a guest's phone, the kitchen display and the bill.

Each stop below is expanded into what you tap, what you see and why it helps, with a worked bill at the end so you can see how the tip and the split add up.

What does the Tables screen tell you at 12:05?

It tells you, at a glance, which tables are free, seated, booked or waiting for the bill. In the sample, seven tables are seated, three are free, tables 5 and 10 are booked for later, and one table has asked for the bill. Each tile also carries a short note: "Mains out", "Starters", "Dessert", "25 min".

That last detail is what saves the walk. A table that has had mains for twenty-five minutes probably wants dessert menus. A table marked "Bill asked" should not wait while someone finishes a coffee round.

Step by step

1. Open Tables at the start of service. The header gives you the counts (seated, free, bill asked) and the floor shows every table as a tile with its seats and status. Use it to seat walk-ins at the right size of table: a party of two goes on a two-seater, not on the eight-top booked for 13:30.
2. Seat the table and let them choose how to order. At 12:20, table 7 decides to order from their phones. They scan the QR code on the table, and the menu opens with a line at the top saying which table they are at and that the order goes straight to the kitchen.
3. Guests pick and send. They browse by category, add dishes and choices, and send the order. It arrives already marked with table 7, so nobody has to type the table number or carry a pad to the pass.
4. The kitchen display shows the ticket. At 12:24 the order appears on the kitchen screen labelled "Table 7, from QR". Cooks tick off each dish as it is plated, and when everything on the ticket is done they bump it.
5. Watch for tickets that are waiting too long. Any ticket that has sat longer than it should is marked so it stands out. The person on the pass can chase it before table 7 has to.
6. Bring the bill when the tile says so. At 13:40 table 7's tile changes to Bill. Open the table and the bill shows each line, the total and the VAT included in it.
7. Add the tip in one tap. Quick buttons offer £1, £2 or £5, or you can type an amount. In the sample the table adds £5, and the amount to pay updates.
8. Split the bill. Choose to split two ways or by item. Two ways halves the total including the tip. By item works out what each guest ate, which suits groups who do not want to share. The split is a calculation to read out at the table; it does not record separate payments.
9. Take the payment for the table. Collect each guest's share, then record the payment once for the whole bill. Each sale on the till is paid with one method, so if one guest pays cash and the other by card, note it for the cash-up. Once the bill is paid, the table is settled and its tile goes back to free for the next booking.

How does the sample bill add up?

Here is table 7's lunch from the tour, with prices as shown on the menu, VAT included.

The VAT figure is worked out as one sixth of a VAT-inclusive total at the standard rate, because £64.90 is 120% of the price before VAT. You do not need to do this sum at the table: the bill shows it. Our VAT guide for small businesses explains the rates and why menus show prices with VAT included.

Why do QR orders and the kitchen display work well together?

Because the order never passes through a second pair of hands. A server writing on a pad and then keying it into a till has two chances to get it wrong. When guests order from the table and the ticket lands on the kitchen screen with the table number on it, the only person who has said "no onion" is the guest who wanted it.

It also frees the floor team for the parts guests notice: greeting, recommending, checking food is right, and being there when the bill is asked for.

Tips for a smoother lunch

• Put the QR code where people look. A small stand in the middle of the table works better than a sticker under the edge.
• Offer both ways to order. Some guests like to order from their phone; others want to talk to someone. Both land on the same kitchen display, so you lose nothing by offering the choice.
• Keep the floor notes short. "Mains out" and "Dessert" are enough. Long notes stop being read at 13:00.
• Agree what "too long" means. Talk with the kitchen about which waits are acceptable for starters and mains, and act on tickets that stand out rather than waiting for a complaint.
• Check the menu before doors open. Anything you cannot cook should be switched off first, as shown in the menu tour, so guests ordering from their phones never pick it.

Common mistakes

• Splitting the bill before the tip. Add the tip first, then split, so each share includes its part of the tip. Doing it the other way round leaves one guest paying the whole tip.
• Leaving a table on Bill after it has paid. If the last payment is not taken through the till, the tile stays on Bill and the table looks busy when it is free.
• Bumping a ticket before the whole order is plated. Tick dishes off as they go, but bump only when everything on the ticket is ready, or the pass will call for food that is not there.
• Seating walk-ins on booked tables. The booked tiles show the time. A party on table 10 at 13:10 will still be there at 13:30 when eight people arrive.
• Doing VAT on a calculator. The bill already shows the VAT inside the total. Working it out by hand at the table invites a different answer from the receipt.

What should you do next?

After lunch, the evening brings a different kind of pressure. The evening orders tour shows how the Orders screen keeps food that is up at the top so nothing goes cold on the pass. When the last table has gone, how the day went reads the takings, the busy hours and the best sellers.

If you are still choosing a till for a restaurant, our guide to choosing a POS system lists what to test before you commit, and how to run a restaurant covers the wider daily routine.

How EasyTaskr helps

EasyTaskr runs tables, QR ordering, the kitchen display and the till in one system, with VAT worked out on every line and shown on the bill. Tips and bill shares are worked out at the till, so the floor team does not need a calculator. The restaurant and figures in this tour are sample data.