Description: Review how to assign a ticket to a table in Host mode on the SkyTab POS system. The SkyTab POS system allows you to utilize Host Mode and Reservations to better manage table service locations and can be used with your customer database. Learn more below.
For more information on processing transactions within the SkyTab POS System, visit Creating a Ticket.
To watch more how-to videos, visit our video section.
You can view and select various tables from the Table Layout screen. This is accessed by selecting the Host tab at the top of the POS screen. You can have the system automatically open Host Mode when you log in by setting the Login option under User Settings to “Host Mode” when creating a Job.
Note: The Table Layout can only be edited through the Table Layout section within the online Lighthouse portal. You will need to log in to Lighthouse in order to set up any Sections and/or Tables before you can start interacting with them on the POS System.
Navigating the Table Layout
You can change between different table layouts by selecting the name of the layout. In the example below, we have Dine In and Patio.
When a table is selected, select how many guests are dining and create a New Ticket. If needed, you can also tap on the Customer button to assign someone to the ticket.
Stay in Host mode by tapping the Back to Host button or go to the ticket by tapping Open Ticket.
As tickets are assigned to tables, you will see various colors assigned. You can select a table and open existing tickets to access the check.
The table color indicates when an order has been assigned to it (or displays nothing if a Wait List entry has been assigned). A colored line at the bottom of the table will be highlighted with a colored bar based on the table’s ticket status:
- Orange: A party has been assigned; A ticket may be opened, but it won't turn blue until items are added and sent.
- Blue: A party has been assigned a ticket and at least 1 item has been added.
- Red: The ticket has been paid and the table has been marked dirty.
A table can be assigned one of four primary statuses. These statuses are shown along the bottom of the screen and can be assigned if one or more tables have been selected from the Table Layout screen. These statuses are as follows:
- Available: The table is ready to be assigned.
- Close: The table is currently unavailable for seating at this time.
- Dirty: The table was recently vacated and still needs to be cleaned before a new party can be seated.
- Clean: The table has been cleaned and is ready to be assigned.
You can also Select All or Deselect All of the tables by using the buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Creating a New Order
While transactions can be created within the Order Entry screen, you can also utilize the Host Mode screen to create a new order. This is accomplished by selecting the Host option at the top of the main POS screen. From here, you can create a new order by entering the following information:
- Custom Table Name: Select the field, then use the keyboard to enter the name provided by the Customer
- Select Customer: Select an existing customer from the list or add a new customer to the system
- Party Size: Select the number of people who need to be seated
- New Ticket: Creates an order under Open Orders using the information entered and assigns it to the current user; pressing this button while a Table is selected will create an Order as described above but will also assign the order to the selected table; if the selected table already has an active Order, a dialog will display asking you to confirm whether you desire to create a new order or open the existing Order
-
Add to Waitlist: Pressing this button will open a dialog box that requires the user to provide the following information to add the customer’s party to the waitlist:
- The phone number for contacting the party
- Preferred contact method (Text, Call, None)
- Additional Notes regarding this entry
Pressing OK creates the entry on the Waitlist.
Wait List
To watch more how-to videos, visit our video section.
If all the tables are occupied/unavailable and a new party arrives, you can use the Wait List. To assign a guest to the wait list:
- Enter the guest's name or select them from the customer database and enter the party size.
- Tap the Add To Wait List button.
- Enter their phone number to notify them when their table is ready. You can select call, text message, or none if you announce over a PA system.
- Tap Ok.
- The customer and their party’s information are listed on the Wait List section on the left side of the Host Mode Screen.
- When a table becomes available, tap the open table, then tap on the guest's waiting list entry and tap Assign.
- Once the guests have been seated at their table, tap their waiting list entry again and tap on the Seat button to finalize the entry and remove them from the waiting list.
- A ticket is created for the guests.
Within the Wait List section, you can view customers in a particular order by selecting the drop-down next to Sort By and choosing one of the predetermined options from the resultant dialog. These options control how the Wait List entries are sorted and include:
- Wait Time: Sorts the entries by how much time has passed since the entry was created
- Recently Arrived: Places the most recent entries at the top of the list
- No Table: Lists entries without a table assignment at the top
- Largest Party: Sorts the entries by the number of members within their party with the largest at the top
Selecting one of the entries in the list displays the following:
- Arrived: The time the entry was created
- Wait Time: The length of time since the entry was created
- Customer Name: The customer name that was chosen when the entry was created
- Assigned: The user's name who entered the order
- # People: The number of people within the party
Each entry can be selected in order to access several options specific to that Wait List entry. This allows the user to Edit the entry, Notify the customer of status changes, Seat the customer, or Assign the customer to a table.
Edit
Pressing this button on a selected Wait List entry opens the Edit Guest Dialog. From here, you can edit all the information you originally entered when creating the Wait List entry, such as:
- Table Name/Customer
- Party Size
- Phone Number
- Preferred Contact Method
- Notes
CANCEL closes the dialog without committing any changes.
SAVE closes the dialog and commits any changes.
REMOVE FROM LIST removes the Wait List entry without converting it into an Order. This option can be used if the Customer does not return or would no longer like to be seated.
Notify
Pressing this button on a selected Wait List entry sends a text message or pre-recorded phone call to the phone number on the entry, depending on the preferred contact method selected when creating the Wait List entry.
Seat
Pressing this button on a selected Wait List entry converts the entry into an Order. You need to finalize this selection by selecting OK on the displayed dialog box. The newly created Order displays on the Open Orders section of the Order Entry Screen.
Assign
The Assign option is only available when a table is actively selected on the Table Layout. You must have both the desired table and Wait List entry highlighted for this option to appear.
If a table is selected, this button can be used to assign the party to the selected table and allows for a ticket to be opened to continue the transaction.
Reservations
If you have signed up to utilize the Reservations feature of the POS, you can select the Reservations tab within Host mode to view a list of reservations on the left and a calendar containing the current reservations for the month on the right.
You can then select which month you would like to view reservations for by tapping either the left or right arrow at the top of the calendar. The text in-between will display both the Date and the Year of the month they are viewing.
If there are any reservation entries for the days within the current month, the day that the reservation is assigned to will have a small blue triangle in the lower right corner of the box representing the day and the number of reservations will be displayed as a large blue number.
Selecting a date with reservations highlights it in orange and display all of the reservations for that day on the right within the Reservations List.
Adding a New Reservation
Selecting Add Entry + opens the Create Reservation dialog box. From here you can enter all of the information that is required for the reservation, including:
- Custom Name or Existing Customer
- Party Size
- Date and Time of reservation
- Contact Number
- Preferred Method of Contact
- Additional notes, comments, or customer requests (optional)
Press either CANCEL to return to the Reservations screen without creating a reservation; or select OK to commit the new reservation.
Reservations List
The Reservations List is located on the left side of the Reservations screen within Host Mode. From here, you can organize and maintain your reservations. You can sort the Reservations list by selecting the Sort By drop-down and selecting one of the following:
- Time: Sorts the list by the time the reservation is for with the earliest time at the top
- Name: Sorts the list alphabetically by customer name
- Party Size: Sorts the list by the number of people that will be attending with the largest amount at the top
Selecting one of the entries in the list displays the following:
- Time: The time the reservation was made for
- Status: The current status of the reservation (Not Here Yet, Arrived, Seated, Canceled, Closed)
- Customer Name: The customer name that was chosen when the entry was created
- # People: The number of people within the party
- Assigned: The table the party is assigned to
Each entry can be selected in order to access several options specific to that Wait List entry. This allows the user to Edit the entry, Notify the customer of status changes, change the entry Status, or Assign the reservation to a table. These are elaborated on below:
Edit
Pressing the Edit button on a selected reservation opens the Create Reservation dialog box. From here you can edit all of the information originally entered when creating the reservation. Press either the CANCEL button to return to the Reservations screen without creating a reservation; or select OK to commit the changes to the reservation.
Notify
Pressing the Notify button either sends a text message or pre-recorded phone call to the phone number on the reservation depending on the preferred contact method selected when creating or editing the reservation.
Status
Selecting the Status button opens the Select Reservation Status dialog box. From here, you can update the status of the reservation using one of the following options including:
- Not Here Yet
- Arrived
- Seated
- Canceled
- Closed
Once the selection is made, press OK to commit the status change. This selection helps to notify other users as to whether or not this reservation is still in effect so that proper preparations can be made.
Assign
The Assign option is only available when a table is actively selected on the Table Layout. You must have both the desired table and Wait List entry highlighted for this option to appear. If a table is selected, this button can be used to assign the party to the selected table and allows for a ticket to be opened to continue the transaction.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.