Where are my booking rules? (Booking rules at a glance)

Every booking rule in one list, where each one is changed, which rule wins when two meet, and what your plan includes.

Every setting that decides how bookings are taken, limited, timed and tracked lives in one place: the Bookings group in Settings. Its first page, Booking rules at a glance (Settings → Bookings → Booking rules at a glance, /dashboard/settings/booking-rules), lists every rule you have in everyday words, each with a Change link to the one page where it is set. It is read-only — nothing on it can change a setting by accident.

Where did "Booking rules" go?

The old Booking rules page and the old Service and timings page were split into pages that each answer one question. Old links and bookmarks still work — they open the new home of whatever they pointed at. Nothing you had set was changed by the move: every setting kept its value.

The Bookings group, in order:

• Booking rules at a glance — every rule in one list (the old Booking rules address opens here).
• How people book — online bookings, your team's bookings, walk-ins, the waitlist and letting guests join it from their phone, approving online bookings (all of them, or only some), letting bigger parties send a request, what a fully booked date offers, food and drinks-only bookings, your team's booking sources, your own questions for guests, your booking page message.
• When people can book — online booking times, the last booking before you close (every way of booking in one row), minimum notice, how far ahead, the dates that open early and the dates blocked for online bookings (listed here, set on Special dates), the time between booking times, and cancelling or changing online.
• How many at once — the largest and smallest party online, most guests seated at once and most guests arriving every 15 minutes (each with an online share if you want one), and pacing rules.
• How long a booking lasts — the standard length for each way of booking, lengths by party size, letting guests choose their length, turnaround time and auto-trim.
• Tables and seating — auto-assign tables, the tables and rooms online bookings can use (and tables kept for bigger parties or walk-ins), joining tables for a big party, the rooms walk-ins and the waitlist use, seating preferences, and table rules.
• Special dates — every date with rules of its own — Christmas, a bank holiday, a closed day — and everything it changes: its hours, online times or set sittings, when it opens for booking, length, limits, party sizes, payments, rooms, approval and a note for guests; plus day-and-time rules for certain times of every week.
• During service — how your team tracks a service, late arrivals and their alerts, holding a late guest's table, no-shows (and everything a no-show sets off), and freeing a finished table (the old Service and timings address opens here).
• Waitlist — how the queue works, smart fitting and the page guests join from.
• Walk-ins — the walk-in form and Smart walk-in.
• Guests — Auto-VIP and custom tags.

Settings that moved from pages outside the group: online booking times, drinks-only online booking times and blocked dates left Hours for When people can book, and special opening hours (and closing a date) left Hours for Special dates — Hours is now your weekly hours and your seasons; seating preferences and table rules left Tables and layout (it is now your rooms, tables and floor plan); Shorten a booking when it’s cleared left Dashboard display; and the on/off switches for late arrival alerts and overstay alerts left Team alerts and sounds (how an alert looks and sounds is still set there, under Alert display style).

What the page shows

• A Right now line at the top saying either No clashing rules or how many things need a look.
• Things to check (only when there is something): any two settings that disagree, each explained in one sentence with a link to fix it, and any rule that is switched on but isn't on your current plan, with a button to switch it off (it asks first, then switches off when you press Save changes).
• One section per page of the Bookings group, then Opening hours and What guests pay — each rule as a sentence, such as "No more than 40 guests can be seated at once." or "Online bookings need no notice — guests can book right up to the time."
• Under Opening hours, every break of your week in one line, each named with its kind — for example "Breaks: Wednesday to Saturday — online bookings paused 11:30–11:45, closed 15:00–17:00." A day can have up to four breaks; a break that isn't being applied (it runs into another, say) isn't listed — fix it on Hours.
• Today's real last booking times for each way of booking, worked out from today's hours.
• Try a booking — pick a date, a time and a party size, online or your team, and see whether it can be booked, every rule that applies and why, and the times your booking page offers right now. See How do I check which rules apply to a booking?
• Where two rules meet, a Which wins: line (below).

The four clashes it catches — each is also shown on the rule's own page, with a one-click fix:

• Online cancelling closes before refunds stop (your cancellation deadline is longer than your refund cut-off), so a guest still due a refund has to contact you to cancel.
• You hold a late guest's table for longer than "Mark them after" — automatic no-shows wait until the hold ends.
• A special date's own hours fall outside that weekday's online booking times — the special date's hours are used online that day.
• Your team's last booking before you close is earlier than the last time online guests can start one.

It also compares your guest limits with each other (How many at once — each line has its own buttons, such as Change Most guests seated at once, Lower the rule to 36, Make it Fridays and Saturdays or Count every party; a button that changes a rule — here or on How many at once — changes it on the page, and nothing is saved until you press Save changes):

• A limit that can never be reached — "“Most guests seated at once” (12) lets about 36 guests book online between 17:00 and 22:00 — your rule “Max evening Start up” allows 65, so it can never be reached." Worked out from your shortest booking length and opening hours; only bookings your team adds past a warning, or a table cleared early, can beat it.
• A rule that counts nothing — it only counts parties bigger than any party that can book; or its party size is bigger than its own covers limit ("Did you mean no more than 6 bookings of 10 or more?").
• A name and days that disagree — "Friday + Sat …" applying every day.
• A large-party rule that only reaches your team — parties bigger than your largest party online send a request, and a request is never held to pacing rules.
• A limit smaller than one party, a rule for hours nobody can book, an online share that isn't smaller than its total, a seated-at-once rule that never decides anything, and two rules that limit the same thing at the same time (the smaller always decides).
• One big table fills the arrivals stretch (information) — "After a party of 6 books a time, a party of 3 or more can’t book online within the same 15 minutes". Often that is what a kitchen wants: This is what I want hides it, and it comes back if you change the limit.
• A saved limit on a plan without it — a Most guests seated at once you saved keeps applying; Set it to 0 takes it off.

Which rule wins

Wherever two rules meet, the page says which one wins, in the same words everywhere:

• Ways of booking: "Switching a way of booking off beats every other rule for it."
• Online times: "Online booking times can only narrow your opening hours — never widen them."
• The last online start: "Online, the last start is the earlier of your online booking times and the latest time a booking can start and still finish by closing time."
• Limits: "Every limit applies at once — a time is only offered online if it fits all of them."
• Booking length: "A length by party size beats a length the guest picks, which beats the drinks-only length, which beats the standard length."
• Tables: "A guest's seating choice comes first, then your table rules, then the smallest free table that fits."
• Special dates: "A special date beats your day-and-time rules, which beat your everyday rules."
• Opening hours: "A special date's hours beat seasonal hours, which beat your weekly hours."
• Late guests: "An automatic no-show always waits until the table hold has ended."
• Payments: "Pay in full beats a deposit; a deposit beats a card to hold."
• Approving online bookings: "A special date's own approval rule wins on its day; otherwise approving only some bookings works only while approval is on, and a request from a party bigger than your online maximum always waits for approval."
• Fully booked dates: "On a full date, today shows your waitlist and later dates show the Notify me list — each only when it's switched on."

Every rule's own row also says who it applies to — Applies to: followed by the ways of booking it governs: Online, Your team, Walk-ins and Waitlist. For example, "Most guests seated at once" applies to online bookings, and your team's bookings and walk-ins count towards it but are never turned away — unless you switch on Also stop your team beside it. Seven limits carry a switch like that (closed days, your break, blocked dates, minimum notice, how far ahead, the smallest party online and the guests limit), and each of their lines on this page ends by saying whether your team is stopped too or only warned.

What your plan includes

Each page shows the rules your plan includes first. A rule from a higher plan waits in that section's More options, with a padlock naming the plan that adds it — the closed More options line counts them, for example "2 more on Pro". Booking rules at a glance lists only the rules your plan includes, then one line naming the cheapest plan that adds more (for example "More rules on Plus — see what's included", which opens Account → Plan and usage).

• Every plan (Free and up): online bookings, staff bookings and walk-ins on or off; online booking times; the last booking before you close; how far ahead guests can book (30 days on Free, 365 days on Plus, Pro and Complete); special dates open early; special opening hours and seasonal hours; a special date's own online times or set sittings, length, party sizes, rooms and note, and closing it for the day; day-and-time rules (set sittings and party sizes at certain times); the smallest party online; the rooms online bookings can use and tables kept for bigger parties or walk-ins; the time between booking times; blocked dates; maximum party size; the standard booking length; auto-assign tables and auto-trim; how your team tracks a service, late arrivals, holding a table, automatic no-shows and clearing finished tables; and the table the walk-in form suggests (Smart walk-in).
• Plus adds: approving online bookings (all of them or only some), letting bigger parties send a request, food and drinks-only bookings, minimum notice, the cancellation deadline, lengths by party size, letting guests choose their length, turnaround time, not auto-assigning big parties, joining tables, seating preferences, table rules, deposits and a card to hold (no-show protection), and Notify me if a table frees up on fully booked dates (guests are told by email, or by text if you let them choose).
• Pro adds: most guests seated at once, most guests arriving every 15 minutes, the food and drinks-only limits, pacing rules, an online share inside those limits, pay in full, pre-orders and Auto-VIP.
• Complete adds: the waitlist (and letting guests join it from their phone), joining tables when Smart walk-in picks them, and choosing which rooms Smart walk-in and the waitlist use.

If a plan change leaves a rule switched on that your new plan doesn't include, it is never hidden: it stays at the top of its section with a working Switch off (or Set to 0), and Booking rules at a glance lists it under Things to check as "… is switched on, but it isn't on your current plan." with the same button. Switching a rule off always works, on every plan. And special dates work on every plan — closing a day and special opening hours alike.

A Most guests seated at once limit left from an earlier plan still applies until you set it to 0 — the page says so and offers Set to 0. After a plan change, your team's bookings use the same booking lengths and gaps between bookings as online bookings: lengths by party size and turnaround time your plan no longer includes stop applying to your team's screens too. Your saved settings are kept, and come back with the plan. Staff signed in through the staff portal are told to ask the account owner about upgrading instead of seeing the plan link.

Related: How do I choose how people can book? · When can guests book? · How many guests can book at once? · How long does a booking last? · Which table does a booking get? · What's different about Christmas Day? (Special dates) · What happens during service? · How do I check which rules apply to a booking?