How are tables assigned to online bookings?

Control automatic table assignment and whether large parties get adjacent tables combined automatically.

By default, ResoFlow instantly assigns an available table to any booking made without one — you control this in Settings → Bookings → Booking rules, in the Table assignment card. Owners, Admins and Managers can open this page.

These settings are plan-gated: Available on Plus plan and above.

• Auto-assign tables (on by default). When a booking is made without a specific table — online or by staff — the system instantly assigns an available one. Turn this off to leave those bookings unassigned, so staff place them manually from the Unassigned tab in the bookings list. Walk-ins always take the best free table automatically, whatever you choose here.
• Auto-split staff bookings (on by default). When staff manually create a booking and don't select tables, the system automatically combines adjacent tables if the party is larger than any single available table.
• Auto-split online bookings (off by default). The same combining, but for customer bookings from your public page — switch it on if you're happy for big online parties to be seated across joined tables without staff involvement.
• Don't auto-assign parties larger than (0 by default, 0–100 guests). Bookings above this size aren't given a table automatically — they land in the Unassigned tab for your team to place by hand, because big-party table plans usually need a human eye. Leave it at 0 to auto-assign every size. It only appears while auto-assign is on, and it's separate from Maximum party size (the largest party guests can book) and from Offer pre-ordering from in Settings → Pre-orders.

Click Save changes when you're done.

What this means in practice

With auto-assign off, online bookings still go through — they just land in the Unassigned tab (and the Home page's needs-attention list) for your team to place. You can place them from that tab, or straight from the timeline: its Unassigned toolbar button (with a live count) turns on a tap-tap assign mode — tap the booking, tap a table row — with the usual availability checks (see How do I use the timeline?). With auto-split off, a party bigger than any single available table can't be seated online; your restaurant phone number (from Restaurant profile) is shown on the booking page for large-party enquiries.

Related: How do I control booking times and durations? · How do I use the timeline? · How do I find bookings — filters, tabs, search and export? · How do I cap party sizes and covers?