Reservations

The Flip POS Reservations system lets your team book tables in advance, manage a waitlist, and seat guests with a single tap — all from the Host Display or Shopify Admin. A visual timeline gives you a live picture of table availability throughout the day so you can maximize covers and avoid double-bookings.

Overview

Reservations in Flip POS are built around two access points that share the same data in real time:

• Host Display — a browser-based tablet view for your host stand. Shows today's reservations in a visual timeline alongside the floor plan. Hosts can book, edit, seat, and mark no-shows without touching Shopify Admin.
• Shopify Admin → Flip POS → Reservations — a full management view for managers. Supports date browsing, multi-location switching, and complete reservation history.

Both views support reservations, waitlist entries, occasion tags, table pre-assignment, notes, and time-block management.

Enabling Reservations

Reservations are off by default and must be turned on per location in Settings.

1. In Shopify Admin, open Flip POS → Settings
2. Scroll to the Reservations section
3. Toggle Enable Reservations on
4. Save your changes

Once enabled, the Reservations tab will appear in the Host Display and the Reservations page will become accessible in Shopify Admin.

Accessing Reservations

There are three ways to access the Reservations system, each suited to a different role or device.

Via the Host Display

The Host Display is the recommended tool for day-of reservation management at the host stand. Once Reservations are enabled, a Reservations tab appears automatically at the top of the Host Display alongside the Floor Plan tab.

1. Open your Host Display URL in any browser (e.g., on a tablet at the host stand)
2. Tap the Reservations tab at the top of the screen
3. The timeline and reservation list for today will load automatically

The Host Display URL is found in Flip POS → Settings → Host Displays. If you haven't created a Host Display yet, see the Host Display documentation for setup instructions.

Add as a Shopify POS Tile

For the fastest access during service, add the Host Display as a tile directly in Shopify POS. Your staff can open the full reservations view — including the timeline and floor plan — without leaving the POS environment.

1. In Shopify POS, tap Add Tile
2. Select Link
3. In the URL field, paste your Host Display URL
4. Set a Title such as "Host Display" or "Reservations"
5. Save the tile

Tapping the tile opens the Host Display directly in the Shopify POS browser. From there, tap the Reservations tab to manage bookings. This is especially useful for hosts using the same iPad as the POS.

In Shopify Admin

The Reservations page in Shopify Admin is best for managers who need to book ahead, browse future dates, or review history.

1. Go to Shopify Admin → Flip POS
2. Click Reservations in the left navigation
3. Use the date selector to browse any day
4. If you have multiple locations, use the location picker at the top to switch between them

Creating a Reservation

You can create a reservation from either the Host Display or Shopify Admin. The form is the same in both places.

1. Tap + New Reservation (or the + button in the Host Display timeline)
2. Make sure Reservation is selected in the type toggle at the top (not Waitlist)
3. Enter the guest name. You can type a name directly, or search for an existing Shopify customer by name or email to link the booking to their profile.
4. Set the Date and Time for the reservation
5. Adjust the Party Size using the + and − buttons (1–20 guests)
6. Optionally select a Table to pre-assign the guest to a specific table
7. Optionally select an Occasion — Birthday, Anniversary, Date Night, Business, Celebration, or Other — so staff know about special events at a glance
8. Optionally add Notes for allergies, seating preferences, or other special requests
9. Tap Add Reservation to save

The new reservation will immediately appear on the timeline and in the list view.

Waitlist Entries

When your restaurant is full or a guest arrives without a reservation, you can add them to a waitlist instead.

1. Tap + New Reservation
2. At the top of the form, tap Waitlist in the type toggle
3. Fill in the guest name, party size, and any notes
4. Tap Add Reservation

Waitlist entries appear in the reservation list with a Waitlist badge. They work the same as reservations — you can seat them, edit them, or cancel them when a table opens up.

Timeline View

The timeline is the centerpiece of the Reservations tab in the Host Display. It shows every table as a row and lays out each reservation as a colored block across the time axis, so you can see exactly when tables are occupied and when they free up.

• Horizontal axis — time of day, scrollable left and right
• Vertical axis — one row per table in the selected service area
• Reservation blocks — show the guest name, party size, and duration. Color indicates the reservation status.
• Blocked time slots — grey blocks indicate periods when a table (or all tables) is unavailable for booking
• Drag to reschedule — drag a reservation block left or right to change its time, or up and down to move it to a different table
• Date navigation — use the arrow buttons to move forward or backward by one day, or tap today to jump back to the current date

If you have multiple service areas, use the area selector tabs above the timeline to switch between them.

Seating a Guest

When a guest with a reservation arrives, you can seat them directly from the Reservations tab or the floor plan.

From the Reservations Tab

1. Find the reservation in the timeline or the list on the left
2. Tap the reservation to open it
3. Tap ✓ Seat — this marks the reservation as Seated

From the Floor Plan Tab

If a table has a confirmed reservation assigned to it, tapping that table on the floor plan will show the reservation details and a Seat Now button. Tapping Seat Now activates the table and marks the reservation as seated in a single step — no need to switch tabs.

Editing & Cancelling a Reservation

Editing

1. Tap the reservation in the timeline or the list
2. Update any fields — name, date, time, party size, table, occasion, or notes
3. Tap Save Changes

You can also drag the reservation block directly on the timeline to change its time or table assignment without opening the form.

Marking a No-Show

1. Open the reservation
2. Tap No Show

The reservation will be marked as a no-show and removed from the active timeline view.

Cancelling

1. Open the reservation
2. Tap Cancel

Cancelled reservations are removed from the timeline. They remain in the list with a Cancelled badge so you have a record of them.

Blocking Time Slots

Time blocks let you mark a period when one or more tables are unavailable — for example, during a private event, a deep clean, or a reserved section hold.

1. In the Reservations tab, tap + Block (or tap an empty area in the timeline on a table row)
2. Set the Start Time and Duration (choose a preset — 30m, 1h, 1.5h, 2h, 3h — or enter a custom duration)
3. Choose the Scope:
   • All Tables — blocks the entire floor for that time window
   • Specific Tables — select individual tables to block
4. Optionally add a Reason (e.g., "Private event", "Staff training")
5. Tap Save Block

Blocked slots appear as grey bands on the timeline. You can tap a block to edit or delete it.

Seating Duration Rules

Flip POS uses seating duration to calculate how long a reservation occupies a table on the timeline. This helps you see exactly when a table will be free for the next booking.

By default, a flat duration (e.g., 90 minutes) applies to all reservations. You can create rules that vary the duration by party size — for example, 75 minutes for 1–2 guests, 90 minutes for 3–5, and 120 minutes for 6 or more.

1. Go to Flip POS → Settings → Reservations
2. Under Seating Duration, set your default duration
3. Click Add Rule to create party-size-based overrides
4. Enter the minimum party size, maximum party size, and the duration in minutes for that range
5. Save your settings

Duration rules apply automatically whenever a new reservation is created. The timeline will display the correct block length based on the guest count.

Booking Page Branding

Upload your restaurant's logo so it appears on your public booking page and in every reservation email guests receive (confirmation, modification, cancellation, and reminder emails).

1. Go to Flip POS → Reservation Settings.
2. Find the Booking Page Branding section.
3. Under Restaurant Logo, click "Upload logo" and choose a PNG, JPG, SVG, or WebP file (recommended max 1.5 MB).
4. Your logo appears immediately in the preview, on your public booking page, and in outgoing reservation emails.

To replace your logo, upload a new file the same way — it overwrites the previous one. To remove it entirely, click "Remove" next to the preview.