Table Management Documentation

Complete guide to setting up and managing table service operations for dine-in restaurants using Flip POS.

Overview

The Table Management system is designed for full-service restaurants that need comprehensive table service capabilities. Perfect for:

• Full-service restaurants
• Fine dining establishments
• Casual dining restaurants
• Bistros and cafes with table service
• Bar and grill establishments

Key features include visual table layouts, server assignments, order tracking, kitchen integration, and advanced reporting for table turnover and server performance.

Activating a Table

To begin serving guests at a table, you'll need to activate it first.

1. Open the Table Service POS App within Shopify POS
2. Click the table you want to activate, or seat
3. Enter the server name in the "Assigned Server" text input field
4. Enter the number of guests in the "Number of Guests" text input field
5. Click "Activate Table"

Add Item to an Order

Once the table is activated, you will have a Check available on the table that you can add items to.

1. Click the table you want to add items to in the Table Service screen.
2. Click the "+" icon to the right of "Check #".
3. Menu categories and items will appear. Once you navigate to the item you want to add click it.
4. Simple items, with no modifiers or options will automatically add to the order when you click them (blue buttons).
5. Items with modifiers or variants will bring you to the "Add Item - Check #" screen where you will select options and modifiers.
6. Click add to order once you have finalized your selections.
7. Toast notification will appear at the bottom of the screen, notifying you that the item has been added to the order.
8. When you navigate back to the Table # screen, you will see the items you added with "pending" status.

Send to Kitchen

Once you have added your items to a Check on a Table, Send pending orders to the kitchen for preparation. Make sure to have a kitchen display and/or Printer setup.

1. When viewing a Table's details screen (from Table Service screen, click the Table you want to service), click the "Send" icon, which will appear to the right of the "+" icon.
2. This will send all "pending" items to the kitchen on a single order / ticket.
3. The items will appear in the kitchen display and if a printer is configured, the pending items will all appear on that kitchen ticket.

Send to POS Cart

When you are ready for your customer to pay for their table's check, Transfer completed orders to the Shopify POS cart for payment processing.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Each check within that table will have its own "send" icon.
3. To the right of the Check name, click the "send" icon.
4. This will take all items (along with their modifiers and customizations) and populate the Shopify POS cart with those items and their pricing.
5. The Table Service app will close automatically.
6. Finish your transaction in Shopify POS.

Print Check

Send a customer-facing check to your configured kitchen or receipt printer so guests can review their order total before paying.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "Actions >" link in the top right of the Table # screen.
3. Click the "Print Check" button. This button only appears once at least one item on the table has been sent to the kitchen.
4. Flip POS will send all active checks on the table to the printer simultaneously.
5. A toast notification will confirm the check was printed successfully.

Note: A printer must be configured in Flip POS Settings for this button to work. See the Printers documentation for setup instructions.

Email Check to Customer

Send a customer a Shopify invoice link via email so they can review their itemized check and optionally pay from their own device.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "Actions >" link in the top right of the Table # screen.
3. Click the "Email Check" button. This button only appears once at least one item has been sent to the kitchen and the table's orders are not yet fully completed.
4. An Email Check screen will appear with an email address field. If the customer provided their email when placing a QR order, it will be pre-filled.
5. Enter or confirm the customer's email address.
6. Tap "Send" to email the check.
7. Flip POS creates a Shopify draft order invoice and sends a payment link directly to the customer's inbox.
8. A toast notification confirms the email was sent successfully.
9. The customer can open the email, review their itemized check, and pay via Shopify's secure checkout from their own phone or device.

Note: The emailed check uses Shopify's draft order invoice system. The customer receives a standard Shopify invoice email with a link to pay via Shopify Checkout, supporting all standard payment methods.

Add New Check to Table

Create separate checks for different guests at the same table.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "Actions >" link in the top right of the Table # screen.
3. Click "New Check"
4. New Check screen will appear where it will display the new checks name. You may change the name of the check if you choose.
5. Click "Create Check"
6. You will be brought back to the Table # screen, where you can now manage separate checks on the table.

Split Check

Split a table's check into multiple separate checks — either by dividing items evenly across guests or by distributing specific items to specific checks.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "Actions >" link in the top right of the Table # screen.
3. Click "Split Check". This button is only visible when the table has exactly one active order with at least one item.
4. Choose a split method:
   • Split Evenly — enter the number of ways to split; each item's price is divided equally across all checks
   • Distribute Items — assign each item to a specific check; prices are not changed
5. Click "Split Check" to confirm. The table will now have multiple active checks (e.g., "Check - Split 1", "Check - Split 2").

Note: After splitting, you can use Move Item Between Checks to reassign items that ended up on the wrong check, or Merge All Checks to undo the split and start over.

Move Item Between Checks

Move any line item from one check to another check at the same table. Useful when a guest's item was placed on the wrong check after a split.

1. Navigate to the table (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "…" icon next to the item you want to move.
3. Tap "Move to Another Check". This option only appears when the table has two or more active checks.
4. If the table has exactly two checks, a confirmation dialog will appear asking you to confirm the move to the other check.
5. If the table has three or more checks, a picker screen will appear listing all other checks. Tap the destination check.
6. The item moves immediately. Both checks' totals update automatically.

Note: If the item came from an even split, its price is automatically restored to the full original price when moved. This ensures the moved item is not priced at the split fraction.

Merge All Checks

Collapse all split checks at a table back into a single order. Use this to undo a split or to start a fresh split with a different number of ways.

1. Navigate to the table (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "Actions >" link in the top right.
3. Click "Merge Checks". This button appears whenever the table has two or more active orders.
4. A confirmation dialog will appear explaining that all checks will be merged and even-split price adjustments will be restored.
5. Click "Merge Checks" to confirm.
6. All items are combined back into a single check with their original prices. The order name is restored (the "- Split N" suffix is removed).

Note: Merging is all-or-nothing — it combines all active checks at the table into one. Partial merge (combining two of three checks) is not supported. If you only need to move one item, use Move Item Between Checks instead.

Auto Gratuity

Flip POS can automatically add a gratuity line to checks based on the table's guest count and the check total. Auto gratuity is configured in the Flip POS admin settings.

How Auto Gratuity Works

• When a table meets the configured thresholds (minimum guest count and minimum check total), gratuity is automatically calculated and added to the check.
• The gratuity amount is shown on-screen in the Table Service app alongside the subtotal.
• When a check is printed, the gratuity line appears on the customer-facing check with the subtotal, tax, gratuity, and total.
• When items are sent to the POS cart for payment, the gratuity is included in the cart total.

Configuring Auto Gratuity

1. In the Flip POS admin, navigate to Settings.
2. Find the Auto Gratuity section.
3. Toggle "Enable Auto Gratuity" on.
4. Set the Gratuity Percentage (e.g., 18%).
5. Set the Minimum Party Size — gratuity only applies to tables with at least this many guests (e.g., 6).
6. Optionally set a Minimum Check Total — gratuity only applies if the check meets this minimum amount.
7. Save your settings.

Add Order Note

Add notes to the entire order for special instructions or information.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "Actions >" link in the top right of the Table # screen.
3. Under the "Add Order Note" section, you will have a text field labeled "Order Note" where you can click to enter a note for the order.
4. This will appear on the Table # screen and on printed tickets and the Kitchen Display

Clear Service

Reset a table to its initial state, removing all orders and assignments.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "Actions >" link in the top right of the Table # screen.
3. Click "Clear Service"
4. A dialog will appear notifying you that this will cancel all orders, clear the server, and reset the guest count on the table.
5. Click "Clear Service" in the dialog

Hold / Unhold Item

Hold an item back from the next kitchen send. Held items remain on the check but are skipped when "Send to Kitchen" is tapped. This is useful when a guest wants to delay a course or when an item needs to be held for timing purposes.

Hold an Item

1. Navigate to the table (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "…" icon next to the item you want to hold.
3. Click "Hold Item". The item will be visually marked as held.
4. When you tap "Send to Kitchen" on the check, held items are skipped and remain as pending.

Note: Only items that have not yet been sent to the kitchen can be held. Once an item has been sent to the kitchen, the hold option is no longer available for that item.

Unhold an Item

1. Click the "…" icon next to the held item.
2. Click "Unhold Item". The item returns to pending status and will be included in the next kitchen send.

Duplicate an Order Item

Quickly duplicate an existing item with all its modifiers and options.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "…" icon next to the item you'd like to duplicate
3. Click "Duplicate Item" button
4. The item, and all its options and modifiers will be duplicated on the order. It will automatically have a "pending" status.

Remove an Item from an Order

Remove items from an order when needed.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "…" icon next to the item you'd like to remove.
3. Click "Remove Item" button
4. A toast notification will appear confirming the item has been removed.

Create a note for a specific order item

Add special notes to individual items for allergies or special requests.

1. Navigate to the table you'd like to service (Table Service screen, click Table #).
2. Click the "…" icon next to the item you'd like to add a note to.
3. Click in the "Add Note" text field and enter your note.
4. Click Save Note
5. The note will appear on the order, in the kitchen display, and on any tickets printed.

Switch to a new Service Area

Navigate between different service areas in your restaurant.

1. When you open the Table Service app in the top center of the screen, all the Service Areas you've configured in the Flip POS settings, will appear.
2. If there are more than one Service Areas, you may click an unselected Service Area, designated in gray, with gray text.
3. The new Service Area will show the tables that have configured specifically for that Service Area.

Go to Table

Quickly navigate to a specific table by entering its number.

1. Select the Service Area of the table you'd like to view
2. Click in the "Go to Table" text field
3. Type in the number of the table
4. Click the "Go" text in the right side of the Go to Table text field.
5. The table details will open

See Table Layout Image

View uploaded table layout images for reference during service. You may upload a table layout image that can be associated to each service area. This can be used for staff to view table layout while servicing their tables.

2. Open the Table Service app
3. Next to the "Go to Table" text field, you will see a "information" or "i" with a circle around it icon. The icon will only show if a Table Layout image has been set on the Service Area configuration.
4. Click the "i" icon
5. The Table Layout image will appear in a new screen.

QR Code Ordering

Flip POS supports QR Code Ordering, which allows customers to scan a code at their table and place orders directly from their phone — no app required. QR orders appear in the Table Service app alongside regular server-entered orders, and can be set to auto-approve (sent straight to the kitchen) or require manual approval by a staff member before going to the kitchen.

For complete setup instructions, the customer ordering experience, approval workflows, self-pay configuration, and best practices, see the dedicated guide:

QR Code Ordering & Self-Pay Documentation →