How to organise booking services for your restaurant.
Physical capacity is not always the number of seats you should sell at once. Booking settings need to combine tables, meal duration, kitchen pace and room for issues. Start from an actual service rather than the theoretical maximum.
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Qomanda team · Published and reviewed on 30 September 2026
1. Separate physical and service capacity.
Record tables and seats, but also how many guests the staff on that shift can serve. A 20-seat terrace does not provide that capacity if staffing cannot cover it or weather closes it.
Illustrative example: with 40 physical seats and room needed for groups, issues and walk-ins, you might initially offer fewer seats online. The number must reflect your service and existing commitments; there is no universal percentage.
2. Spread arrivals to match kitchen pace.
If all tables book at 9 pm, staff may seat them, but the kitchen receives many orders together. Spread arrivals into intervals that fit preparation, reception and group size.
Compare a dinner with concentrated arrivals to one with staggered arrivals. Observe time to the first course and group waiting times. Do not shorten intervals simply because seats remain: production capacity matters too.
3. Estimate durations with a buffer.
Measure how long tables stay occupied during comparable services. Distinguish quick meals, longer menus and groups where your workflow requires it. Table turnover also needs cleaning, resetting and reception time.
If guests arrive at 1:30 pm and you allow 90 minutes plus 15 for resetting, a second booking at 3 pm may overlap: the example’s starting point would be 3:15 pm. These figures illustrate the calculation and are not a rule for every venue.
4. Review exceptions and test before the weekend.
Review holidays, events, closures and schedule changes before publishing availability. Check the floor plan and future bookings for commitments you have missed.
In Qomanda, review services, capacity, floor plan and timeline. Test an open day, a closed day and a full service. After the first services, adjust settings using observed timings and share the change with staff.
Before you make the move.
What restaurants thinking about switching usually ask us. No fine print.
Not necessarily. Decide based on staff capacity and space you want to keep for groups, issues or walk-ins.
Check it with your restaurant’s own bookings.
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