Tables & Dine-In
Dine-in service adds tables and checks to ForkLine, at Admin → Tables. Instead of a ticket paid at the counter, a table has an open check that accumulates rounds over a meal and is settled at the end.
Tables only appears when dine-in is switched on for your restaurant. It's enabled by ForkLine — contact support if you run table service and don't see it. Once on, it's available to the same staff who can use the register.
How a check works
- Open a check on a table.
- Add a round of items.
- Fire the round to the kitchen. Nothing is cooked until it's fired — which is what lets you take drinks, then starters, then mains on one check.
- Repeat for each course.
- Print the bill, then take payment.
- Close the check. The table is free again.
An un-fired round is a draft. Adding items doesn't send them to the kitchen; firing does. That's the difference between a server building an order at the table and the kitchen starting it.
Firing rounds
Each round fires independently, so the kitchen gets courses when you want them rather than all at once.
The kitchen display and printed chits both show which round a ticket belongs to and which table it's for.
Splitting a check
Three ways, chosen by what the table actually asked for:
| Split | Use when |
|---|---|
| Even | "Just split it four ways" — divides the total evenly, up to 20 ways |
| By seat | Each seat pays for what that seat ordered |
| By item | You group specific items onto each new check |
Splitting creates separate checks that are paid independently, so one guest can pay by card and another by cash.
Transferring and merging
Transfer a table — move a check to a different table when guests move.
Transfer a check — hand a check to another server, at shift change.
Merge checks — combine two checks into one when parties join up.
Taking payment
From an open check you can:
- Print a pre-bill for the table to review before paying
- Take card payment on the reader
- Take cash
- Void a tender if a payment was applied in error
- Print a receipt after settling
Checks support pre-authorization — holding an amount on a card (a bar tab) and capturing the final total later. You can increment the authorization if the tab grows beyond the original hold, and capture it when the guests leave.
Tipping and auto-gratuity
Dine-in card payments can prompt for a tip on the reader. You can also set auto-gratuity — a percentage added automatically for parties at or above a size you choose, which is the usual arrangement for large tables.
Both are configured in Settings → Payments. See Tipping.
Setting up tables
Create your tables under Admin → Tables so the floor plan matches the room. The list is deliberately not paginated — it's set by how many tables you physically have, not by how busy you are.
Where to go next
- Using the Register — counter service
- Tipping — reader tips and auto-gratuity
- Kitchen Display — how fired rounds appear
- Receipt Layout — bills and chits
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