# 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](/register-pos).

## How a check works

1. **Open a check** on a table.
2. **Add a round** of items.
3. **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.
4. **Repeat** for each course.
5. **Print the bill**, then take payment.
6. **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](/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](/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](/register-pos) — counter service
- [Tipping](/tipping) — reader tips and auto-gratuity
- [Kitchen Display](/kitchen-display) — how fired rounds appear
- [Receipt Layout](/receipt-layout) — bills and chits