Table Setup

Before your host can seat a single guest, Veridien needs to know the physical layout of your restaurant. Table setup defines where tables are, how many guests they hold, which section they belong to, and how they appear on the floor plan your staff uses during service.

A well-configured floor plan lets hosts make seating decisions in seconds, gives servers a visual overview of their section, and feeds accurate occupancy data into reports. This guide walks through the entire setup process and explains how table reservations work once everything is in place.

Floor plans

Every outlet in Veridien can have its own floor plan. The floor plan is a visual representation of your dining space that staff interact with on the Restaurant > Tables screen. Tables appear as shapes on the plan, color-coded by status, and staff tap or click a table to open it, seat guests, or view its current order.

Creating a floor plan

You can return to the editor at any time to rearrange tables, add new ones, or remove tables that no longer exist. Changes take effect as soon as you save, so avoid editing the layout during peak service unless absolutely necessary.

Configuring tables

Each table on the floor plan needs three key properties: a number, a capacity, and a section assignment.

Table number

The table number is how your staff identifies the table verbally and on tickets. Use a numbering scheme that makes sense for your space. Many restaurants number sequentially (1, 2, 3...), while others use a prefix to indicate location (P1, P2 for patio tables; B1, B2 for bar seats). Choose a system and stay consistent.

Capacity

Capacity tells Veridien the maximum number of guests a table can seat. This matters for two reasons: it prevents hosts from seating a party of six at a two-top, and it feeds into availability calculations when guests make reservations. Set capacity to the comfortable maximum —the number of place settings you would normally lay, not the number of chairs you could physically squeeze in.

Section assignment

Sections group tables into logical zones, typically corresponding to a server's station. A section might be "Patio," "Main Floor Left," or "Private Dining." Assigning tables to sections lets you filter the floor plan by section and quickly see which tables belong to which server.

Setting up a table

Managing sections

Sections make large dining rooms manageable. Without them, the floor plan is a sea of numbered tables with no logical grouping.

Each section has a name and an optional color. The color tints tables on the floor plan, giving staff an immediate visual cue about which section a table belongs to. Sections can be managed from the floor plan editor when configuring tables.

During service, you can reassign tables between sections if you need to rebalance workload. If a server is overwhelmed and another has empty tables, drag a table from one section to another in the floor plan editor. The reassignment takes effect immediately.

Tips for organizing sections

• Match sections to server assignments. If each server covers a zone, name the section after the zone rather than the server. "Patio" stays meaningful across shifts; "Maria's section" does not.
• Keep sections roughly equal in covers. A section with three two-tops and another with two eight-tops creates an uneven workload. Balance total capacity across sections.
• Create a private dining section if you have a separate room. This lets you filter it out of the main floor plan view when it is not in use.

Table reservations

Once your floor plan is configured, you can accept table reservations through Veridien. Reservations block a table for a specific date, time, and party size, ensuring it is available when the guest arrives.

Creating a reservation

Managing reservations during service

Reservations show up on the floor plan as a distinct status color. When the reserved party arrives:

1. The host taps the reserved table on the floor plan.
2. Clicks Seat Guests to change the status from Reserved to Occupied.
3. The server is notified that their table has been seated and can begin taking the order.

If a reserved party does not show within your grace period, you can release the table by clicking Cancel Reservation on the table detail panel. The table returns to Available status and can be used for walk-ins.

Reading the floor plan

During service, the floor plan uses color coding to communicate table status at a glance. Understanding these colors is essential for hosts and managers.

Available tables appear in their default color (typically gray or white). They are empty, clean, and ready to seat. A host can tap an available table to seat a walk-in party.

Occupied tables appear in a highlighted color (typically blue or green). They have active guests with an open order. Tapping an occupied table shows the current order, elapsed time since seating, and the assigned server.

Reserved tables appear in a distinct color (typically orange or yellow). They are blocked for an upcoming reservation. The reservation time and guest name display on the table. Hosts should not seat walk-ins at reserved tables unless they are certain the reservation will not conflict.

Needs Cleaning tables appear in red or a warning color. The previous party has left, but the table has not been cleared and reset. Bussers and servers watch for this status. Once the table is clean, a staff member marks it as available from the floor plan, and it returns to the default color.

Scenario: busy evening with eight reservations and walk-ins

It is Friday evening at your 60-seat restaurant. You have eight reservations between 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM, and you are expecting a steady flow of walk-ins.

Before service (5:30 PM): Open the floor plan and review tonight's reservations. You see that tables 5, 8, 12, 15, 21, 24, 30, and 35 are marked Reserved at various times. Tables 12 and 15 are both reserved for 7:00 PM parties of four. You confirm that both tables have a capacity of four or more and that they are in different sections so the servers are not overloaded simultaneously.

Early seating (6:00 PM): The first two reservations arrive on time. You tap table 5 and table 8, click Seat Guests, and both flip to Occupied. Two walk-in couples arrive. You scan the floor plan for available two-tops that are not reserved for the next 90 minutes and seat them at tables 2 and 9.

Mid-service (7:00 PM): Tables 5 and 8 are still occupied. The 7:00 PM reservations for tables 12 and 15 arrive. You seat both parties. A walk-in party of six approaches the host stand. The floor plan shows one six-top available (table 22, no reservation tonight), so you seat them there. Another walk-in couple needs a table but all unreserved two-tops are full. You check the floor plan for tables marked Needs Cleaning —table 2's previous guests just left. You ask a busser to prioritize table 2, and within five minutes it is marked Available and you seat the couple.

Late seating (8:30 PM): The final reservation arrives for table 35. Several earlier tables have turned over and been cleaned. Walk-ins continue to fill the remaining available tables. By 9:00 PM, your restaurant is at full capacity, every table is Occupied, and the floor plan confirms it visually —no gray tables remain.

Throughout the evening, the floor plan gave you real-time information without a single phone call to the dining room. Reserved tables were protected, walk-ins were seated efficiently, and cleaning priorities were visible to the entire team.