⏱️ rest-guest

Table Turn Timer

Table Turn Timer tracks how long each occupied table has been seated against a target duration, walking it through service milestones (Seated → Order Taken → Starter Served → Main Served → Dessert → Bill Dropped → Cleared) so you can spot tables running over and see your average turn time for the day.

📍 Menu path: Guest Journey → Table Turn Timer

👤 Who uses it: All roles with the Billing feature enabled

Overview

Starting a timer for a table records the current time as "Seated" and a target duration (defaults to 90 minutes, adjustable per table when starting).

Each live table card shows elapsed time in large text, a progress bar (green under 80% of target, amber 80–100%, red at or past target) and the current milestone highlighted among the step chips.

Clicking the advance button on a card moves it to the next milestone in sequence; at the last active step ("Bill Dropped") the button becomes "✓ Clear Table" — clearing removes the table from the live floor and files it under Completed Today with its total elapsed time.

The Seat a Table dialog can pick from your real Table Management list (auto-filling section and covers from the chosen table) if any tables exist, or falls back to free-text entry for table/section if none are configured yet.

The Live Floor tab shows only currently active (not yet cleared) tables; the Completed Today tab is a table of every turn cleared today with seated time, total time, target and the variance (+/- minutes) against target.

KPIs at the top show Active Tables, tables currently Over Target, Turns Completed today, and the day's Average Turn Time (from completed turns only).

A "Print Report" button generates a printable page with both the live floor snapshot and today's completed turns table.

This is a separate live-tracking record from the table's own status in Table Management — clearing a turn here does not itself change the table's status elsewhere.

Before You Start

You must have the Billing feature enabled on your plan.
Setting up tables in Table Management first is recommended so the Seat a Table dialog can offer a proper table/section dropdown instead of free text.

Step-by-Step Guide

1 Start tracking a newly seated table

Open Table Turn Timer and click "+ Seat Table".
Pick the table from the dropdown (auto-fills section and covers) or type it manually if no tables are set up.
Adjust Covers and Target (mins) if needed, then click "Start Timer".

2 Move a table through service milestones

Find the table's card under Live Floor.
Click the advance button repeatedly as service progresses — it shows the next milestone name each time (e.g. "→ Starter Served").
At "Bill Dropped", click "✓ Clear Table" once the party has left — this moves the entry into Completed Today with its final turn time.

3 Review turn performance for the day

Check the KPI strip for how many tables are currently Over Target and today's Average Turn Time.
Switch to the "Completed Today" tab to see every cleared turn with its total time versus target (red if over, green if under).
Use "Print Report" for a physical copy to review with the floor team.

Every Field & Button, Explained

Field / Button	What it does
`Target (mins)`	The expected dining duration for that seating, set when starting the timer (default 90); drives the progress bar colour and the "Over Target" KPI.
`Milestone`	One of Seated, Order Taken, Starter Served, Main Served, Dessert, Bill Dropped, Cleared — advances one step at a time via the card's button; cannot be skipped or moved backward from this screen.
`Section filter`	Filters the Live Floor grid by section, derived from your real Table Management sections when available, or from sections already used on active turns otherwise.
`Total Time (Completed Today)`	The elapsed time between Seated and Cleared, recorded at the moment you click "✓ Clear Table" — not editable after the fact from this screen.
`vs Target`	Total Time minus the turn's Target, shown with a + prefix and in red when the table ran over, or in green when it finished under target.

Tips & Best Practices

Set realistic targets per party size and occasion (e.g. a longer target for a birthday party of 8 than a quick lunch for 2) rather than leaving every table at the default 90 minutes.
Advancing milestones consistently (not just clearing at the end) is what makes the step chips useful for spotting where a table is stuck — e.g. seeing several tables stuck at "Order Taken" for a long time points to a kitchen bottleneck.
Review the "Completed Today" tab at the end of each shift to catch a pattern of consistently over-target tables in a particular section.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

I cleared a table by mistake.

There is no undo for clearing a turn from this screen — the entry moves permanently into Completed Today with whatever elapsed time it had at that moment; you would need to start a new timer for that table if service is still ongoing.

My target/avg-turn numbers look inflated by a table I forgot to clear from a previous shift.

A table left running in Live Floor keeps accumulating elapsed time until it's manually advanced to Cleared — check Live Floor for any stale entries from earlier in the day and clear or remove them.

The Seat a Table dialog only lets me type a table name instead of picking from a list.

The dropdown only appears once you have tables set up in Table Management — until then, the dialog falls back to free-text entry for table and section.