Dine & Dash Log
Dine & Dash Log (Walkout Log) tracks incidents where guests leave without paying — for loss prevention, CCTV review coordination, police reporting, and spotting repeat-offender patterns by time slot or table zone. It is separate from Service Recovery (poor service) and Void & Comp (intentional management write-offs).
Overview
Each incident records Date, Time Slot, Table No., Zone, Party Size, Amount Owed, a free-text Guest Description (for identification), Reported By, internal Notes, and a Status.
Status flow: OPEN → CCTV_REVIEW → POLICE_REPORTED → RECOVERED or WRITTEN_OFF. Any status can be selected directly when updating an incident — there is no forced linear progression.
An Action Log lets you append timestamped follow-up actions to an incident (e.g. "CCTV reviewed — identified suspects", "Police complaint filed", "Guest called back and paid") without overwriting earlier entries.
A Repeat Pattern alert automatically flags this month's incidents when the same Zone or the same Time Slot has occurred 2 or more times, helping identify a vulnerable table area or shift.
Summary stats show Open Incidents, this month's Total Lost (excluding recovered amounts), Recovered amount, and Written Off amount.
Each incident can be printed as a standalone report — date/time, table/zone, party size, amount owed, status, reporter, guest description, notes, and the full action log — with a blank manager signature line, suitable for police or insurance use.
Before You Start
- You must have the Billing feature enabled on your plan.
Step-by-Step Guide
1 Log a walkout incident
- Open Finance & Payments → Dine & Dash Log and click "Log Incident".
- Enter Table No. (required), Zone, Party Size, and Amount Owed (required, greater than 0).
- Set the Date and Time Slot, add a Guest Description (clothing, language, anything memorable) to help identify them later, and enter Reported By (required).
- Add any internal Notes, then click "Log Incident" — it starts with status OPEN.
2 Track follow-up and update status
- Reopen the incident (click "Update") and change Status as work progresses (CCTV Review, Police Reported, Recovered, or Written Off).
- Add an entry to the Action Log each time something is done — pick an Action Taken (from a fixed list) and Done By, then click the + button; entries stack chronologically and are never overwritten.
3 Investigate a repeat pattern
- Watch for the amber "Repeat Pattern Detected" banner, which lists any zone or time slot with 2+ incidents this month.
- Use this to consider adjusting staffing, table layout, or supervision in the flagged zone/time slot.
4 Print an incident report
- Click "Report" on any incident to open a printable summary with a blank manager signature line, suitable for handing to police or an insurer.
Every Field & Button, Explained
| Field / Button | What it does |
|---|---|
Table No. / Zone | Table No. is free text (required); Zone is one of Main Hall, Terrace, Bar, Private Dining, Rooftop, Garden, Other. |
Time Slot | One of six fixed 2-hour bands (12:00–14:00 … 22:00–00:00) or Other — used for the repeat-pattern check. |
Party Size / Amount Owed | Party Size defaults to 2; Amount Owed is required and must be greater than 0. |
Guest Description | Free text to help identify the guest(s) later — physical description, clothing, language, anything memorable. |
Status | OPEN, CCTV_REVIEW, POLICE_REPORTED, RECOVERED, or WRITTEN_OFF — freely selectable, not enforced as a strict sequence. |
Action Log | An append-only list of {date, done by, action taken} entries recorded against the incident over time. |
Tips & Best Practices
- Fill in Guest Description immediately while memory is fresh — it is the single most useful field for a later CCTV review or police report.
- Use the Action Log rather than editing Notes repeatedly — it preserves a clear chronological trail of what was tried and by whom.
- Review the Repeat Pattern banner monthly even if no single incident seems serious — a pattern across several small incidents often points to a specific vulnerability.