> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.eat-now.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Day to day with NowOS

> How your team works day to day once EatNow is connected to NowOS: who does what, where, and the few gestures to avoid.

Once NowOS is connected, your organisation barely changes — but it gets a lot simpler. This page describes how the two tools split the work during a normal service.

<Info>
  **EatNow owns the bookings. NowOS owns the orders.** If you remember one thing, make it this.
</Info>

***

## Who does what, and where

| Gesture                                   | EatNow | NowOS | Who wins           |
| ----------------------------------------- | :----: | :---: | ------------------ |
| Take a reservation                        |    ✅   |   —   | EatNow             |
| Change the time, date or guest            |    ✅   |   —   | EatNow             |
| Cancel a reservation                      |    ✅   |   ✅   | The latest gesture |
| Mark a guest **arrived**                  |    ✅   |   ✅   | The latest gesture |
| **Seat** a guest                          |    ✅   |   ✅   | The latest gesture |
| Assign a table ahead of service           |    ✅   |   ✅   | The latest gesture |
| Correct the **covers**                    |    ✅   |   ✅   | The latest gesture |
| Write / edit the **internal note**        |    ✅   |   ✅   | The latest gesture |
| Mark a **no-show**                        |    ✅   |   ✅   | The latest gesture |
| Move an **already seated** party          |    —   |   ✅   | NowOS              |
| Take the order, fire to the kitchen       |    —   |   ✅   | NowOS              |
| Cash out the bill                         |    —   |   ✅   | NowOS              |
| Manage the customer file, tags, allergies |    ✅   |   —   | EatNow             |
| Collect a deposit online                  |    ✅   |   —   | EatNow             |
| Charge or release a card imprint          |    ✅   |   —   | EatNow             |

***

## Before service

Nothing changes in your usual routine — see [A day in the life](/operations/daily-workflow). Two extra things to watch:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Make sure reservations are confirmed">
    A reservation with the status **Pending** or **Pending payment** is **deliberately not sent to the till**: until it's confirmed, it doesn't exist for the floor. Clear your pending requests before service.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign tables for the big parties">
    A reservation that already holds its tables is seated in a single tap on the till. The server opens the card and taps the seat button — no table picking mid-rush.

    You can assign tables from EatNow (**Floor plan** or **Planning** view) **or** from the till (assign a table on the reservation card). Both propagate automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  The reservation's **internal note** (the *Internal info (private)* field on the EatNow form) becomes the order's note as soon as the guest is seated — and it **prints at the top of every kitchen ticket**. It's the right place for "birthday, cake at 10pm" or "quiet table requested".
</Tip>

***

## During service

### Seating happens on the till

That's the main change: **your floor team no longer needs to touch EatNow during the rush.**

<Steps>
  <Step title="The guest arrives">
    The server taps **Reservations** on the till's floor plan, finds the line, and marks the guest arrived if the table isn't ready. In EatNow, the reservation flips to **Arrived**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The table is ready">
    The server opens the card and taps the seat button. The order opens. In EatNow, the reservation flips to **Seated**, with the right tables and the exact sit-down time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Service runs">
    The running bill total flows back into EatNow live. In EatNow's **Floor plan** view, click an occupied table: a **NowOS** block shows the amount **Spent** in real time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The table is cashed out">
    The server cashes out on the till. In EatNow, the reservation flips to **Done**, the table frees up, and the amount is attached to the customer.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  You **can** still change statuses from EatNow — handy when reception sees the guest walk past. Both paths lead to the same result: the latest gesture wins.
</Note>

### Walk-ins

A walk-in seated straight from the till's floor plan **automatically** creates a reservation in EatNow:

* source **Walk-in**,
* status **Seated**,
* on the right tables, at the right time,
* attached to the running shift.

Nothing to type. Your cover counts and occupancy rate therefore include everyone, bookings and walk-ins alike.

### Corrections made on the floor

These three corrections made on the till come back to EatNow automatically:

| Gesture on the floor                                            | Effect in EatNow                                                                 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Correcting the covers (*4 booked, 6 showed up*)                 | The cover count is updated on the reservation.                                   |
| Rewriting the order's note                                      | The reservation's **internal note** is updated.                                  |
| Assigning / changing the tables of a not-yet-seated reservation | Tables are updated and marked **definitive** (auto-assignment won't touch them). |

***

## The one gesture to avoid

<Warning>
  **Never close a reservation from EatNow while the bill is still open on the till.**
</Warning>

Marking **Done**, **No-show**, **Cancelled** or **Rejected** in EatNow **collects nothing** and **doesn't close** the bill on NowOS. The table would stay occupied on the till while EatNow believed it was free.

EatNow protects you: as soon as you attempt that on a reservation linked to an open bill, an **Open bill on the NowOS POS** dialog warns you and offers to step back.

You can force it if you know what you're doing (the bill was handled another way, for instance), but as a rule: **close from the till and EatNow will follow on its own.**

<Note>
  Special case — **no-show**: if the guest is seated on the till, this is almost certainly not a no-show. If you force it anyway, EatNow will then ask whether to **charge or release** the card imprint.
</Note>

***

## After service

Nothing special to do. Every table cashed out on the till has already flipped to **Done** in EatNow.

Just check in the **List** view that no reservation is stuck in an in-between status:

* Still **Confirmed** at the end of service = a guest who never came → mark it **No-show**.
* Still **Seated** = a bill never closed on the till → close it on the till.

***

## Fixing a wrong seating

Seated the wrong guest on the till? The fix happens **on the till**, not in EatNow.

On the reservation card, tap the "this isn't the right reservation" action under the open-order button. The order becomes an order without a reservation again — it keeps its tables, covers and contents — and the reservation goes back to waiting to be seated.

In EatNow, the reservation automatically returns to **Confirmed**, its tables are freed and the link to the bill is cut.

<Warning>
  This fix is only offered **while nothing has been fired to the kitchen and nothing has been cashed**. After that, the order has to be voided on the till.
</Warning>

***

## Seeing what happened

Every exchange between EatNow and NowOS is logged.

* **On a reservation**: open the reservation, **History** tab. You'll see *Exchange with NowOS* lines with their verdict (**succeeded** / **failed**) and the detail of what was sent or received.
* **For the whole restaurant**: **Settings → Logs**.

That's the first place to look when something didn't behave as expected.