> ## 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.

# EatNow + NowOS

> NowOS is the point-of-sale system built by the EatNow team. Learn what the integration brings to your restaurant and how the two tools split the work.

**NowOS is the point-of-sale system built by the EatNow team.** Because both products come from the same team, this integration goes far deeper than any third-party POS connection: reservations, tables, guests, checks and prepayments all flow both ways, in real time, with nothing for you to do.

<Note>
  Looking for the till's own documentation (taking orders, cashing out, closing the day)? It lives at [docs.now-os.app](https://docs.now-os.app). This section covers **the EatNow side**: how to connect NowOS, what changes in EatNow once it's connected, and how your team should work day to day.
</Note>

***

## The golden rule

It all comes down to one sentence your whole team should know:

<Info>
  **EatNow owns the bookings. NowOS owns the orders.**
</Info>

| What you do                                | Where to do it       |
| ------------------------------------------ | -------------------- |
| Take, edit, cancel a reservation           | **EatNow**           |
| Manage the customer file, tags, allergies  | **EatNow**           |
| Collect a deposit or prepayment online     | **EatNow**           |
| Mark a guest arrived, seat them, move them | **NowOS** (the till) |
| Take the order, fire to the kitchen        | **NowOS**            |
| Cash out the bill, close the table         | **NowOS**            |

The two systems keep each other up to date automatically. You **never** have to type the same thing twice.

***

## What the integration gives you

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Your bookings on the till" icon="calendar-check">
    A **Reservations** panel appears on the till's floor plan. Your servers see the time, the name, the covers and the late arrivals, and seat the guest in one gesture.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Seatings come back on their own" icon="arrows-exchange">
    When the floor seats a guest on the till, the reservation flips to **Seated** in EatNow, on the right tables. Nobody updates EatNow by hand.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The full guest profile on the floor" icon="user-star">
    VIP, allergies, visit count, average spend, no-shows, recent visits: everything EatNow knows about the guest shows on the till the moment they're seated.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Real revenue per booking" icon="cash">
    The bill cashed on the till comes back into EatNow, onto the reservation and onto the customer file — your average spend finally becomes accurate.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Deposits usable at the table" icon="credit-card">
    A deposit collected online shows on the till's bill and is deducted from the amount due in one tap.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Walk-ins come back too" icon="walk">
    A walk-in seated straight on the till automatically creates a **Walk-in** reservation in EatNow, already seated. Your stats count everyone.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## What makes this integration different

Most POS connections on the market stop at pulling revenue at the end of service. With NowOS the exchange is **two-way and immediate** on nearly every field that matters:

| Capability                      | Other POS systems | NowOS                                                |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| Bookings visible on the floor   | Rarely            | ✅ Dedicated panel on the floor plan                  |
| Seating from the till           | No                | ✅ Back in EatNow within seconds                      |
| 360° guest profile on the floor | No                | ✅ History, allergies, VIP, average spend             |
| Internal note                   | No                | ✅ Both ways, and printed on kitchen tickets          |
| Covers corrected at the table   | No                | ✅ Both ways                                          |
| Table changes                   | No                | ✅ Both ways                                          |
| Deposit deducted from the bill  | No                | ✅ Applied on the payment sheet                       |
| Card imprint                    | No                | ✅ Shown on the floor, charged/released automatically |
| Cashed checks                   | End-of-day export | ✅ Live, line by line                                 |
| Walk-ins from the till          | No                | ✅ Created automatically in EatNow                    |

***

## How it works, end to end

<Steps>
  <Step title="The guest books">
    Through your portal, by phone, via the WhatsApp AI agent, or typed in by your team. The reservation exists in EatNow.
  </Step>

  <Step title="EatNow tells the till">
    As soon as the reservation is **confirmed**, EatNow sends it to NowOS with all its context: covers, assigned tables, internal note, allergies, guest profile, any deposit. Every later change is pushed automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The floor seats the guest">
    The server opens the **Reservations** panel on the till, taps the guest's line and seats them. An order opens, linked to the reservation.
  </Step>

  <Step title="EatNow updates itself">
    The reservation flips to **Seated** in EatNow, with the right tables and the exact sit-down time. The EatNow floor plan shows those tables as occupied.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Service runs">
    The running bill total flows back into EatNow live. An internal note rewritten by the server comes back to EatNow. So do covers corrected at the table.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The table is cashed out">
    The paid bill comes back into EatNow: the reservation flips to **Done**, the amount is attached to the customer, and any card imprint is released automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Prerequisites

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="A NowOS account in restaurant mode">
    The **Tables** tab and the **Reservations** panel only exist in NowOS restaurant mode. In retail mode there is no floor plan to connect.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A published floor plan in NowOS">
    Your tables must exist **and be published** on the NowOS side before they can be paired with EatNow's. See [Pair your tables](/nowos/table-mapping).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A floor plan enabled in EatNow">
    Your restaurant needs an EatNow floor plan (**Room plan** in the sidebar). Without one, there is nothing to pair.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Permission to manage integrations">
    Only collaborators allowed to create an integration see the **Connect** button. Everyone else sees **Not authorized**. See [Permissions](/collaborators/permissions).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Where to start

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect NowOS" icon="plug" href="/nowos/connect">
    The full procedure, on both sides, in 10 minutes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pair your tables" icon="layout-grid" href="/nowos/table-mapping">
    The step that makes seating work in both directions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Day to day" icon="clipboard-check" href="/nowos/daily-workflow">
    Who does what, and where, once you're connected.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sync reference" icon="arrows-exchange" href="/nowos/sync-reference">
    Exactly what travels, in which direction, and when.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>