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Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.eat-now.io/llms.txt

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The Planning view shows your day as a horizontal timeline — each row is a table, each block is a reservation. It’s the right view for running service in real time: see who’s coming, who’s seated, where you have headroom, and move things around quickly.
Planning overview

When to use this view

EatNow gives you three ways to look at your reservations. Each has its job:
ViewBest for
Floor planSpatial layout of the dining room, seating walk-ins
ListSorting, filtering, reviewing, exporting
PlanningOrchestrating service, spotting peaks, moving a reservation quickly
Switch between them via the three icons in the top-right of the Reservations page.

Anatomy

From top to bottom:
  1. Header — date picker, filters (services, statuses, rooms), search, “Block” and “Refresh” buttons.
  2. Hours bar — stays sticky at the top while you scroll. On hover, a blue tooltip shows the exact time plus the number of reservations and covers at that moment (e.g. 20:30 — 30 resv · 151 pers).
  3. Orange shift bar — shows each service’s window (e.g. Dinner 7pm-11pm).
  4. “Unassigned” lane — yellow background with an orange badge counting reservations without a table. See below.
  5. Rooms (Main Room, Mezzanine, Terrasse…) — collapsible. Each room contains its tables.
  6. Table rows — one row per table. Number and capacity (1 - 4) on the left.
  7. Reservation blocks — colored by status. Width = expected duration.
  8. Vertical red line — current time (now).

Reading a block

Each block shows the key info at a glance:
  • Color = status (gray = confirmed, blue = seated, green = arrived, etc.).
  • Customer name.
  • Fork icon + number = covers (party size).
  • 🔒 Lock (if visible) = the table is pinned for this reservation, auto-assign won’t touch it. See Pinned table.
  • ⚠ Late (red, blinking) = the reservation should already have arrived but the status is still “Confirmed”.

Tap to act fast

Click (or tap on mobile) any block to open a quick-action menu.
Quick-action sheet on tap
This menu shows you:
  • The current status (badge top-right — here Confirmed).
  • Status transitions that make sense from the current state — not all statuses appear, only the relevant ones. For example:
    • From “Confirmed”: Showed up, Seated, For drinks, No-show.
    • From “Showed up”: Seated, Done.
    • From “Seated”: Done.
    • Once “Done” / “Cancelled”: no buttons (final state).
  • “Pinned table” toggle — only if auto-assign is enabled for your restaurant.
  • See details — opens the full reservation drawer.
  • Unassign — removes the reservation from the table (it goes back into the “Unassigned” lane).
A tap does ONE thing: opens this menu. To move the reservation (drag & drop), do a long-press — see Move a reservation.

Right-click (desktop) → context menu

On desktop, you can also right-click a block to open a fuller context menu. It offers the same status changes, plus:
  • See detail / See customer profile.
  • Cancel reservation (with optional refund if there’s a payment).
  • Refund all (if existing payments).
  • Capture / Skip of a pre-authorization when marking as No-show.
On mobile, right-click doesn’t exist. All critical actions are reachable via the quick-action sheet + the “See details” button.

Pinned table

When auto-assign is on for your restaurant, EatNow shuffles reservations across tables to optimize service. The 🔒 lock icon means a reservation is pinned to its table: auto-assign won’t move it.

How to pin

  • Manually from the quick-action sheet → “Pinned table” toggle.
  • Automatically when you drag-and-drop a reservation. The explicit move is treated as a decision: the reservation gets pinned immediately, and the 🔒 appears.
To unpin (let it float again), turn off the toggle in the action sheet.

Move a reservation

Drag & drop is the Planning view’s headline feature. In a single gesture you can change the table (vertical movement) and the time (horizontal movement).
Drag & drop in progress

The gesture

  1. Long-press a block (~350ms — you’ll see it shrink slightly, that’s the cue).
  2. On mobile, you’ll feel a small vibration — drag is armed.
  3. Slide your finger / mouse to the new position. You’ll see:
    • A black floating ghost following your pointer (reminder of which reservation you’re holding).
    • A dashed blue rectangle on the target row showing exactly where the reservation will land (table + time).
    • The original block stays in place but greyed out, like an “anchor” of the move.
  4. Release — the reservation lands at the new position. The 🔒 appears automatically.

Snap to 15 minutes

The target time is automatically snapped to 15-minute slots. No need for pixel-perfect aim.

Auto-scroll at edges

If the destination is off-screen (e.g. moving a reservation from 4pm to 10pm and 10pm isn’t visible), just keep moving toward the edge. The grid auto-scrolls in that direction. Same vertically for rooms.

Short tap vs long-press

  • Short tap (release < 350ms) → opens the quick-action menu.
  • Long-press (≥ 350ms) → enters drag mode.
If you move your finger before the drag arms (during the first 350ms), the gesture is cancelled — try again.

Conflicts on drop

If you drop a reservation on a slot already occupied by another, EatNow opens a modal asking what to do:
  • Mark as done the previous reservation (frees the table).
  • Chain them — both reservations follow each other on the same table.
  • Replace — unassigns the previous reservation (it goes back to the “Unassigned” lane).
  • Cancel — nothing changes.

Unassigned lane

At the top of the grid, on yellow background, EatNow shows reservations without a table. The orange badge on the left counts them.

How they get there

  • A reservation created without manual assignment.
  • A reservation that was unassigned (from the action menu or elsewhere).
  • A reservation auto-assign couldn’t place (no compatible table available).

”Auto-assign all” button

The ✨ icon to the left of the lane runs auto-assign. EatNow tries to place all unassigned reservations while respecting capacity, room constraints, and times. Pinned reservations (🔒) are not touched.

Drag & drop from the lane

You can also drag a reservation from the lane down to a table: same gesture as a normal block. The reservation leaves the lane and lands on the target table.

Subtleties

Multiple reservations on the same slot

When 2+ reservations have exactly the same time and duration on the same table (or stacked in the lane), EatNow merges them into a single dark-grey block 2 resv. Click it to open a window listing each reservation individually.
Stacked block showing two reservations on the same slot

Visible conflicts

If two reservations overlap on the same table (without being stacked exactly), the conflict zone shows a red diagonal stripe pattern. It’s a signal that you have a problem to resolve: move one, mark one as done, or ignore if intentional.

Hover over the hours bar

When hovering the grid (desktop mouse), a blue tooltip follows the cursor and shows:
  • The exact time under the cursor.
  • The number of reservations and covers expected at that moment (across all rooms, excluding cancelled and no-shows).
Handy to spot pressure peaks instantly.

Mobile vs Desktop

GestureDesktopMobile / Tablet
Short tapQuick-action menuQuick-action menu
Long-pressStarts dragStarts drag (vibrates)
Right-clickContext menuN/A
Hours bar hoverPressure tooltipN/A (no touch hover)
On mobile, you can’t scroll the grid by starting your finger on a block — this is intentional so drag works without conflict. Start your finger on an empty cell to scroll normally.

FAQ

Why doesn’t the tap menu offer every status? EatNow filters status transitions that make sense from the current state. If you need a specific status (e.g. forcing a return from “Done” to “Seated”), open See details → the full drawer allows anything. How do I cancel a reservation? On desktop: right-click the block → Cancel reservation. On mobile: tap → See details → cancel from the full drawer. How does this view relate to the Floor plan? Both show the same data in real time — when you change a status or move a reservation in Planning, the Floor plan updates instantly (and vice versa). Pick the view that matches your task. What’s the yellow counter (“82”) at the top-left? It’s the number of reservations without a table for the day. Click the ✨ button next to it to run auto-assign, or drag blocks from the lane onto a table. What are the “44 resv / 19 resv / 19 resv” pills under the shift bar? They’re groups of unassigned reservations at the same slot. Click them to see the list.