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These settings control how a booking becomes confirmed — automatically, or after you review it — and how to nudge customers so they actually show up.

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How bookings are accepted

The Reservation system (General tab) offers three modes:
ModeWhat happensBest for
AutomaticEvery booking is confirmed instantlyMost restaurants — fast and hands-off
ManualEvery booking waits for staff approval before it’s confirmedExclusive venues that vet every party
AdvancedSmall parties auto-confirm; parties above a threshold need your approvalAuto-accept the everyday, review big groups

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Advanced mode

In Advanced mode you set a threshold group size. Parties at or below it are confirmed automatically; larger parties land in your queue to approve or decline.
Example: threshold of 6 → a table of 4 is confirmed instantly, a table of 10 waits for you.
Advanced mode is the sweet spot for most restaurants: you keep the convenience of instant booking for everyday tables, while still casting an eye over the large, high-stakes parties.

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Double confirmation

Double confirmation is a no-show tool, not a way of accepting bookings. It works alongside your reservation system — Automatic, Manual, or Advanced — and never accepts or rejects anything itself. You set a delay before the meal, and at that point EatNow automatically asks the guest to re-confirm they’re still coming. It lives on the Advanced tab.
Manual reservation and double confirmation are independent and often used together: manual approval lets you check capacity and accept the booking first, while double confirmation later nudges the guest to reconfirm so they actually show up.
If the customer doesn’t re-confirm, their reservation is not automatically cancelled — it simply flags that they didn’t respond, so you can follow up. Double confirmation is a reminder, not an auto-cancel.
You can tune:
  • Minimum group size — only ask larger parties to re-confirm (where a no-show hurts most).
  • Standard delay — how long before the meal the re-confirmation request is sent (e.g. 48 hours).
Add a custom delay to treat early bookings differently. For reservations made before a chosen point (e.g. more than 5 days ahead), you can send the re-confirmation request on a different schedule (e.g. a week before arrival) so a booking made months ago still gets a timely nudge.

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FAQ

What’s the difference between Manual mode and double confirmation? Manual mode holds a booking until you approve it. Double confirmation confirms the booking immediately but asks the customer to reconfirm closer to the date. Manual controls acceptance; double confirmation reduces no-shows. Where do bookings awaiting approval appear? Pending bookings show up in your reservations list for you to confirm or decline.