Who are RestaurantDiary?
RestaurantDiary is an online reservation system, that integrates with OrderMate. It provides a booking platform and table management that is comprehensive and easy to use for hospitality businesses and their guests.
What the integration does
- Once a reservation is made in RestaurantDiary the reservation and guest details are sent to WaiterMate.
- WaiterMate will reserve the allocated table and the table icon will be updated to include a reservation icon for any reservations.
- When a guest is arrived and seated in RestaurantDiary a table will be automatically opened in OrderMate including the guests’ details. These guest details will be saved as a customer in OrderMate.
- Walk-ins made in WaiterMate will block out the table in RestaurantDiary automatically.
- As 'Table States' are updated in WaiterMate the 'Meal Status' is updated automatically in RestaurantDiary.
- As changes are made to the table in WaiterMate such as total spend, menu items sold and table status they are sent in real time to RestaurantDiary and saved against the guests profile.
- Reallocating a table number for a reservation that is already seated in RestaurantDiary will be reflected as a table transfer in WaiterMate.
- Once a table is paid off in WaiterMate the status will be updated in RestaurantDiary and the reservation closed.
The information shared in the integration
Floor Plans & Tables
Before setting up the integration between OrderMate and RestaurantDiary the table numbers and floor plans in both WaiterMate & RestaurantDiary should match so that the information can be shared to the corresponding tables.
Note: Follow the Creating your Table Floor Plan guide to make any adjustments in WaiterMate
Table States
OrderMate uses 'Table States' to call courses away and also to visually see the current status of tables on the floor plan. RestaurantDiary also uses a concept of 'Meal Statuses'. These states/statuses can be linked so that when a table state is changed in WaiterMate, it is automatically updated in RestaurantDiary.
The 'External Label' field in the 'Table State' configuration screen in OfficeMate must match the RestaurantDiary 'Meal Statuses'.
- Log in to OfficeMate
- Navigate to Setup > Configuration > Table States
- Edit the 'External Label' field to match the RestaurantDiary configuration
| Label (OrderMate) |
External Label (RestaurantDiary Name) |
|---|---|
| First | Starter |
| Second | Main |
| Third | Dessert |
Making & Viewing Reservations in WaiterMate
To view reservations in WaiterMate, select the 'Reservations' icon at the bottom of the table screen. From there a list of reservations imported through the RestaurantDiary integration will be visible.
Note: Only the current day's reservations need to be imported
Editing Reservations in WaiterMate
Some details of the reservations can be modified and the following details can be viewed;
- Modify the booking date, time, table number and covers
- Modify the booking comment using the on-screen keyboard
- View the customer's recent sales
- Edit the customer's information
- View the RestaurantDiary info.
Arriving a Reservation
Once a reservation has been seated in RestaurantDiary, the corresponding table in WaiterMate will change to an open state. This is indicated by the table icon changing to 'Green' as is usual for all open tables (see table 8 in the image below). The staff will then be able to use the table like a normal open table.
If a reservation has been made in RestaurantDiary the table icon in WaiterMate will be updated with a reservation icon to indicate a future reservation. The time of the next reservation for this table will be also be shown (see table 10 in the image below).
It is also possible to arrive a reservation from WaiterMate by selecting the 'Party Arrived' icon from the reservation. This will also update the Restaurant Diary and match the table status.
Note: OrderMate will automatically join tables on the floor plan if the reservation uses multiple tables.
Walk-Ins
Tables that are opened in WaiterMate without a reservation will create a walk-in reservation in RestaurantDiary. This is so that the RestaurantDiary system knows the table is in use and will not allow a double booking to be made.
Once an available table has been opened in WaiterMate, a walk-in is created automatically in RestaurantDiary. The walk-in booking will be updated automatically as the table state is changed in the POS, as well as when the table account is closed.
If a table is selected that has a reservation on it for the near future, opening the table will be locked to prevent overbooking the restaurant. The reservation name is shown so that the reservation could be moved to another table if required.
Transferring Tables
If a customer moves to a new table in the venue, transferring the table should be completed in WaiterMate using the 'Quick Transfer' feature at the bottom of the table screen.
Once a table has been transferred in WaiterMate, the original reservation in RestaurantDiary will close. A new walk-in will be opened for the new table in RestaurantDiary and the comments will be updated to indicate this was a transferred table.
Auto Join Tables
It is possible for one booking to be made in RestaurantDiary that requires multiple tables to be joined together. When the reservation is arrived, all allocated tables will be joined automatically.
Note: WaiterMate will automatically arrange the tables when auto-joining, but there may be a need to adjust the positioning manually after the table is closed. This can be done from the main tables screen using the 'Rearrange Tables' button.
Unallocated Reservations
If a reservation is marked as 'Seated' in RestaurantDiary, but the table is already occupied, or the table number does not exist in WaiterMate, the reservation will still be stored in WaiterMate using the 'Unallocated' tab from the bottom of the tables screen.
To allocate the reservations to a table manually, select the 'Allocate' icon and then select the desired table.
To prevent this from happening, It is recommended that;
- Check all of the table numbers match in both WaiterMate and RestaurantDiary
- Check that the table was not opened manually in WaiterMate prior to the reservation being arrived in RestaurantDiary
Sales Information
Once items have been ordered to a table in WaiterMate, they can be viewed in the ResDiary app along with the Check No. (Account number), Items Ordered, and the Receipt number.
