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Temporary tables are the answer to “a group just walked in and we need a bill fast” — and to pop-up events where you need seating that vanishes when the night is over.

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Overview

A temporary table behaves exactly like a permanent one — it has a name, section, capacity, sessions, bills, KDS tickets — with one crucial difference:
Once its bill is paid and the session closes, the temporary table automatically archives from the floor plan.
You never have to clean up. The card disappears, history stays.

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Who can create them

This rule is enforced in the UI. When a non-manager opens the Add Table modal, the Temporary table checkbox is checked and greyed out, with the label: “Staff-created tables are always temporary.”

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Create a temporary table

  1. From the Floor Plan, tap Add Table.
  2. Enter a name — e.g. Walk-in 1, Group of 6, Bar Stool, or leave it as the auto-suggested Walk-in #N.
  3. Set capacity and section as normal. Many restaurants use a dedicated Walk-in section.
  4. Ensure Temporary table is checked. (For staff it’s already locked on.)
  5. Tap Add Table.
Temporary table

Creating a temporary table for a walk-in group

The card appears immediately on the floor plan with a small Temp badge in the corner.

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Identifying temporary tables on the floor

Temporary tables display a Temp badge on their card. Otherwise they look and behave like any other table:
  • They can be opened, ordered on, split, transferred, and merged.
  • KDS tickets show their name.
  • Waiter assignments work normally.

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What happens when they close

The moment both of these are true, the table auto-archives:
  1. The session is closed (via Close Table or Pay & Close).
  2. The bill is fully settled (payment total ≥ bill total).
The card disappears from the floor plan on the next refresh. Historical data is preserved:
  • The bill remains in Transaction History / Shift.
  • ZRA Smart Invoice submissions keep the original table name.
  • Shift reports include revenue and item counts.
If a bill is closed without payment (Manager PIN required — see Table Statuses), the table still archives, but the closure appears in the manager audit log with the reason.

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Bringing back an archived temporary table

You can’t un-archive from the floor plan. If you need it back:
  • Just create a new one with the same name. The old bill is preserved separately in history.
  • Or, ask a manager to create it as permanent if you find you’re using the same walk-in slot every night.

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Editing a temporary table

Staff can rename, resection, or re-capacity a temporary table they created via the Edit Table modal — the same fields work. Staff can also delete their own temporary tables without a Manager PIN. This is useful if a group leaves before ordering.

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Tips & best practices

Create a Walk-in section. Set your walk-in preference on the Floor Plan to Separate so those tables cluster at the bottom of the grid and don’t clutter your permanent layout.
Give temporary tables descriptive names during busy service: Bar - group of 4, Patio spillover, Birthday party. Kitchen staff appreciate the context on KDS tickets.
Managers: if a temporary table has been sitting Ordering for over an hour without KDS activity, it’s probably a group that walked away without paying. Force-close it (Manager PIN) and follow up.

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Common mistakes

  • Making walk-ins permanent. They pile up. Use temporary.
  • Forgetting to close a paid temporary table. It won’t auto-archive until you tap Close or Pay & Close. See Closing Tables.
  • Renaming a temporary table across sessions. Confusing. Close the current session first.
  • Deleting a temporary table with an unpaid bill. Blocked. Close the bill or force-close (Manager PIN).
Last modified on July 19, 2026