To choose a restaurant booking system, start with how you take bookings today and what goes wrong on a busy night, then compare systems on five things: how they charge you, who owns the guest data, where guests book, how walk-ins and phone bookings fit in, and what happens when a guest doesn’t turn up. Features lists all look alike; those five questions separate the systems that suit you from the ones that don’t.
Start with how your service actually runs
Before you look at any software, write down how a typical Saturday works:
- Where do bookings come from? Your website, the phone, walk-ins, messages?
- Who takes them, and where are they written down?
- What went wrong in the last month? A double booking, a no-show, a table held for a party that never came?
The answers tell you what to test. A neighbourhood bistro that lives on walk-ins needs something different from a tasting-menu restaurant that books out weeks ahead.
1. How does it charge you?
Booking systems usually charge in one of two ways:
- A flat monthly subscription. You pay the same whatever your covers.
- A fee per cover or per booking, sometimes on top of a monthly fee.
A per-cover fee looks cheap in a quiet month and expensive in December. Work out what you would pay in your busiest month, not your average one. Ask too about contract length, card processing fees and anything charged for extra locations or users.
2. Who owns the guest data?
Your regulars are the most valuable part of the business. Ask:
- Can you export guest names, contact details and visit history?
- Does the platform market other restaurants to your guests?
- If you leave, what do you take with you?
A system that keeps guest profiles in your account, under your name, lets you build a relationship with regulars instead of renting one.
3. Where do guests book?
Some systems send guests to a marketplace app, next to other restaurants. Others put a booking button on your own website, under your brand. Both can bring bookings; only one keeps the guest looking at you rather than at the restaurant next door.
4. Do walk-ins and phone bookings fit in?
Online bookings are only part of the night. If walk-ins live on a notepad and phone bookings in a diary, nobody has the full picture when the room fills. Look for a system where the host sees website bookings, phone bookings and walk-ins in one live list, on a screen they can use mid-service.
5. What happens when a guest doesn’t turn up?
Ask whether guests can save a card when they book, whether you can charge a no-show fee from the reservation, and what it costs. If no-shows are a problem for you, this one feature can pay for the system. Our guide to reducing no-shows covers the policies that work.
Test it on a real service
A demo shows the best case. A trial shows your case. Set up your real tables, take real bookings for a week and ask the team what they think after a Friday night. If the host can’t use it mid-service, it doesn’t matter what else it does.
How ForStars fits
ForStars is booking and table management software for UK restaurants, priced as a flat monthly plan with no commission per cover. Guests book on your own website, the team sees website bookings, phone bookings and walk-ins on one live floor plan, and guest profiles stay in your account. On the Growth and Premium plans, guests save a card through Stripe so you can charge a no-show fee. Every plan starts with a free trial; see pricing.
Questions owners ask
How long does it take to switch booking systems?
Setting up tables and opening hours takes an afternoon in most systems. The longer part is moving future bookings across and training the team, so plan the switch for a quieter week.
Do I need a booking system if I mostly take walk-ins?
Often yes. A system that tracks walk-ins shows which tables are free and when, and keeps a record of covers that a notepad loses.
Should I pick the system with the most features?
No. Pick the one that handles your busiest night best. Unused features add clutter on the host stand.