Ecommerce Platform | How to set up table deposits

Ecommerce Platform | How to set up table deposits

⏱️ Estimated time: 5 minutes

👤 Role: Restaurant Managers, F&B Teams, Finance Teams


What you'll learn

  1. How to locate and configure deposit rules for specific restaurants and menus.
  2. How to choose between charging a flat booking deposit or a per-person deposit tier.
  3. How the system passes deposit details to integrated tools like ResDiary or SevenRooms.

When should I use this?

Use this guide when you want to secure high-value table bookings, seasonal menus, or holiday events (such as Christmas Day or Mother's Day) by requiring an upfront payment at checkout.

Before you start

  1. Ensure you have administrative login credentials for your ecommerce platform.
  2. Decide on your deposit pricing structure, including whether you will charge per table or per person, and if any minimum group size limits apply.
  3. Confirm that your integration with ResDiary or SevenRooms is active.

Step-by-step

1. Access the table deposit settings

  1. Log in to the ecommerce platform administration portal.
  2. Click Tables from the left-hand side menu.
  3. Click Deposits from the dropdown menu that appears below it.
  4. Click the Create a deposit button to launch the setup page.

2. Configure your deposit rules and limits

  1. Fill out the required restaurant, menu, and date parameter details on the screen.
  2. Select your deposit structure based on your current menu requirements:
  3. Option A: Per Booking Deposit: Set a single flat-rate fee that applies to the entire reservation regardless of the party size.
  4. Option B: Per Person (Covers) Deposit: Set a specific fee charged per individual guest. If you choose this option, you can also set a minimum group size limit (for example, a £5 deposit per person that only applies to bookings of 6 guests or more).

Important Notice: You can create multiple different deposit rules within the platform. However, if you are setting up rules for the same restaurant or menu, your active dates must not overlap. There can only be one valid deposit rule live for a specific menu at any given time.

3. Save your rules and verify the integration

  1. Review your edits and click save to apply the deposit rule to your live booking store.
  2. Note that when a guest completes a booking, the deposit amount taken will automatically be sent directly to ResDiary or SevenRooms as part of the primary booking notes.
Important Notice: Our platform securely takes and processes the deposit payment at checkout rather than simply storing card details for future manual payments.

Best practice

  1. Coordinate with F&B Teams: Ensure your restaurant hosts are aware that deposit values flow into the booking notes on ResDiary or SevenRooms so they can accurately deduct the paid amounts from the guest's final bill at the table.
  2. Check Date Parameters for Special Events: When setting up holiday or event deposits, double-check that your start and end dates match your promotional menu timeline precisely so guests are not charged standard rates by mistake.
  3. Audit Overlapping Rules: If you need to change a deposit amount for an upcoming season, always edit or expire the old deposit rule first to prevent conflicting date issues on the same restaurant menu.

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