This support article explains how to set up the prepayment feature so that you can start taking prepayments/deposits when customers book a table at your restaurant. This feature set up is super easy and there just a few steps that you have to take. The following guide will illustrate what the feature looks like from a guest view, as well as from a restaurant view.
How to activate the pre-payment feature
To activate the prepayment feature at your restaurant you have to do the following:
- Go to Menu–> Apps and activate the apps called “Online payment” and “Prepayment“.
- Go to Menu–> Settings–>Stripe and set up a Stripe account/connect it to your Stripe account if you have one already. Stripe is the payment gateway used by resOS, meaning that you will use it to manage the fees received by your guests for payouts, refunds and others.
- Go to Menu–> Settings–> Opening hours–> Payment–> Require prepayment. You can activate the app for specific opening hours when you are at your busiest, and not activate it for the rest of the opening hours.
- Choose the prepayment amount, if you want to require it per booking or per guest, the minimum number of guests and the cancellation policy that suits your restaurant best.
Payment time
Once the prepayment feature is activated (for the opening hours you selected) guests must pay a prepayment amount when booking a table within a customized time frame. You can choose the payment time that works for you and your guests by going to Menu–> Settings–> Booking–> Managing payments–> Payment completion time.
If the guests don’t introduce the payment details during the chosen time, the booking will automatically be canceled in the system, and the guests notified by it. For rebooking, the guests have to go through the booking flow again and add the payment information in time.
Check the status of the pre-payment
Sometimes, a guest might reconsider their booking during the prepayment process and interrupt the payment, which means the booking will also automatically cancel. You can always check if the prepayment is settled or if it is pending by going to Menu–>Bookings, find the specific booking, and check the status of the payment.
Manual bookings
If you are planning to manually add bookings to the system but still charge a prepayment fee (deposit), we got you covered! In order to do that, there are two options:
1. You simply need to make sure that you have your guest’s email address so that the system sends the payment link. So, once you add all the booking information into the form by going to Menu –>Bookings, your guest will receive the link if you enable the prepayment option on the lower right side of the booking form. Then, the guest needs to introduce their payment information within the chosen time (see above).
2. You can manually send your guest a payment link via the chat option in resOS by generating it in your Stripe account.
Settling a prepayment as a guest
When requiring a prepayment for table bookings, a notice will show up on the last step of the booking page based on your settings. The notice clarifies that a prepayment is required. At the end of the booking flow, the guest must settle the payment within the chosen time, or else the bookings is removed automatically. Once settled, simply lean back and enjoy reducing no-shows, as well as maximizing the capacity of the restaurant.
Do you need help with setting up the prepayment feature? Please let us know at [email protected] if you have questions about it. We are always happy to help you!
Read also about how you can minimize no-shows with fees and flagging bad guests 