Pace arrivals with Pacing Management

Add-on: Pacing Management (switched on per location; no published list price)BackofficeFor managers

Needs: Manage pacing settings (Owner and Admin by default); viewing needs View pacing dashboard

Pacing limits how many guests (covers) or how many bookings can arrive in one time slot, so the kitchen isn't hit by 40 covers at 19:30. It works on top of your tables: a slot closes online when its pacing limit is reached, even if tables are free.

Where to find it

Backoffice › Planning › Pacing. The page is titled Pacing management. If pacing is off, the page says "Pacing is not enabled" with an Enable pacing button.

What it does

  • Global limits:
    • Limit Mode: Hard blocks party sizes that would exceed the remaining covers (3 covers left: parties of 1–3 can still book, 4+ can't). Soft allows any booking until the limit is reached, then closes the slot; one booking can slightly exceed the limit.
    • Default Max Covers / Slot, with a Suggested value based on your seats, average turn time and slot interval.
    • Default Max Reservations / Slot: number of bookings per slot whatever their party size. Leave empty for no limit. Once that many bookings land in a slot, it closes in both modes.
    • Slot Interval: shown for reference; it follows your widget's time slot interval.
  • Max covers per slot by weekday: a different baseline per weekday (Weekday max).
  • Time slot limits: a bar chart per shift where you set a cap for a single time, for all days (General) or one weekday only. A shift can also get its own max (Shift max). Turn on Reservation caps to also cap bookings per slot.
  • Date Exceptions: different limits on one date (see "Change pacing limits for one date").

When several limits exist, the most specific one wins: a date exception, then a weekday time slot, then an all-days time slot, then the weekday max, then the shift max, then the default.

How to switch on pacing

  1. Go to Planning › Pacing and click Enable pacing (or enable Pacing Management in Settings › Add-ons).
  2. Under Global limits, pick Hard or Soft and set Default Max Covers / Slot.
  3. Click Save pacing. You see "Pacing configuration saved".

Good to know

  • Pacing counts every active booking that arrives in a slot (cancelled and no-show bookings don't count), but it only blocks online bookings. Your team can still book past it.
  • A slot runs from its start time for one interval: with 15-minute slots, an arrival at 19:10 counts for the 19:00 slot.
  • Pacing stacks with "Max guests at the same time" and other limits; the strictest wins.
  • When an online booking is refused because the slot just filled up, the guest sees "This time slot is fully booked…".
  • Host App users see live pacing per slot in Availability.

Troubleshooting

The Manage button on the Pacing add-on tile opens "page not found" Open the page from the sidebar instead: Planning › Pacing.

"Failed to enable pacing feature" or "Failed to save pacing configuration" Your role may lack "Manage pacing settings". Ask an Owner or Admin.

A slot is closed online but has free tables Its covers or bookings limit is reached. Check the bar chart for that slot and any date exception.

Large parties can't book a slot that still has room In Hard mode, a party bigger than the remaining covers is blocked. Switch to Soft or raise the limit.

I set a limit of 0 by accident A 0 on a slot, weekday or shift closes it completely. Clear the field to inherit the default.