FAQs | SpotOn Reserve

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SpotOn Reserve Management System

SpotOn Reserve is a new system available to our restaurant merchants. The feature-rich front-of-house management app includes guest seating, server rotation, reservations and waitlists.

SpotOn Reserve FAQ

What is SpotOn Reserve?

SpotOn Reserve is a full Front of House Management tool for restaurants to use in managing their reservations, waitlist, guest seating, server rotation and take out order notifications. 

What is the Web Portal URL for Reserve?

The SpotOn Reserve Web Portal URL is https://Restaurant.SpotOnReserve.com

How does a guest make a reservation or get on a waitlist online?

A guest can make a reservation or join a waitlist by providing their mobile number and/or email address by clicking on the “Make a Reservation” or “Join the Waitlist“ or similar buttons on the subscribing restaurant’s website or by visiting the subscribing restaurant’s Google page. 

What happens when a guest makes a reservation or gets on a waitlist online?

Each guest that makes a reservation will receive a booking confirmation email (if their email was provided) or a booking confirmation text. Each guest that joins a restaurant’s waitlist will receive a welcome to the waitlist text.

How do I allow guests to make a reservation or join my waitlist from my website?

SpotOn Reserve provides restaurants three ways of allowing guests to make a reservation from their website: (1) a weblink, which is a URL web address redirecting the guest to a preformatted webpage branded with the restaurant’s logo, profile picture, hours, menu and amenities; (2) a Software Development Kit (SKD) that the restaurant can use to create an “on-website” experience so that the guest is not redirected away from their site; and (3) an open API, which allows the restaurant to hire a web developer to create a custom reservation experience as part of the restaurant’s website. 

How are guest reservations confirmed?

Every reservation booked into SpotOn Reserve will be confirmed automatically, 24 hours before the guest’s reservation time via an SMS text. The guest is given the ability to confirm the reservation by texting back a “1”, or cancel the reservation by texting back a “2”.

Who do I call to make my Reserve system LIVE? Live on Google?

There is no need to call, there are checkboxes in the Reserve Web Portal in Settings > Program Settings that enable online reservations and waitlists as well as Google reservations and waitlists. Check the desired boxes and click SAVE.

Note: It takes 24 hours for your location to appear on Google, whereas the SpotOn Web Reservation link or widget will be live immediately.

How do the “Reserve” and “Join the Waitlist” buttons get on my Google page?

Once your SpotOn Reserve account has been activated, the “Reserve” and “Join the Waitlist” buttons will appear on the restaurant’s Google page within 24 hours automatically.

How does Google know my current wait time?

Through SpotOn Reserve’s integration with Reserve with Google, the estimated wait time calculated by SpotOn Reserve’s algorithm is fed to Google in real-time, making it available when guests search Google for your restaurant. 

Can I add a message to my website requesting guests with larger parties call the restaurant?

1. Log in to the SpotOn Reserve Web Portal

2. Go to Settings > Profile

3. Click the edit (pencil) icon in the Restaurant Details box

4. Add the desired message in the Descriptions box

How does SpotOn Reserve help me with Contact Tracing?

SpotOn Reserve enables a restaurant to record the mobile number of each guest making a reservation or joining the waitlist. If all walkup guests are also added to the waitlist prior to seating, the restaurant will have recorded the phone number, time and date of visit, and table of each guest served. In the case of a Covid-19 incident at the restaurant, all of the guests in the restaurant at the time the infected guest was in the restaurant can be contacted. This saves the restaurant from having to make blanket announcements to the public regarding such an incident. 

Can I be notified when reservations are made?

Yes. In Settings > Employees you can set up email notifications to be sent to an admin or manager when a reservation is created.

Can I turn off online reservations or waitlists?

Yes. Within the Web Portal, there are multiple ways to restrict and turn off reservations and waitlists. Please see this knowledge base section: SpotOn Reserve Web Portal for more information.

My take out orders are getting two messages, how do I stop that?

The Take Out Notification messaging in Reserve can be disabled by the client by going to the Reserve Web Portal, then Settings > Program Settings, and unchecking the “Take Out Notifications” at the top right of the screen. Then, click SAVE.

My take out order messages to guests all say 20 minutes until the food is ready, how do I remove that?

You can remove the cook time from the take out notification messaging by going to the Reserve Web Portal and clicking on Settings > Paging Messages. All of the messaging is customizable and the take out notifications messaging is at the bottom of the page. Modify the “Take out welcome message” by clicking in the field and deleting the part of the message that reads “Your estimated cook time is [ESTIMATED_WAIT_TIME].” Then, click SAVE.

What chit printers work with the SpotOn Reserve Host App?

Both Epson and StarMicronics Bluetooth printers can be used with the SpotOn Reserve Host App

How do I add a Facebook link?

Add only the name portion of the link, i.e., https://www.facebook.com/BusinessName

Is there a SpotOn Reserve mobile app?

There is not a separate SpotOn Reserve mobile app. SpotOn Reserve features (such as the ability to make a reservation, see wait times and join a waitlist) are coming soon to the SpotOn Loyalty Rewards consumer app for iOS and Android. 

How long does it take to get SpotOn Reserve set up at my restaurant?

Once the SpotOn Reserve terms and conditions agreement is signed, payment information, and all of the onboarding documents (such as a logo, profile picture, seating chart, and employee list of servers, hosts and managers) are provided, it takes about 2 hours to process.

Once processed, a SpotOn Implementation Specialist will review your configuration setup with you, which takes about an hour. 

Though not required, it is recommended that your Host team attend a Host Training session, which takes about an hour. 

When will my Reserve be set up if I am also having SpotOn Restaurant POS installed and how long will it take?

Reserve can be set up independently of Restaurant POS, either before or after. However, if Restaurant POS is set up first, the Reserve integration tool will allow the tables and employees to be automatically imported from RPOS to Reserve. Reserve can then be set up in about 24-48 hours after the POS has been installed. A table layout from the client is still required as well as the name and email address of the administrator.

If I am integrated with SpotOn Restaurant POS, why aren’t the table flags showing up?

After the Reserve Onboarding team has completed the POS integration, table flags displaying drinks, appetizers, main course, dessert, check dropped and check paid will appear automatically on tables when the server rings items on the POS ONLY IF the cover count is the same in the POS as in Reserve (i.e., Party of 3 at table 20 in Reserve must also be a party of 3 at the table in the POS).

What do I need to use SpotOn Reserve?

The SpotOn Reserve Host App for iPad requires an iPad running iOS 12 or greater. The SpotOn Reserve Web Portal is web-based and requires a browser, such as Chrome (recommended), Safari, Firefox or Edge. The Web Portal does not operate with legacy Internet Explorer. 

Where do I get the App for Reserve?

Go to the iPad App Store and search for SpotOn Reserve, the app can be downloaded for free.

Since the App is for iPads only, it cannot be found on the iPhone App Store.

I need a new iPad, do you supply them?

Unfortunately, we do not offer iPads.

What does SpotOn Reserve Cost?

The entire SpotOn Reserve platform (Host App for iPad, Web Portal and Online Reservations) is available for the low, month-to-month subscription rate of $150 per location with a one-time $250 setup fee. There are no per cover charges, no hidden fees, or long term contracts.