---
title: How to set up your floor plan step by step
description: "The floor plan turns Reservics from “how many seats are free?” into “which *table* is this booking on?”. You draw your room once, and every booking is automatically placed on a table that actually fits the party. On service day,…"
url: "https://www.apselo.com/docs/kb/floor-plan-and-table-seating/"
updated: "2026-07-14"
category: Reservics / Features
---

# How to set up your floor plan step by step

The floor plan turns Reservics from “how many seats are free?” into “which *table* is this booking on?”. You draw your room once, and every booking is automatically placed on a table that actually fits the party. On service day, the **Live floor** board shows you the room in real time.

## Where to find it

- Open **Floor plan** in the left-hand app navigation (just under *Locations*).
- The floor plan is **per location**. Use the location switcher at the top to pick which room you’re editing.
- You can also jump straight to a location’s floor plan from **Locations → (a location) → the “Seat capacity” tile**.

[How to Design Your Restaurant Floor Plan in Reservics | Restaurant Management](https://www.youtube.com/embed/NEQzdfpZbCU?feature=oembed)

Each location has two views, toggled top-right:

| View | What it’s for |
| --- | --- |
| **Layout editor** | Design the room: add tables, set seats, group them into zones. |
| **Live floor** | Run service: see who’s seated where, right now, and move bookings around. |

## Layout editor

### Add a table

In the left rail, under **Add table**, click a shape:

- **◯ Round** — cozy 2–4 seats
- **▢ Square** — a standard 4-top
- **▭ Rectangle** — a long table for 6+, or for joining

The table drops into the middle of your current view. **Drag it** where it belongs. Each table shows a grey “chair” glyph for every seat, so a 6-seat table looks like a 6-seat table.

![](https://www.apselo.com/docs/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/floor-plan-editor-1024x575.webp)

![](https://www.apselo.com/docs/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/floorplan-live-1024x679.webp)

### Table properties

Click any table to open its properties in the right rail:

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Label** | The name shown on the floor and in booking lists (e.g. `T1`, `Bar 2`, `Patio A`). |
| **Shape** | Round / Square / Rectangle — purely how it looks. |
| **Max seats** | The largest party this table can hold. A 4-top = 4. |
| **Min seats** | The *smallest* party the auto-assigner will seat here. `1` = any. Set it to `4` to stop a 6-seater being wasted on a couple. |
| **Section** | Which zone the table sits in (see *Sections* below). |
| **Allow multiple parties** | Turn on for bar / communal tables where different bookings share the same surface. Leave off for normal tables (one party at a time). |

### Sections (zones)

Sections are optional coloured zones — *Rooftop*, *Indoor AC*, *Bar* — that help your staff tell areas apart at a glance. Add them in the left rail, then assign tables to a section from the table’s **Section** field. The coloured background appears automatically around the tables you tag. Sections are staff-facing only; diners don’t pick a zone when they book.

### Moving, resizing, and cleaning up

- **Move** — drag a table.
- **Resize / rotate** — click a table and drag the square/round handles.
- **Zoom** — the `+` / `−` buttons top-right; **Reset** re-centres the view.
- **Pan** — drag an empty part of the canvas.
- **Snap to grid** — keeps tables tidily aligned as you drag (toggle in the left rail; turn off for free placement).
- **Delete** — select a table and click **Delete table**. Any booking currently on it becomes *Unassigned* (the booking is not deleted).

### Saving

There’s **no Save button** — the editor saves automatically a moment after each change. The footer shows *Saving…*, then *Saved Ns ago ✓*. If a save fails (e.g. you lose connection) it shows *Couldn’t save — retrying…* and keeps retrying on its own.

---

## How tables change bookings

Once a location has a floor plan, Reservics stops thinking in raw seats and starts placing bookings on specific tables.

### Automatic best-fit

When a booking comes in, Reservics picks the **smallest free table that fits the party**, respecting each table’s Min/Max seats. A party of 2 won’t be handed your 8-top if a 2- or 4-top is open.

### Joining tables for large parties

If no single table is big enough, Reservics **joins** free tables together (up to **4** tables), preferring tables in the same section so the party stays together. A party of 7 might be seated as `T1 + T3`. Joined tables show as a combined label everywhere (booking list, live floor).

### Shareable (bar / communal) tables

A table with **Allow multiple parties** on behaves like a seat pool: several bookings can share it up to its Max seats (e.g. a 6-seat bar takes a party of 2 *and* a party of 3 at the same time). A normal table is locked entirely by one booking for its time window.

### No floor plan? Nothing breaks

If a location has **no floor plan**, bookings still work exactly as before — Reservics falls back to plain seat-capacity checking and leaves the table unassigned. You can add a floor plan later without disrupting existing bookings.

## Live floor

Switch to **Live floor** to run service.

- **Date + time scrubber** (top) — move through the day in your location’s booking-interval steps, or click the date to jump to another day. **Jump to now** returns to the live moment.
- **Status colours** — each table is coloured for the scrubbed moment:
  - 🟢 **Available** — free
  - 🟠 **Booked soon** — a booking starts shortly
  - 🔴 **Occupied** — seated now
- **Bookings panel** (left) — the day’s bookings. Click one to highlight its table(s) and scrub the board to its time.
- **Zoom / pan** — same controls as the editor.

### Seat and move bookings from the floor

- **Click an occupied table** → opens that booking to edit.
- **Click a free table** → starts a **new booking** already pre-filled with that location, the date/time you’re viewing, and that table.
- **Drag a booking token onto another free table** → reassigns it. If the target is too small or already taken, the move is rejected and the board snaps back.

---

## Reassigning a booking’s table

Besides dragging on the live floor, you can change a booking’s table from its **detail page**: open the booking and use the **Table** dropdown. Auto-assign is the default; pick a specific table to lock it there.

If a table is **too small for the party**, the move is refused with a message like *“Table T2 seats 1–2 — not suitable for a party of 3.”* The table being empty doesn’t matter — the party has to fit.

---

## FAQ & troubleshooting

**A table is empty but I can’t assign my booking to it.**
 The table is smaller than the party. Reassignment (and auto-assign) only allow a table whose seat range fits the party size. Move the booking to a bigger table, join tables, or raise that table’s **Max seats**.

**My location shows “0 tables”.**
 You haven’t placed any tables for that location yet. Open the **Layout editor** for that location and add some.

**Can I make a 12-seat table if my max party size is 8?**
 Yes. Table seats (1–50) and your location’s party-size cap are independent — a 12-seat table is fine. Just keep the table’s **Min seats** at or below your party cap, otherwise no booking will ever be large enough to use it.

**The Live floor says “No tables yet”.**
 That location has no tables placed. Build the layout in the **Layout editor** first.

**Do diners see my sections / table features?**
 No. Sections and table settings are staff-facing. Diners only choose date, time, and party size; Reservics does the table placement.

## Related articles

- [Capacity and party size](https://www.apselo.com/docs/kb/capacity-and-party-size/)
- [Operating hours and shifts](https://www.apselo.com/docs/kb/operating-hours-and-shifts/)