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RESTAURANT STARTER GUIDE

Your restaurant,
ready for bookings.

A clear path from setting up to your first service.

Download the three-page PDF ↓

01 / SET UP

Make it yours.

Start with your real opening hours and tables. You can prepare your restaurant before sharing its booking page.

  1. 01

    Create your account

    At tabletango.co.uk, choose Start free. Create your account and confirm your email if asked. Use Text me a code, then Verify & continue for your UK mobile. This private sign-in number is separate from the phone number guests use.

  2. 02

    Create your restaurant

    Use the restaurant's correct name and follow the setup checklist. Check any starting values before saving; example hours and tables need your review. Booking texts start switched on for new restaurants with 400 one-off free text credits. You can switch them off any time in Texts & credit. Creating the restaurant does not send guest messages, and there are no automatic paid top-ups.

  3. 03

    Add the guest-facing details

    Settings > Booking page > Restaurant details

    Check the public phone, email and address. These help guests contact you and find the restaurant. Review your booking page's appearance and booking rules too.

  4. 04

    Set hours and closed dates

    Settings > Hours & closures

    Review Weekly opening hours, confirm them and use Save changes, even if the starting hours are correct. Add holidays and special dates; check the year and booking-ahead window. Closures stop new online bookings, but do not cancel existing bookings.

  5. 05

    Check every table

    Settings > Tables & floor > Your tables

    Match the table names and seats to your restaurant. If the starting tables are right, choose These are my real tables. Use Save changes in either case. Review rooms and the floor layout where used.

The standard plan

30 days free from go-live, with no card to start. Then £29.99 per venue/month, with no per-cover fee. Optional texts cost extra. Stripe fees apply when taking payments.

02 / GO LIVE

Open the door with confidence.

Use the setup checklist in Today to review your saved settings. Preview the guest booking page before you publish.

Publish, then check one booking

Choose Review & publish, then Publish my booking page. Read the notices and wait for You're live! Your trial starts at go-live. Use your own details for one labelled test booking; check Today and the confirmation email. Live tests can send messages or take payment under your policy, so ask for help if unsure. Cancel the test afterwards. If money was taken, check its refund separately.

Share your own booking link

Copy your restaurant's link from the app. Add it to your website, Google Business Profile and social profiles, and use the app's poster option for a QR poster. Use the demo link when showing people around for practice.

For your first service

Check Today before opening. Enter phone, email and walk-in bookings in the same book. Open a booking to read notes, requirements and payment information; update its status as the visit progresses.

If something is unclear

Use Help in the app or contact TableTango. Tell us the restaurant, screen and what you expected. Do not repeat an uncertain payment or message action while its result is being checked.

03 / MOVE YOUR GUESTS

Bring the useful information.

We can assess your existing guest list and explain what can be brought across. Contact TableTango before reformatting or sending records; there is no guest-list upload button in the app.

  1. 01

    Keep the original export

    Export the guest list from the system your restaurant controls. Keep the original file and tell us which platform it came from, when it was exported and roughly how many contacts it contains.

  2. 02

    We agree the scope and transfer

    Only provide your restaurant's data that you are entitled to share with us for this purpose. We will agree the next step and how to transfer it securely. Do not send passwords, card details or a guest list in a public message.

  3. 03

    We assess the contacts

    A contact needs a name and at least one usable phone number or email. We assess the file, duplicates, existing matches and conflicting details, then confirm the supported next step. Do not guess missing information.

  4. 04

    Agree the proposed move

    If an import is agreed, we confirm the accepted contacts and anything held back before proceeding. Afterwards, we confirm the result for review in your guest book. Timing and preparation depend on the file.

Name
The guest's name, as recorded. Required.
Phone
Keep as text to preserve + and leading zeros. Do not guess the country.
Email
The recorded email address; leave missing values blank.

Optional features can follow

Use Texts & credit to check your SMS setting and balance. Long texts can use more than one credit. Existing restaurants keep their chosen setting. Review after-visit requests in Guests > Reviews & feedback. For Shield, deposits, prepayment or paid events/extras, ask TableTango about payment access, connect Stripe and review your policy before enabling it.

04 / STAFF DEVICES

Give your team their own screen.

A staff device is a tablet or phone at the front desk that shows Today, Floor, Week (covers for the next 7 days, no guest names) and Help (plus Waitlist while your waitlist is switched on), without your owner account. You approve it once; each person unlocks it with their own staff PIN.

  1. 01

    Give each person a PIN

    Settings > Team & alerts > Team & devices > People

    Choose Manage people and confirm your account password. Add a name and a 4-digit staff PIN for everyone who uses the device. Managers get a Manager PIN; the staff device asks for it before refunds, no-show charges and waived fees.

  2. 02

    Show a pairing code on the staff device

    staff.tabletango.co.uk

    On the tablet or phone, open staff.tabletango.co.uk. Type a device name, such as Front desk iPad, and choose Show pairing code. The 10-character code lasts 10 minutes.

  3. 03

    Approve it from your own device

    Settings > Team & alerts > Team & devices > Devices

    Enter the code and choose Approve device. Enter the fresh 6-digit verification code we text to your account mobile. This is different from the device’s 10-character pairing code.

  4. 04

    Finish on the staff device

    Choose Check approval. Each person then enters their own staff PIN and chooses Start service. An unlocked shift lasts 12 hours. Use Lock / switch whenever someone else takes over. For a returning guest, + New booking suggests saved guests as staff type a name or mobile; staff check the last 3 digits of the mobile, choose the guest, and their details and notes fill in. A booking links to a saved guest when it carries their mobile and a name that agrees with theirs.

If you get stuck

The code ran out: Codes last 10 minutes. On the staff device, choose Start again with a new code, then approve the new code.

“That PIN didn't work”: Ask the person to re-enter their own 4-digit PIN. In Team & devices > People, confirm that they still have an active entry. Five wrong PINs pause PIN entry for 15 minutes.

“Can't reach TableTango”: Check the Wi-Fi. The staff device tries again by itself every 15 seconds.

A device is lost: Choose Remove access for that device in Team & devices > Devices. It stops working straight away.

Someone leaves: Remove their PIN in Team & devices > People (Manage people, then Remove person next to their name). It stops working on every staff device straight away. Removing a device does not remove the person; if they kept a device, remove its access too.

“This device was removed”: Choose Set up this device again on it, then approve its new code.

Switched off or restarted: A paired device stays set up for 180 days, then needs setting up again. Clearing the browser's data, a private window or a different browser undoes it. On an iPad or iPhone, Safari may clear it if nobody opens it for about a week; if so, set it up again.

Optional Manager permissions

In Team & devices > People, choose Permissions beside a Manager’s name. Pausing online and AI bookings for up to 24 hours (staff can still add bookings) and changing one date’s hours or closure each start off. Grant only what they need, using a fresh 6-digit verification code. Managers review the impact before a date change; existing bookings are not moved or cancelled. Changing permissions ends that Manager’s current staff shifts, so they unlock again. These permissions do not open full owner Settings, billing or team setup.

Keep your owner account private

Never sign in to your owner account on a staff device. Settings, billing and payment rules stay on your own phone or computer.

A helping hand, when you need it.

Start free ↗Open your app ↗Try the demo ↗WhatsApp support ↗support@tabletango.co.uk ↗

Updated 11 October 2026. The downloadable PDF is the 29 September edition; this page has the latest SMS setup guidance. Check the website and your app before making changes.

Checklist ticks are for your reference on this page; they do not save or change anything in your restaurant.