How to set up online bookings for your restaurant

Most independent restaurants still take the majority of their bookings by phone — which means missed calls, manual diary entries, and no automatic confirmation emails. Switching to an online system takes under 15 minutes and immediately removes a significant source of admin from your front-of-house team.

This guide walks through setting up Posto from scratch. The same principles apply to any system you choose — the key decisions are the same regardless of the software.

1. Step 1Create your account and set up your venue

   Sign up at getposto.com/signup. You get a 14-day free trial on the Pro plan — no credit card required.

   Enter your restaurant name, full address, and a reply-to email address. These appear on every booking confirmation email your guests receive, so get them right now. You can also upload your logo and set a brand colour — guests will see these on the booking page and in emails.

2. Step 2Set your opening hours

   Under Availability, set your standard weekly hours. This is the outer boundary — your booking system will not offer slots outside these hours. Add any known closures (Bank Holidays, refurbishments, private hire dates) while you are here.

   You can add one-off closures at any time later, which is useful for staff events or unexpected closure. The closure blocks all bookings for that date automatically.

3. Step 3Create your dining services

   A service is a bookable experience — Lunch, Dinner, Sunday Brunch, Bottomless Brunch, Tasting Menu, and so on. Each service has:

   • Start and end time — when the service runs
   • Dining duration (turn time) — how long you hold the table
   • Slot interval — how often new sittings begin (e.g. every 15 or 30 minutes)
   • Deposit requirement — optional fixed amount or per-head charge via Stripe

   Start simple. One Lunch service and one Dinner service covers most restaurants. You can refine timing and add services later without disrupting existing bookings.

4. Step 4Add your tables

   Add each physical table with its name or number and capacity. Posto uses this to calculate live availability: when all tables that can accommodate a party of four are occupied during a slot, that slot shows as unavailable to the guest.

   If you regularly push tables together for larger parties, add a note to your processes rather than creating a virtual combined table — keep the system simple and adjust at the host stand as normal.

5. Step 5Test your booking page before you go live

   Your public booking page is live immediately at getposto.com/book/[your-slug]. Make a test booking from a personal email address and check:

   • The slots shown match your expected availability
   • The confirmation email arrives quickly and looks correct
   • The modify and cancel links in the email work
   • Your restaurant name and branding appear correctly

   Cancel your test booking once you have checked everything. The booking will disappear from your dashboard and a cancellation confirmation will be sent.

6. Step 6Add your booking link to your website and Google profile

   The most impactful places to add your booking link:

   • Website navigation — a prominent "Book a table" button in your header
   • Google Business Profile — add your booking URL under "Booking" in your GBP listing. Google may show a direct "Reserve a table" button in search results.
   • Instagram bio — your link-in-bio or as a direct link
   • Email signature — useful for regular guests who email directly

   If you want to embed the booking widget directly into your website, copy the iframe code from the Developer page in your dashboard. The widget is responsive and inherits your venue branding automatically.