How To Use Open Tab Ordering in Your Bar or Restaurant

Managing multiple open order tabs in your bar, restaurant, or hotel can be tedious. But GonnaOrder is making it easier with our Open tab ordering feature.

Without a proper system to track open tab orders, waiters would have to tally items that a guest has ordered by hand. That is time-consuming and could lead to errors. In addition, manual tallying takes away valuable time that waiters would need to serve more customers.

However, the scene is about to change with the introduction of automated order tabs that keep track of customer orders in real-time.

Open tab ordering is not a new concept. You have probably had a guest asking if they can open a tab. In simplified language, that customer wants to keep ordering from the counter without having to pay each time an order is brought to their table. They intend to settle their bill at the end of their visit. Generally, that is how restaurants and bars work.

How To Use Open Tab Ordering in Your Bar or Restaurant

GonnaOrder’s open tab ordering feature is an intuitive way to track and manage multiple open order tabs. It enables your staff to concentrate their efforts on delivering exceptional service instead of tallying what each customer ordered.

You can open a new order tab by following these steps:

1. Enable open tab ordering under Settings > Table ordering
2. Go to tables and open a tab on a customer’s table
3. Share table pin with the customer

Every first order in a new tab requires the customer to enter a PIN. After the first order is authorized with the PIN, the customer can submit subsequent orders without it.
When a customer is ready to pay or leave, you can combine all their orders by filtering using the table number and the open tab filter.

To close an order tab, go to tables, and click the toggle button on the respective table.

You can watch our explainer video showing the open tab ordering process on YouTube.

Benefits of Open Tab Ordering

There are numerous reasons why you should start using open tab ordering. Here are a few:

• Improved customer experience: Your guests have the option to pay for multiple orders at the end of their visit. They do not need to enter their card details for each new order.
• Increased average spend per guest: Customers are more likely to submit multiple orders with the convenience of paying once. The average spend per guest exceeds traditional order averages.

You can learn more about managing open tab ordering from our help center.