Deposits and no-show fees, multi-floor plans, and payment links

This release is about getting paid and protecting your covers. You can now take a deposit when a guest books, and charge a fee when they no-show, all handled through Stripe. Floor plans grow to hold more than one floor, so a venue with a terrace or a private room upstairs can map every space. Staff bookings can carry a payment link, and a new sound tells you the moment a booking lands.

Highlights

• Take a deposit at the point of booking, and charge a no-show fee when a guest fails to arrive
• Set your own deposit rules per service, then connect Stripe to start collecting
• Build floor plans across more than one floor, and switch between floors during service
• Send a payment link for a booking you create for a guest
• Hear a sound and see a message the moment a new online booking arrives
• Sign up and get your venue live on your own, without waiting on our team

Deposits and no-show fees

You can now ask guests to leave a deposit when they book, and charge a fee when they no-show. This protects your prime tables on busy nights and cuts the cost of empty covers.

• Connect your Stripe account once, and Covers collects deposits straight into it.
• Write your own deposit rules: which services need a deposit, how much, and the party size it starts at.
• Guests pay as the last step of booking through your widget, so the deposit is captured before the table is held.
• When a guest no-shows, the fee is charged automatically according to the rule you set.
• Change your mind about a rule later and remove it from your deposit policies in one click.
• Refunds are tracked accurately, even when several updates land at once, so a guest is never charged twice.

Payment links for bookings you create

When you take a booking over the phone or in person, you can now send the guest a link to pay their deposit. The booking is made in Covers, the guest gets a link by text, and the deposit is collected without them touching the widget.

Floor plans across more than one floor

Floor plans are no longer limited to a single room. A venue with a ground floor, a terrace, and a private room upstairs can map each one as its own floor within the same layout.

• Add and manage floors from the floor plan editor.
• A layout can span every floor of the venue, so one plan holds the whole building.
• During live service, switch between floors with a floor switcher, and edit the live layout without leaving the screen.
• Set a different table layout for a specific night when a room is arranged another way.

Tables that seat as one

When you combine tables for a larger party, or link tables for a single night, they now seat as one unit. A party booked across two joined tables shows and moves together, so the floor always reflects what is really happening in the room.

A sound when a new booking arrives

Covers now plays a sound and shows a short message the moment a new online booking comes in. On a busy service you hear the booking land without watching the screen, so nothing sits unnoticed.

Signing up on your own

New venues can now sign up, set up, and go live on their own. A guided flow walks you from creating your account to taking your first live booking, so you can get started without waiting on our team.

Reliability

• Booking widgets for services that run late no longer bleed into the wrong day, and last-seating times are respected to the minute.
• Deposit charges and refunds hold up when Stripe sends several updates for the same booking at the same time.
• On-screen keyboards on Android no longer cover the field you are typing in.