Pricing & price lists

Price lists let you attach a per-cover price to table bookings. On their own they define what a cover is worth; linked to an access rule, they’re what drives a deposit card hold at booking time. You’ll find them under Settings → Tables → Pricing.

Price lists

A price list sets a price per cover (per guest). When a price list is in effect for a booking, the deposit amount is calculated from the price per cover multiplied by the party size - specifically price × max(minimum covers, party size) - so a table’s minimum spend is always honoured.

Create as many price lists as you need - for example a standard weekday list and a higher weekend or peak list.

Linking a price list to an access rule

A price list only affects bookings once it’s linked to an access rule. On a Table Reservation access rule, set the rule’s price list. From then on, bookings made through that rule calculate their deposit from the linked price list.

This is the mechanism behind deposit card holds: when a rule (via its access profile and payment policy) requires a deposit hold, the price list tells Sidedoor how much to hold on the guest’s card. The full end-to-end model - authorising, capturing and releasing holds - is covered in Deposits & card holds.

Only charging larger parties

A price list can apply only above a certain party size. On the table access profile, turn on Only apply to larger parties and set Apply for parties larger than, and the minimum spend only kicks in once a party is bigger than that number - smaller parties see Payment: None needed. For example, setting this to 6 means parties of 7 or more take the minimum spend, while parties of 6 or fewer pay nothing.

Per-table price overrides

Sometimes a specific table should be worth more (or less) than the list default - a prime window table, a private booth, a large communal table. You can set a per-table override so that table carries its own per-cover price, taking precedence over the price list for bookings on that table.

Bulk pricing

When you’re setting up a lot of tables, bulk pricing lets you apply prices across many tables at once rather than editing them one by one - handy when a whole area or room shares the same per-cover rate.

Worked examples

Because the deposit is always price per cover × max(minimum covers, party size), the same feature covers very different needs just by choosing a per-cover price. Two common patterns:

High minimum spend - nightclub covers

A nightclub wants each table to guarantee real spend on the night. Set a price list at £100 per cover and link it to the Table Reservation access rule for your table areas. With a payment policy that requires a deposit hold, the guest’s card is held for the minimum spend when they book:

A booth with a minimum of 4 covers → £100 × 4 = £400 held, even for a party of two.
A party of 6 on that booth → £100 × 6 = £600 held.

The high per-cover price makes the table’s minimum spend explicit up front, and your team captures or releases the hold on the night per your policy.

Reservation deposit - high-demand restaurant

A busy restaurant doesn’t want a large spend commitment, just a small deposit to cut no-shows on sought-after slots. Set a price list at £5 per cover and link it to the relevant access rule, again with a payment policy that requires a hold:

A table of 4 → £5 × 4 = £20 held.
A table of 2 → £5 × 2 = £10 held.

The small per-cover amount keeps the deposit friendly while still giving guests a reason to show up or cancel in good time.

Putting it together

Create a price list with your per-cover price.
Link it to the relevant Table Reservation access rules.
Add per-table overrides for any tables that should differ.
Make sure the slot’s payment policy requires a deposit hold so the price actually drives a card hold.

See Deposits & card holds for what the guest experiences and how your team captures or releases the hold.