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Using Covers / Pax

Covers (also called Pax) is a way to record how many guests are seated at each table. Think of it like a headcount for every table sale.

📖 What this means: When your server seats 4 people at Table 12, they’ll record “4 covers” on that table’s sale. Now you know exactly how many guests generated that table’s revenue.

Why track guest counts?

Recording covers helps you:

What it helps withHow it worksExample
Average spend per guestShows how much each person spends on averageTable 12 spent $240 with 4 guests = $60 per person
Forecasting stock needsPredict how much food and drink you’ll need based on expected guestsIf you average 200 covers on Fridays, plan stock accordingly
Staff performanceSee which servers generate higher sales per guestCompare average spend across your team
Business planningUnderstand your peak times and guest patternsTuesday lunches average 15 covers vs. Friday dinners at 80 covers

How it works in practice

Example: The Beach Cafe has a party of 6 at Table 8. When the server starts the sale:

  1. They select Table 8
  2. A prompt appears asking for the number of guests
  3. They tap + until it shows 6 covers
  4. They press Set Covers to confirm
  5. Now the sale is linked to 6 guests for reporting

Later, if 2 guests leave early, the server can update it to 4 covers using the keyboard button.

How to Set Up Covers Tracking

Step 1: Enable automatic prompts

🚨 Heads up: Make this change during a quiet period, as it will affect all tills once synced. Let your team know that cover prompts will start appearing.

  1. Go to Organisation Settings > Tables
  2. Find the “Require Prompting for Covers/Pax” setting
  3. Tick the checkbox to enable it
  4. Set your “Default Covers/Pax” number

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✅ Best practice: Set the default to your most common party size.

📖 What this means:

  • “Require Prompting” = Staff will see a popup asking for guest count when they open a table
  • “Default Covers” = The number that appears first in the popup (staff can adjust it)

Step 2: Add the Set Covers button to your keyboard

  1. Open your Keyboard Setup
  2. Add a stacked button
  3. Set the On Click action to “Set Covers/Pax”
  4. Save your keyboard layout

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💡 Tip: Place this button near your table selector for easy access.

Step 3: Test it out

  1. Start a new table sale or add a table number to an existing sale
  2. You should see the Set Covers prompt appear automatically
  3. Use + and – to adjust the guest count
  4. Press Set Covers to confirm

alt text

⚠️ Important: The automatic prompt only appears once per table. To change covers again, use the Set Covers button or the Floor Map method below.

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