Table sessions
What this covers
What a session is, when it ends, and why that matters for security and for your Orders board.
What a session is
When a guest scans a table's code, Tabledoo opens a session for that table. The session is what ties everything together: the shared basket, the orders, the covers, and any waiter calls all belong to it.
Everyone scanning that table's code joins the same session, which is why they share one basket.
How a session ends
Three ways:
| How | When |
|---|---|
| Idle timeout | No activity for your configured period — three hours by default. Tabledoo closes it automatically. |
| You close it | From the Orders board, when the table has finished. |
| It is replaced | A new session starts for that table. |
Why the timeout exists
Without it, someone who photographed your table code could order from home next week. The timeout means a code is only useful while somebody is actually using the table.
An idle session also drops off the Orders board immediately once it passes the timeout, without waiting for the tidy-up to run — so a table that has clearly finished does not sit on your kitchen screen looking active.
Choosing a timeout
Three hours suits most restaurants. Change it in Property Settings → Restaurant:
- Shorter would be tighter, but a table lingering over coffee would find their session closed and have to scan again.
- Longer would be friendlier for long sittings, but a code would stay usable for longer after the guests leave.
If three hours is genuinely wrong for your service — a long tasting menu that needs more, or a quick-turnover bar that wants less — that is worth raising with support rather than working around (link Reporting a problem). Meanwhile, closing a session yourself as you clear the table does the same job more precisely.
Closing a session yourself
The neat habit is to close the session as you clear the table, from the Orders board. It keeps the board honest, and it means the next guests start fresh rather than joining the last party's basket.
What the guest sees when it ends
Their page stops being an ordering page. If they need to order again, they scan the code again and a new session starts. Nothing is lost — their previous order stays in your records.
Covers
A session records how many people are at the table. It helps the kitchen judge a ticket and gives you a sense of how the table is being used. It is not the same as a booking's pax, and it does not change your reservation.