Does PointLit mark a guest as a no-show by itself?

No. When the no-show time passes, PointLit only ends the table's hold, so the table can be given to someone else. The booking then asks whether the guests came, and a member of staff answers: Keep waiting, They arrived, or Mark no-show.

How long does PointLit keep guests' names and phone numbers?

A booking's name, phone number, e-mail address and notes are cleared 90 days after the booking. On the waitlist, names and phone numbers are cleared 7 days after the entry. The booking itself, its time and its number of guests stay.

What happens to my bookings if I switch reservations off?

They are kept. Switching Reservations and waitlist off hides the screen and the held tables, and the bookings are there again when you switch it back on.

Reservations and the waitlist: booking tables in PointLit

A booking in PointLit reserves a table for a time, holds it before the guests arrive, and opens the check when you seat them.

Last updated: October 26, 2026

Bookings and the waitlist are under Manage, in Reservations, and the till's floor shows which tables are held. They work once Restaurant and café is on and Reservations and waitlist is switched on in Restaurant settings. Who can book is set by role: check the reservations permission in Roles.

Switch reservations on

Open Manage, then Restaurant settings.
Under Reservations and waitlist, switch on Reservations and waitlist.
Set how many minutes before a booking its table is held (30 as standard), after how many minutes a booking counts as late (15) and after how many as a no-show (30).
Set the usual booking length for 1 or 2 guests, for 3 or 4, and for 5 or more (90, 120 and 150 minutes as standard), then press Save.

Make a booking

Open Manage, then Reservations, and press New booking.
Choose the day and the time, and the number of guests (1 to 99). The length fills in from the party size; change it if you need to.
Type the guest's name. A phone number, an e-mail address and notes are optional.
Under Table or area, choose a table, or an area only and pick the table when the guests arrive.
Tick Email the guest a confirmation if you typed an e-mail address, then press Save booking.
If the table is already booked at that time, PointLit does not save the booking. It shows a free table that fits the party instead, and the time this table becomes free.

Five ways to see the day

Service sheet: the day's list by half hour, with one action on each row.
Table timeline: the tables down the side and the time across. Drag a booking to move it.
Tonight board: the bookings that need a decision first, then who is due, who is at the door and who is seated.
On the floor map: the room with its bookings, and a ruler you drag to see the room at a later time.
Calendar first: the month with the number of guests booked under each day, and the chosen day as a grid. The week starts on Saturday.

Arrival, seating and no-shows

A booked table is held from the number of minutes you set before its time. On the till's floor it shows Reserved with the time and the guest's name, and Late once the guests are late. On the till, the Bookings toggle shows the bookings coming up and how many parties are on the waitlist. If staff try to seat walk-ins on a held table, the till warns them that the booked party will need another table, and lets them go ahead.

When the guests come, press Arrived, then Seat. Choose the table and the number of guests, and press Seat and open the check: the check opens on that table and the booking shows Seated. Seating opens a check, so do it from a till or phone signed in at that shop.

If the guests have not come by the no-show time, the table's hold ends and the table shows free again. The booking then asks No-show? and a person decides: Keep waiting, They arrived, or Mark no-show. PointLit never marks a no-show by itself.

Telling the guest

A booking's details have Tell the guest. WhatsApp opens WhatsApp with the message already written in your business's language: the table, the number of guests, the day and the time. The guest's number is not put in the link, so choose the guest's chat, or press Copy number and paste it into WhatsApp's search. Email again sends the confirmation e-mail once more.

Cancel booking can e-mail the guest that the booking is cancelled. A cancelled booking stays in the list as cancelled; nothing is deleted. The e-mails hold no links, because guests have no page of their own to open.

The waitlist

In Reservations, press Add to the waitlist and type the guest's name, the number of guests, a phone number if they give one, and the wait you quoted in minutes.
The list shows how long each party has waited against the quoted time, and Over once they wait longer.
When a table is ready, press Notify: the party is marked as told, and a WhatsApp button opens a message asking them to come to the host stand within 10 minutes.
Press Seat to seat the party at a free table and open the check, or remove them from the list. The waitlist is for today only.

Questions and answers

Does PointLit mark a guest as a no-show by itself?: No. When the no-show time passes, PointLit only ends the table's hold, so the table can be given to someone else. The booking then asks whether the guests came, and a member of staff answers: Keep waiting, They arrived, or Mark no-show.
How long does PointLit keep guests' names and phone numbers?: A booking's name, phone number, e-mail address and notes are cleared 90 days after the booking. On the waitlist, names and phone numbers are cleared 7 days after the entry. The booking itself, its time and its number of guests stay.
What happens to my bookings if I switch reservations off?: They are kept. Switching Reservations and waitlist off hides the screen and the held tables, and the bookings are there again when you switch it back on.