Toast Tables FAQ

Last updated: Mar 25, 2026, 1:42 PM

This article will cover FAQ for Toast Tables. If you don't find what you're looking for here, search Support Center by keywords or phrases. This is a constantly-evolving document as customer questions arise, so check back frequently!

In this Article:

 

What Wi-Fi networks can the Toast Tables app run on?

Toast Tables is not a payment processing application within PCI scope (external link) and shouldn't be run on Toast hardware. Accordingly, Toast Tables should not be connected to a Toast-managed network, but can run on any network that third-party personal devices can connect to (e.g., iPad, personal cell phones).

Most customers will choose to connect the device running Toast Tables to their non-PCI network (typically, the network name will end in “_Secure”).

Toast Tables cannot run on any PCI in-scope network (typically, the network name will end with “_Toast”). This network can only support PCI-in-scope software and hardware.
 

Why can’t I use Toast hardware to run the Toast Tables host app?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard ( or “PCI” (external link) ) is a set of security standards aimed at securing credit and debit card transactions against data theft and fraud. Because of PCI, any software running on Toast hardware must go through a significant audit process. 

The Toast Tables app is not currently a payment processing application and has not yet undergone such an audit process. Additionally, Toast Tables was designed to be portable for your host and to offer maximum flexibility for restaurants to use their own portable devices.
 

 I'm having trouble logging in to the Toast Tables app.

  1. Make sure your restaurant has the proper permissions (see the Employee Permissions section of this article: Get Started with Toast Tables).
  2. Ensure that you're using a supported Apple or Android tablet (see Toast Tables: Device Compatibility). Note: Compatible tablet devices must run on iOS 12 or Android 11 or later. Though Toast recommends tablet devices, Toast Tables can also run on mobile devices that run on iOS 17 or Android 14 or higher.
  3. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the Toast Tables app.
  4. Ensure that your device has its time and date set automatically: For Apple devices, see this guide (external link). For Android devices, see this guide (external link). 


Back to top
 

Toast Tables Module & Integrations

 

If you're seeing a "Limited functionality" message like the one below, this means that you've passed your monthly reservation limit included within the Toast Tables base product. For most customers, this is 25 reservations per month. You'll be prompted to upgrade from Toast Tables to Toast Tables Plus, our unlimited reservations product.
 

limited functionality message


If you're interested in upgrading to Toast Tables Plus, please see the question below.

If you don't want to upgrade because you believe you'll never hit this limit again, there's no need to worry. Simply continue using the Toast Tables product, and the next month your limit will reset. So long as you don't surpass your included reservation limit again, you may continue using the base Toast Tables product.
 

How do I upgrade from Toast Tables to Toast Tables Plus?

For customers located in the U.S.: please select Get a Demo in Toast Shop, and an upsell representative will be in touch with you to upgrade to Toast Tables Plus. Don’t worry - you won’t lose access to continue making reservations in the meantime!

For customers outside the US, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or our Care team who can assist you with your upgrade.
 

What Toast integrations are compatible with Toast Tables?

Toast Tables offers the following integrations:

  • Start Order on POS: Toast Tables will start an order on the POS at the table once a party is seated. Your restaurant will be required to assign a server to each table at the time of seating in the host app. Turning this on will tie order and guest data together, allowing you to see guests from Toast Tables in the Guestbook report.
  • Loyalty Program: Turning this on allows guests to join the loyalty program through their confirmation link. Your restaurant must be using the Toast Loyalty program (see this Support Center article to learn more: Get Started with Toast Loyalty). Note: This feature is only available to customers in the U.S. at this time. 
  • Toast Mobile Order & Pay™️: Guests can pay at their table. Your restaurant must be using Toast Mobile Order and Pay™ (see this Support Center article to learn more: Get Started with Toast Mobile Order & Pay™).
 

My integration with Reserve with Google isn't working with Toast Tables. Help!

Here are the most common reasons that your Reserve with Google integration may not be working:
  • Button(s) not appearing. It takes 24-48 hours after turning on the Reserve a Table or Join Waitlist action for the corresponding button to appear. If it has been over 48 hours, check with your previous reservation or waitlist provider to determine if they're still sending availability to Google.  
  • Updates to a configuration not appearing. It takes 24-48 hours since your last configuration change for Google to pick up any new configurations or major changes to configurations, like an increase in availability (e.g., turning on online reservations or waitlist). 
  • Other providers are showing instead of Toast Tables. If it has been over 48 hours since you turned on the Google integration, check with your previous reservation or waitlist provider to see if they are still sending availability to Google.
  • Special date availability not showing. Please ensure that you are marked as Open in your Google My Business profile for the date(s) in question. If you are marked as Closed in Google, no availability will be shown.

Note: Google limits restaurants to having only two action buttons on your Google My Business Profile. Therefore, if a restaurant has activated Order with Google integration in addition to Reserve with Google, you will be limited to two buttons: Order Online and Reserve a Table. When this happens, the Order Online button will include options for ordering delivery or takeout once selected, and the Reserve a Table button will include options for joining the waitlist in addition to making a reservation if you have an online waitlist.

 

Back to top

 

Waitlist & Reservations

 

Why don't I see times available for reservations in the Toast Tables host app? What about for online reservations?

Here are the most common reasons that no available times are showing in your Toast Tables host app:

  • Service periods aren't set up. You must set up service periods (e.g., Dinner) with hours and specific settings in your Toast Tables settings for available times to appear in the host app. For more on this, see Get Started with Toast Tables.
  • No tables exist to hold the selected party size. You may want to create tables and a combo tables setup that can hold the party sizes for which you wish to reserve. For more on this, see Get Started with Toast Tables.

Note: If you're making a reservation for a very large party and you don’t want to set up a combo table, in the Create Reservation flow, you can select View all unavailable to select a time and then Advanced table selection to select multiple tables and create a one-time combo table for the large party.   

If your guests are having issues booking reservations online, please check out the article Get Help with Toast Tables: Online Waitlist and Reservations.
 

I'm overbooking and taking too many reservations with Toast Tables. What do I do?

While Toast Tables will never actually overbook you based on your settings, there are ways to reduce being overwhelmed by a fully-booked restaurant. This can be controlled in a couple of ways, depending on your desired outcome: 
 

  • Percentage % bookable by dining area: You can restrict how much of a given dining area is bookable online per service period in Toast Web by. navigating to Reservations > Online Access in the Waitlist & Reservations module. Reduce the percentage below 100% to your desired percentage. In the example below, we set it to 60%.
​​​​​​​
what is the max percent of tables that you want available online for Dining Room?
 
  • Flow control: You can also restrict how many guests/covers can arrive in a given 15-minute time slot per service period. This can throttle the number of reservations coming in at peak times. The example below shows no more than 10 guests are allowed to be booked every 15 minutes.
 
max guests set to 10
 

How do I set special dates or stop/block reservations on Toast Tables?

To learn how to set up Special Dates or Block Reservations, check out the article Toast Tables: Set Special Dates and Block Reservations. 
 

My Toast Tables online waitlist estimated wait times are not accurate or they are too long or too short. How can I solve this?

Your estimated wait times are controlled under your Toast Tables settings in Toast Web. You can see the estimated wait times for each guest on the list within the Wait Time Estimator. For more on this, see Get Started with Toast Tables and navigate to the Wait Time Estimator section, where you can get more information on Manual Multiplier and Smart Algorithm settings. The following instances are possible:

  • You may be underquoting. Try increasing your buffer time or increasing your average turn time. 
  • You may be overquoting. Try reducing your buffer time or decreasing your average turn time. 
 

Why does my Toast Tables online waitlist link show that there is "No wait, come on by," but doesn't allow people to join the waitlist?

You may allow guests to join your waitlist even when there is no one on it. Update this setting in Toast Web by navigating to Waitlist & Reservations > Settings > Waitlist > Online Access to allow guests to join your waitlist even when it is empty.

 

allow guests to join online if there is no wait
 

My guests aren't receiving Toast Tables text message updates. What should they do? 

Ensure your guest’s phone number was entered correctly by selecting the waitlist entry and confirming the phone number is correct. 

If the message didn't go through after you select Notify on the Toast Tables host app despite the phone number being correct, check the External Connectivity section of this website (external link) to check if there are any cell phone carriers having issues with SMS. If carriers are having issues, your guest may receive the message with a delay once the carrier has resolved the issues.

Note: Toast Tables supports sending messages to phone numbers from the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands (U.S.), American Samoa, and Guam.
 

What if a server doesn't use a held table to begin the order for a table with a deposit?

Remove the alternate payment from the held (red) table and add it to the new table to proceed.

 

My restaurant doesn't accept reservations. Can I only show the waitlist?

Yes! To disable all reservations for your restaurant, use the Waitlist-Only Mode toggle in ToastWeb. This will ensure your host app only shows the waitlist. 

 

How do I set up our reservation settings to only allow four (4) tables to be booked every 15 minutes?

To configure your reservation settings to only allow a specific number of tables to be booked for a specific time duration, follow these steps:

  1. In Toast Web, navigate to Waitlist & Reservations.
  2. Select the Schedules tab.
  3. Under the Your schedules section, select a schedule, then select the pencil icon next to Flow control.
  4. Select your desired reservation settings:
    • Reservation increments: Select your desired setting from the drop-down list.
    • Max covers of: Enter your desired reservation maximum limit.

      Example: If you select 15 minutes for Reservation increments and enter 4 for Max covers of, a maximum of 4 guests can be booked every 15 minutes.

      Flow control tab showing reservation increments setting
  5. Once completed, select Save and Done.

 

Back to top


Additional Resources - Toast Tables


Back to top