Card hold, deposit or prepayment: EatNow secures your bookings with a card and sells your special-night menus before service. Payments land on your own merchant account.
Stripe
Payzone
CMINothing for Tuesday lunch, a card hold on Saturday night, the menu paid upfront on New Year's Eve. Each service has its rule, with an amount per cover and, if you like, only from parties of 6.
The amount is held on the card, never charged at booking. The guest shows up: the hold is released on its own the next day. They don't: you charge it in one click.
Best for Saturday nights and large tables.
An amount per cover, charged at booking then taken off the bill. Cancelled in time: the refund goes out on its own. Past your deadline, you keep the deposit.
Best for groups and high-demand nights.
Guests pick and pay for their menu when they book: tasting menu, New Year's Eve, iftar, themed night. Nothing to release, nothing to deduct: the meal is already paid.
Best for special nights and events.
Saturday, 9:15 PM: the table of 6 isn't coming. Your team marks the no-show, and EatNow immediately offers to charge the card. One click, and the hold is collected.
Card hold released
Good news: the €120 hold linked to your reservation has been released. Nothing will be charged to your card.
Put your menu online: guests choose it and pay for it when they book. The cash comes in before the night, and the kitchen knows its quantities.
An event service replaces your usual service on December 31st, or every evening of Ramadan, with its own hours, menu and payment rules.
Adult, kids, vegetarian: each variant has its price and, if you like, its daily limit. When it's sold out, it's sold out.
Have guests pay 20, 30, 50, 75 or 100% online, the rest on site. And offer extras at booking: a bottle, a birthday cake.
The table of 8 booked over the phone is often the riskiest. Your team asks for a deposit, a card hold or a prepayment on any booking: the guest gets the link by WhatsApp or email, and pays in seconds.
If it isn't paid by 6:30 PM, the booking is cancelled and the table goes back on sale.
Your reservation is pending payment. It will be confirmed as soon as you pay online.
Pending amount: €240
EatNow plugs into the provider of your choice. Payments land on your own merchant account, and your team finds them in EatNow, booking by booking.
StripePayzoneCMIRefundable or not, up to 24 or 48 hours before the meal: you set the deadline. Before it, the refund goes out on its own. After it, you keep the amount.
Payment request, confirmation, refund, card hold released: every step goes out by email or WhatsApp, in your colours.
A Payments page with the total paid, refunded and pending, and an export for your accountant.
Every payment is tied to its menu and variant: you know exactly what New Year's Eve brought in.
No. The amount is held on their card, not charged. If they come, EatNow releases the hold automatically the day after the meal. If they don't, your team chooses to charge it or release it. Depending on their bank, the released amount may stay visible on their account for a few days: that's a bank delay, and guests are told about it when they book.
You set the deadline, in hours before the meal. If they cancel before it, the deposit or prepayment is refunded automatically and the card hold released. After it, you keep the amount. You can also make a payment non-refundable.
Stripe, Payzone or CMI. Payments land on your own merchant account, and your EatNow contact sets up the connection with you.
Yes. The rule is set service by service, with an amount per cover and a minimum party size: a card hold from 6 covers on Saturday night, nothing on Tuesday lunch. Existing bookings are not affected.
They have the delay you set, shorter for same-day bookings. After that, the booking is cancelled automatically and the table becomes bookable again. If the waitlist is on, the spot is offered to the next guest.
Reservations, deposits, WhatsApp confirmations, CRM, reporting — one single system. Human support, in French and English, from people who've worked service.
