Bar tabs allow you to start orders and manage a running total of charges without seating a customer in the Restaurant POS app. When opening a bar tab, you pre-authorize a customer’s credit or debit card to verify their bank account and hold a minimum amount of funds by inserting the card into an integrated payment terminal. This allows you to run your customer’s card only once, rather than generating a new transaction each time they order.

Enabling bar tabs

Before you can start using bar tabs, you will need to enable them in the Back Office. From the Back Office, you can set up your minimum authorization amount and configure how bar tabs are opened on the POS.

To enable the bar tabs feature, full table support must be enabled on your POS configuration.

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed Restaurant credentials.
2. From the navigation menu, go to Configuration > Settings > Payment methods.
3. Click Manage for the Lightspeed Payments payment method.
   
4. Click Edit in the Global Settings section.
5. Select the Pre-authorized or batch payment processing method.

   Important: Selecting a different authorization and capture method will affect your Lightspeed Payments settlement schedule.

6. Check the box to Enable bar tabs.
7. In the Enter default pre-authorization amount field, specify an amount to pre-authorize or hold on a customer’s credit card when opening a bar tab.
   Note: We recommend entering 10 or more as the default minimum pre-auth amount. An employee can change this amount at the POS when opening a bar tab.
8. Click Save to save changes.

Optional settings for processing bar tabs

Certain POS settings alter how bar tabs operate. Editing these settings ensures that you are able to use bar tabs in the way that best suits your business.

To be able to have multiple tabs open at one time, or to take orders on the POS while a tab is open, the setting Remain on current order after hitting send must be disabled. To disable this setting:

1. Navigate to Configuration > Configurations in the Back Office.
2. Select the name of the configuration you wish to edit.
3. Navigate to General settings.
4. Under Order profiles, make sure Remain on current order after tapping Send is deselected.

   

5. Click Save.

If your customers are not assigned to a table, but still wish to open a bar tab, you will need to allow direct sales to be put on hold. To enable this setting:

1. Navigate to Configuration > Configurations in the Back Office.
2. Select the name of the configuration you wish to edit.
3. Navigate to General settings.
4. In the Register screen section, select Allow direct sales to be put on hold.

   

5. Click Save.

What's next?

• After opening a bar tab, you can edit it, transfer it to a table, change its name, or close it out for payment. Visit Managing and closing bar tabs to learn how to perform these actions.
• Learn how to interact with a floor plan and tables in Understanding the Tables screen.
• Learn more about searching for orders on the POS in Understanding the Orders management screen.