Floor intelligence guides
Table tracking systems: four ways to know the state of your floor
A table tracking system answers four questions continuously: which tables are free, which are waiting on staff, which are dirty, and how long each has been that way. Four approaches compete for the job, and they fail in very different ways.
Option 1: the whiteboard or host sheet
It costs nothing, is instantly understood, and stays accurate for exactly as long as someone keeps it updated. On a quiet Tuesday it works. On the Friday that pays your rent, the person maintaining it is also seating parties, answering the phone and managing the lobby, and the board drifts from reality precisely when the information is worth the most. Use it if you have one room, one host and gentle rushes.
Option 2: the POS table map
Your POS already has a floor plan, so it is tempting to treat it as a tracker. Its states follow money, not the room: a table reads occupied until the check is closed and free the instant it is paid. It cannot see the ten dirty minutes after payment, the party seated but not yet rung in, or anyone waiting. As a billing map it is fine; as a floor tracker it reports the past.
Option 3: per-table sensors and call buttons
Pressure pads, infrared sensors and call buttons give real signals without cameras, and in some venues, like food halls, they fit well. The costs are physical: hardware on every table, batteries to manage, wear from cleaning cycles, and installation that scales with table count. Buttons also invert your service model, asking guests to summon staff rather than staff anticipating guests.
Option 4: camera-based tracking
Computer vision reads table states from the CCTV already on your ceiling: nothing on the tables, nothing for staff to tap, and the map updates itself during the rush, which is the moment the other three options degrade. The honest requirements: your cameras must stream locally (nearly all wired IP cameras do), a computer in the building does the processing, and accuracy should be proven in your room, not quoted from a brochure. This is the approach TableWave takes, with six table states, timers and alerts to the right staff member, and faces blurred on screen.
Cost shapes differ too: boards cost attention, sensors cost per table, cameras cost per room. TableWave plans and setup fees are on the pricing page, and a 30-day pilot proves the accuracy on your own floor before monthly billing starts.
Questions owners ask
Sensors or cameras: which is better?
If you already run CCTV over the dining room, cameras cover every table with zero per-table hardware, so they usually win on cost and maintenance. Sensors make sense where cameras are unwanted or sightlines are impossible.
Does my staff have to tap or log anything?
With TableWave, no. States change from what the cameras see, alerts clear themselves when someone reaches the table, and the host just reads the screen. The only optional touch is marking a table reserved for a booking.
What happens if a camera cannot see a table?
We check coverage during the install visit, before you commit to anything: we connect to your cameras, draw your tables and flag any blind spots. Sometimes a camera gets re-aimed; occasionally a zone needs one extra camera of about $30.
Can I track multiple rooms or a patio?
Yes, any area your cameras can see becomes part of the same live floor. Starter covers up to 4 cameras and Pro up to 10, which is enough for a main room plus patio in most layouts.
Prove it on your own floor
The 30-day pilot is paid, on purpose: you cover your plan’s setup fee, we install in person, and you read your own payback report before any monthly billing starts.
The install is $1,500. If it earns its keep in 30 days, your first month’s on us. If it doesn’t, we take it out and you owe nothing more.
Prices in USD, before tax. Setup is non-refundable once installed; monthly starts only if you continue.