Areas & Order Groups | Dokumentation

Managing Areas and Order Groups lets you organize your business digitally – both in gastronomy (rooms and tables) and in accommodation (floors and guest rooms). With the graphical plan, you always keep an overview and can flexibly arrange your order groups.

Formerly "Rooms & Tables": Areas were previously called Rooms, order groups were called Tables, and "Arrange Order Groups" was called Arrange Tables. This is the same feature under more general names – your existing data and workflows remain unchanged. See the "Notes for Existing Customers" section below for details.

Types: Areas and Order Groups

Areas and order groups each have a type. This lets the same structure serve both gastronomy and accommodation:

Concept	Area (type)	Order Group (type)	Permission
Gastronomy	Room	Table	Tables
Accommodation	Floor	Room (guest room)	Rooms

An Area logically groups order groups and has the type Room or Floor.
An Order Group is the unit to which orders are assigned and has the type Table or Room.

A note on the term "Room": In gastronomy, "Room" is an area type (a section of the venue, e.g. dining room). In accommodation, "Room" is an order group type (a guest room) that is arranged within a Floor. The same word is used for both because that is how the Manager labels them; the context (area vs. order group) makes the meaning clear.

Visibility by permission

Which types you can see and create depends on the permissions granted:

With the Tables permission, you work with the types Room and Table.
With the Rooms permission, you work with the types Floor and Room (guest room).

If only one of the two permissions is present, the type selection is omitted and the matching type is used automatically. If both are present, you choose the type via the filter or in the form. When creating, the type currently filtered in the list is preselected – this prevents accidentally creating the wrong type.

Note: Managing areas and order groups is available for Gastro licenses. The accommodation functions (floors and guest rooms) are activated by bessa or your point-of-sale dealer.

Areas

Areas represent the different zones of your business in which order groups are placed – in gastronomy as a Room (e.g. dining room, terrace), in accommodation as a Floor. Each area is linked to a specific location.

Area Overview

Under Locations > Areas, you'll find a list of all created areas. Use the filter bar to filter by company and location.

Column	Description
Name	Name of the area
Type	Room or Floor (shown as a marker in the row)
Warehouse	Assigned warehouse for this area (optional)
Location	Location to which the area is assigned

The optional Type filter lets you show only rooms, only floors, or "All". Each row also carries a type marker.

Typical areas:

Gastronomy (type Room): dining room / main room, terrace / outdoor area, bar, private room / VIP area, conservatory
Accommodation (type Floor): ground floor, 1st floor, 2nd floor

Creating an Area

Navigate to Locations > Areas
Select the desired company and location using the filter bar
Click Add or the + icon
Enter the area details:Name: Name of the area (e.g. "Terrace", "1st floor")Type: Room or Floor (if both permissions are present)Warehouse (optional): Specific warehouse for this area
Click Save

You can create an unlimited number of areas per location.

Editing an Area

Click the Edit icon (✏️) in the area's row or directly on the row
Adjust the desired settings
Click Save

Deleting an Area

Click the Delete icon (🗑️) in the area's row
Confirm the deletion

Warning: Deleting an area removes all order group arrangements in that area. The order groups themselves remain and can be assigned to other areas.

Warehouse for Areas

Each area can optionally be assigned a specific warehouse. This overrides the warehouse set for the location and Sales Point for all orders placed in this area.

Warehouse hierarchy (priority from high to low):

Area warehouse – highest priority
Sales Point warehouse – used if no area warehouse is defined
Location warehouse – fallback if neither area nor Sales Point has a warehouse

Use cases for area warehouses:

Bar area: Separate warehouse for beverages and bar items
Terrace/Outdoor area: Separate warehouse for seasonal products
Floors: Different warehouses for different levels
Themed areas: Specialized warehouses for different concepts (e.g., sushi bar, grill station)

Order Groups

Order groups are the units where guests order and pay – in gastronomy as a Table, in accommodation as a Room (guest room). Each order group belongs to a company and location and can be arranged in multiple areas.

Order Group Overview

Under Locations > Order Groups, you'll find a list of all created order groups. Use the filter bar to filter by company and location.

Column	Description
Name	Name of the order group (e.g. "Regular's table", "Room 101")
Type	Table or Room (shown as a marker in the row)
Number	Unique numeric number of the order group
External number	Optional alphanumeric identifier for external systems
User	Permanently assigned user (optional)

The optional Type filter lets you show only tables, only rooms, or "All". Each row also carries a type marker.

Creating an Order Group

Navigate to Locations > Order Groups
Select the desired company and location using the filter bar
Click Add or the + icon
Enter the details:Name: Optional name of the order groupType: Table or Room (if both permissions are present)Number: Unique number (numeric, required)External number: Optional alphanumeric identifierUser: Optional fixed user assignment
Click Save

You can create an unlimited number of order groups per location. Using Create Multiple Order Groups, you create an entire series in one step (e.g. "Table 1" through "Table 20").

Editing an Order Group

Click the Edit icon (✏️) in the order group's row or directly on the row
Adjust the desired settings
Click Save

Deleting an Order Group

Click the Delete icon (🗑️) in the order group's row
Confirm the deletion

Warning: Deleting an order group also removes all associated arrangements in areas. Open orders on this order group should be completed beforehand.

Number vs. External Number

Property	Number	External Number
Format	Numeric	Alphanumeric
Required	Yes	No
Uniqueness	Must be unique	No restriction
Usage	Internal identification	External systems

Use cases for external numbers:

QR codes at the table or room: Guests scan the code for self-ordering
NFC tags: Contactless recognition by staff
Quick search: Quick lookup via alphanumeric codes (e.g., "T-A1", "BAR-02")
Third-party integration: Reservation and booking systems, waiter call systems

Fixed User Assignment

You can assign a fixed user to an order group. This assignment means that only this user can take orders and process payments at that order group.

Typical use cases:

Service areas with fixed staff assignments
Revenue tracking per employee
Simplified settlement for tips

For more information on user management, see the article Users.

Arrange Order Groups

The "Arrange Order Groups" feature allows you to create a graphical plan for each area. The schematic representation enables quick visual orientation for your staff.

Opening the Plan

Navigate to Locations > Arrange Order Groups
First select the Type (Room or Floor) via the filter
Then select the company, location, and area

The type selection is mandatory here and determines which areas are available: for type "Room", rooms are arranged with their tables; for type "Floor", floors are arranged with their guest rooms. If only one permission is present, the type is already preselected.

Plan Grid

The plan is based on a dynamic grid:

Automatic size adjustment: The grid grows automatically when you place order groups at the edges
Automatic shrinking: The grid shrinks when outer order groups are removed
Flexible arrangement: Order groups can be freely positioned on the grid

Placing Order Groups in an Area

Drag an order group from the list using drag & drop onto the grid
Position it at the desired location
The change is saved automatically

Tip: An order group can be arranged in multiple areas simultaneously. This is useful for edge cases such as tables on the border between two areas or for different views of the same area.

Moving Order Groups

Click and hold an already placed order group
Drag it using drag & drop to the new position
Release to save the position

Removing an Order Group from an Area

Click Reset on the respective order group to remove it from the current area. The order group itself remains and can continue to be used in other areas.

Color Customization

Individual colors can be set for each order group:

Background color: Main color of the display
Text color: Color of the number and label

Benefits of color customization:

Quick visual differentiation
Marking of service areas
Highlighting VIP tables or reservations

Display in the Sales Point

The created plan is displayed in bessa POS and enables:

Quick selection by tapping
Visual overview of occupied and free order groups
Easy navigation between areas

Important Notes

Important: One Main Sales Point per Location

When using order groups, only one main sales point should be used per location. The reason: There is no communication between different main sales points. This means:

Bookings are only visible on the respective main sales point
The status of an order group is not synchronized between main sales points
For multiple devices: Use sub-terminals in the local network

For more information on main and sub-terminals, see the article Sales Point Types.

Notes for Existing Customers

The transition is seamless – your data and workflows remain unchanged.

Rooms become Areas of type Room, and Tables become Order Groups of type Table. It is the same structure under more general names.
Since you still have the Tables permission, you continue to see only the types Room and Table – the type selection stays hidden for you, and nothing changes in your familiar view.
The addresses (URLs) of the Manager views remain the same – only the labels in the menu have been adjusted.
The accommodation functions (floors and guest rooms) are optional. They only become visible once bessa or your point-of-sale dealer activates the Rooms permission for you.

Permissions

Managing areas and order groups requires at least one of the following permissions:

Tables – for the types Room and Table (gastronomy)
Rooms – for the types Floor and Room / guest room (accommodation)

Both permissions can be refined with detail permissions (e.g. "Order at Table", "Pay Room"). These detail permissions can only be granted if the respective master permission is already present in a role; the initial activation is done by bessa or your point-of-sale dealer. For more information, see the article Permissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I assign an order group to multiple areas?

Yes, an order group can be arranged in multiple areas. This is practical for edge cases or different views.

What happens to open orders when I delete an order group?

Open orders remain, but the order group is no longer available for selection. It is recommended to complete all orders before deleting.

How many areas and order groups can I create?

There is no limit. You can create an unlimited number of areas and order groups per location.

Why don't I see a type selection?

The type selection only appears if you have both the Tables and the Rooms permission. If only one is present, the matching type is used automatically.

Why don't I see bookings on my second main sales point?

Main sales points do not communicate with each other. Instead, use sub-terminals connected to a central main sales point.

Locations – Create and manage locations
Sales Points – Sales point types and sub-terminals
Warehouse Management – Create and assign warehouses
Permissions – Configure user permissions