Table session
A table session is the time window in which one party occupies a table and shares one running order on a single QR. Three friends scanning the same QR see the same cart and the same running tab.
What it means in operation
The session opens the moment the first guest scans the QR at the table. Every order added from any phone that scans the same code joins the running cart. The session stays open while the table is marked occupied on the staff dashboard. It closes when the staff clears the table, when the bill is settled, or when idle session expiry kicks in after a quiet window. On MobiTaste the default idle window is 30 minutes, configurable per restaurant. The table token in the URL is what binds the phones together: same token, same session, same cart.
Why it matters
The session is what makes shared ordering work without accounts. A four-top should not have to create user logins to add items to one tab. The session model also bounds what the next party sees: when the staff marks the table cleared, the next scan starts an empty cart, not the previous party’s order history. For revenue tracking, the session is the unit that maps a QR scan to a settled bill, which is what owners actually care about when they review channel performance.
Related terms
- Idle session expiry: the timeout that closes a quiet session.
- Table token: the id that binds phones to one session.
- QR menu: the surface the session runs on.