Open the order on the Dashboard or in the waiter app and tap Free table, confirming the question that appears. The orders disappear right away from that table's public page and it counts as free again in the dining room. Freeing the table is independent of payment: the bill can stay open.
What happens when you free a table
Freeing the table tells qmen.us that the visit at that table is over. Every order stores the moment its table was freed; until that timestamp exists, the order keeps counting as "at the table" and the table shows as Occupied everywhere. Tapping Free table is what stamps that time, and the rest of the system adjusts on its own.
It's different from closing the bill and from marking it paid. Close bill stops new items from being added, Mark as paid records that the money came in, and Free table only takes care of the spot in the dining room. All three sit side by side on the order screen and don't depend on each other: you can free a table with the bill still open, or close the bill and let the group stay seated a while longer.
Why it matters day to day in the dining room
- The next guests don't see the previous bill. The page that opens from the table QR code lists only orders that haven't been freed yet. Without freeing, whoever sits down next opens their phone and reads the items of the people who just left.
- The dining room matches reality again. The occupied and free tables counter on the Dashboard, the cards on the Tables screen and the Occupied or Free badge all come from the same rule: an order that hasn't been freed occupies the table.
- The waiter's screen clears up. The home list in the waiter app shows what's still at the table. Freeing takes that card out of their way and leaves only the real work.
- Nothing is deleted. A freed order leaves the working screens and goes into that table's history, with items, total and time. Open the table on the Dashboard whenever you want to check.
How to free the table in 5 steps
Five steps, and the last two are just checks. They apply to the owner on the Dashboard and to the waiter on the phone — the button is the same.
-
Finish the visit first
Serve whatever was Ready, close the bill if your restaurant uses that flow and sort out payment with the guests. Free table doesn't cancel anything and doesn't take any item out of the kitchen queue: if something is still being prepared, it stays on the display even after you free the table. So free it when the table is really empty.
Tip: If the guests are still going to rate their order on their phone, free the table last: the Rate your order invitation disappears from the table page as soon as you free it. -
Open that table's order
On the Dashboard, tap the order in the active orders list to open its screen. On the phone, the waiter taps the table's card on the waiter app's home screen. It's the same screen as always, with the items, the total and the buttons below.
-
Tap Free table
The button sits in the actions block, next to Close bill and Mark as paid. It only shows while the table hasn't been freed yet — after that it disappears, because there's nothing to repeat.
-
Confirm the question
The question Free the table for the next guests? appears. Tap OK. If you tap Cancel, nothing changes and you go back to the order screen just as it was.
-
Check that the table is free
The owner lands back on the Dashboard and the waiter on their home screen, with that card gone. On the Tables screen the badge turns to Free and the free counter goes up. If you open the table QR code on your own phone, the page shows there are no orders at this table yet — exactly what the next guests will see.
Frequently asked questions
Does freeing the table mark the order as paid?+
No. They're two separate buttons and neither touches the other. Mark as paid is just your record that the money came in — qmen.us doesn't process any payment, and with PIX, Brazil's instant payment system, it's arranged directly between the customer and the restaurant.
Can I undo it and bring the table back?+
There's no undo button. A freed order becomes part of that table's history and doesn't return to the working screens. If you freed it by accident, the way out is for the waiter to open a new order at the same table and enter whatever was missing.
A table with two tabs: do I need to free both?+
Yes. Freeing works per order, not for the whole table. If two groups shared the same table with separate bills, it stays Occupied until the last order is freed.
Does freeing take the order off the kitchen display?+
No. The kitchen queue looks at the state of the items, not at the table: an item being prepared stays on the display until the prep station marks it done. That's why the right move is to free the table after everything has gone out.
What about delivery orders or ones placed through the chat?+
Those have no table, so they don't take up a spot in the dining room and the button doesn't even show on the owner's screen. Their flow ends with Served and closing the bill.
Do I need to free tables every day at closing time?+
If you free each table when the guests leave, nothing is left over. An order left open by mistake keeps counting as an occupied table the next day, so it's worth glancing at the Dashboard before you close up.
Glossary
- Table
- Each spot in the dining room registered in the system, with its own QR code for opening orders.
- Tab
- The open bill of a table, where items add up until it's closed.
- Table QR code
- The code printed on the table that guests scan with their phone, no sign-in needed.
- Dashboard
- The owner's screen, at qmen.us/restaurante/painel/, with active orders, occupied tables, today's revenue and a shortcut to Settings.
- Waiter app
- The ordering page each waiter opens through the restaurant's own link, right in the phone's browser.
- Kitchen
- The display where orders show up and move from Preparing to READY.
Related resources
How to create discount coupons for your restaurant
Create coupons as a percentage or fixed amount, with a minimum order, dates and a use limit, for guests to re…
Dashboard and reportsHow to follow live orders on the Dashboard
Follow live orders on the qmen.us Dashboard: the list updates itself on every change, with the table, waiter,…
Orders and waitersHow to enter an item that's not on the menu (custom item)
Add an item that's not on the menu straight onto the tab: the waiter types a name and price, it goes to the k…