How to open separate bills at the same table

What separate bills at the same table are

Having separate bills at the same table simply means opening more than one order pointing to the same table. qmen.us doesn't force one tab per table: each order is its own record, with its items, its total, its stage and its own closing. What ties it all together is the Order name field, optional, up to 60 characters, which you fill in with the guest's name or any nickname your team understands.

That name isn't decoration: it travels with the order to every screen. It shows up in the waiter's Active orders list, on the card on the kitchen display, on the printed ticket, on the owner's Dashboard and on the page the guest opens from the table QR code. In practice, it's what turns "table 4" into "table 4, Pedro's bill" and "table 4, Maria's bill" without a phantom table or a paper tab.

Why separate the bills from the very first order

• Nobody does mental math at the end of the night. Each order starts out with its own total, so splitting isn't dividing per person on a calculator: you just close the bill for what that guest actually had.
• The kitchen knows whose dish is whose. The order name shows on the display card and on the printed ticket, next to the table, which cuts out the "whose burger is this?" question when putting the tray together.
• No more fake-table workaround. Without this feature, the way out was creating Table 4A and Table 4B and messing up the dining room layout. Here the table stays a single one, with the QR code already stuck on it.
• Everyone pays when they want to leave. Close bill, Mark as paid and Free table work per order, so the person who leaves early settles theirs and the rest of the table keeps ordering.
• No commission per order. Separating bills costs nothing: qmen.us is free for the restaurant and stays out of the payment — PIX (Brazil's instant payment system) or cash is arranged directly between the customer and the restaurant.

Step by step to separate a table's bills

Six steps in the waiter app, and the only trick is remembering to add a name before sending it to the kitchen.

1. Open the first bill and give it a name

   In the waiter app, go to New order, tap the table in the grid and fill in Order name, the optional field right below (the hint on screen suggests "E.g. John, counter, birthday"). It holds up to 60 characters, so use the guest's name, their seat at the table or the reason for the round. The button changes to Open Table 4 and the tab starts out as a Draft.

2. Go back and choose the same table again

   After entering the first guest's items, go back to the waiter's home screen and tap the same table. It shows as occupied, but it's still tappable: the button changes to New order · Table 4 and a note reminds you that the table already has an order and that it's worth giving it a name to tell the orders apart. Confirm and you have two independent tabs at the same spot.

3. Name or rename it with the name chip

   Forgot to type it when opening? At the top of the tab there's a chip with a pencil: when the order has no name, it just shows "Name". Tap it, type and save — the "Name saved" notice appears. Saving the field empty removes the name. This works while the bill is open; once it's closed or cancelled, the name becomes a fixed label.

   Tip: At a big table, naming by seat ("window corner", "head of the table") usually works better than the guest's name, which nobody remembers when it's time to serve.

4. Send it and let the kitchen see whose it is

   Each bill is sent to the kitchen separately: review the list and tap Send to kitchen. On the kitchen display the card shows the table and, next to it, the order name highlighted, so the prep station knows the picanha is Pedro's and the risotto is Maria's. If that kitchen prints, the name comes out on the ticket along with the table and the order number.

5. See how the table QR code page looks

   Anyone who points their camera at the table QR code lands on a public page showing that table's most recent order by name, with its stage (Preparing, Ready, Served) and items; the earlier bill appears below, under the Also at this table label. If a bill shouldn't show up there, use Hide from table page inside the tab.

6. Close and charge each bill separately

   Closing actions work per order, not per table. On each tab you have Close bill — R$ 42,00 with that person's total, Mark as paid and Free table. Closing Pedro's bill doesn't touch Maria's, and the table is only free for the next guests once all its bills have been freed.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Tab

The open bill of a table, where items add up until it's closed.

Table

Each spot in the dining room registered in the system, with its own QR code for opening orders.

Draft

An order's first status, while the waiter is still putting the list together and nothing has gone to the kitchen yet.

Table QR code

The code printed on the table that guests scan with their phone, no sign-in needed.

Waiter app

The ordering page each waiter opens through the restaurant's own link, right in the phone's browser.

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