Switching — the honest bit first
The diary is the hard part.
So we move it for you.
Nobody changes booking systems for fun. The floor plan, the service times, the table combinations, and above all the existing bookings — that's real work, and pretending it's a ten-minute self-serve job is how vendors create zombie accounts. The £99 setup fee is an honest admission that a human is involved. Here's exactly what happens.
How the move actually works
1. The setup call — 45 minutes
You book it straight after checkout, with a checklist of what to have ready: a photo of your floor plan, your service times, and an export (or photo!) of your existing diary. OpenTable, ResDiary, simpleERB, a spreadsheet, or a book by the till — we've seen them all.
2. We build it together
Floor plan, zones, combinables, turn times, pacing, deposit rules — configured live on the call, with your existing bookings imported. You take a test booking before we hang up.
3. Live on a quiet service
Your booking link replaces the old one on your website, Google profile and Instagram. Reminders start flowing to existing bookings. Guests notice nothing — except that your restaurant now confirms on WhatsApp.
The questions everyone asks before switching
Do I lose my guest history?
No — bring whatever export your current system allows and we'll import guests with their booking history. From day one, every new booking, walk-in and call enriches the Guest Graph automatically.
What about bookings already in the old system?
They come across in the migration. Guests with upcoming bookings get a confirmation from Eightish, so the reminder chain covers them too.
How long does it take end to end?
Most single venues go from checkout to live inside a week — the constraint is usually finding 45 minutes in your diary, not ours.
What if it doesn't stick?
Start on the free plan and stay there as long as you like — it is a real diary, not a countdown. If a paid plan isn't working for the room, tell us and we'll stop billing; there's no contract to see out.