Smart Tabs

Smart Tabs™ by Tabski

Mobile open tabs.
POS-native.

Smart Tabs connects guest-initiated mobile tabs directly into Tabski POS — so bartenders and servers can add items, apply discounts, split payments, and close out without duplicate checks or broken routing.

Built for food halls, bars, and multi-vendor venues where every second counts.

Book a Demo How it works FAQ

Mobile ↔ Tabski POS — one unified tab

One Tab. Two Channels. Zero confusion.

Guests open a tab on their phone. Staff sees the same tab in Tabski POS — ready for add-ons, routing, and close-out.

Eliminate

Duplicate checks

Mobile tab appears as a real POS tab with shared context.

Enable

Staff add-ons

Bartenders can ring to mobile-open tabs instantly.

Improve

Close-out speed

Settle, split, tip-adjust, and receipt — no extra steps.

Designed for

High-volume venues

Food halls, bars, breweries, patios, entertainment.

How it works

Built for real venue workflows

No new app to learn. Mobile tabs slot into the same POS flows your team already knows.

Guests open tabs on mobile

A guest opens a tab from a QR code, kiosk, link, or venue app. The tab stays active so they can reorder, keep spending, and close out when they're ready.

Guest session identity

Each tab is tied to a session, so controls stay consistent across the venue.
Built for shared seating

Perfect when guests move between stalls, bars, and common areas.

Staff sees it in POS instantly

Smart Tabs surfaces mobile-open tabs inside Tabski POS as real open checks. Staff can search, open, add items, and send to KDS or printers — without duplicate tickets.

Native workflow

Add items and modifiers the same way staff rings any other tab.
Clean routing

Tickets route correctly while tab-level context stays unified.

Mobile ↔ POS

See both sides of Smart Tabs

Guests open a tab on mobile. Staff manages the same tab in the POS. No copy-paste, no duplicate checks, no "which tab is real?" moments.

Guest · Mobile

Open tab, keep ordering

Guests open a tab and reorder throughout their visit, then close out on their phone when ready.

Staff · POS

Staff add-ons in real time

Bartenders and servers add items to the same mobile-open tab, send to KDS, and settle cleanly — no extra steps.

Controls & Reporting

Permissions built for operators

Smart Tabs supports role-based permissions so operators decide exactly what teams can do on a mobile-open tab.

Access control

Manager-only actions

Comps, voids, reopen checks, forced close, tip edits, and tab transfers are all permission-gated.

Accountability

Full audit trail

Track who touched the tab, what changed, and when — across both mobile and POS channels.

Ops intelligence

Clean reporting

Tab starts, close-outs, speed metrics, stale tabs by shift, and exception auditing in one view.

Role-based permissions

Decide precisely what each role can do on a mobile-open tab. Give servers freedom to add items while keeping comps and voids manager-only.

Staff add-ons, always on
Ring items to any mobile-open tab as easily as any other check.
Manager-gated exceptions
Comps, voids, forced closes, and tip edits require manager auth.

Reporting that's actually clean

When mobile and POS activity live on the same tab, your reporting gets dramatically simpler — no reconciliation between two systems.

Adoption and usage
Tab starts, close-outs, and staff add-on frequency by shift.
Speed metrics
Time-to-first-item, time-to-close, reopen rate, stale tab alerts.

FAQ

Questions operators ask us

Smart Tabs reduces lines without creating the operational chaos that typically comes with mobile tabs.

Does this work if the guest only opens a tab, never orders on mobile?

Yes. A guest can open a tab and then order at the bar. Staff adds items to that tab in POS like a normal check, and the guest can still close out on mobile if enabled.

What if a guest walks up to a different vendor?

In multi-vendor environments, Tabski can keep the tab unified while routing items to the correct vendor or kitchen destination. Exact routing behavior depends on your venue configuration.

Can staff split payments or move items between tabs?

Yes, with permissions. You can allow staff to split checks, transfer items, or reassign tabs while maintaining an audit trail. Most venues restrict higher-risk actions to managers.

How do you prevent abuse or forgotten open tabs?

Use timeouts, limits, and alerts. Most venues set an inactivity timeout, enforce a payment method on file, and surface stale tabs in POS for managers to review.

Can we show a phone icon on POS tabs opened on mobile?

Yes. A clear icon plus label (and optional filter) is one of the best usability touches for bartenders and servers — makes mobile-origin tabs instantly recognizable.

Is Smart Tabs only for food halls?

It's built with food halls in mind, but works great in bars, breweries, patios, and entertainment venues — any high-volume environment where tabs matter.

Ready to see it live?