Staff How-To Guide
Crown & Anchor — Staff Confidential
How-To Guide
Everything you need to know about using the Crown & Anchor staff system.
01Staff Portal02Table Bookings03Function Room Bookings04Event Bookings05Kitchen View06Food Booking Portal07Events — What's On08Menus09Customer Enquiries10Reservation Settings11Staff Management✦Quick Reference
Sections
How to access the Staff Portal
- •Open the website and click STAFF in the top navigation bar
- •You will see a sign-in screen — click 'Sign In to Staff Portal'
- •Log in using the email and password you were invited with
- •Once logged in, you will land on your personalised dashboard
What you will see on the Staff Portal
- •A greeting with today's date
- •Live stats: today's table bookings, guest count, upcoming events, unread enquiries
- •A quick table of today's confirmed table bookings
- •A list of upcoming event bookings
- •Grouped links to all sections you have access to (based on your role)
Staff Roles
- •Waiter / Waitress — Table Bookings, Function Room, Event Bookings
- •Kitchen Staff — All of the above + Kitchen View & Food Portal
- •Admin / Website — All sections including Events, Menus, Settings
- •Owner — Full access to everything including Staff Management
If you cannot see a section, you may not have the correct role. Ask the owner to update your access in Staff Management.
Viewing bookings
- •Go to Staff Portal → Table Bookings
- •Bookings are listed in date order. Use the date filter or search to find a specific booking.
- •Each row shows: guest name, date, time, party size, special requests, and status
Updating a booking status
- •Click the status badge on any booking to change it
- •Confirmed — booking is active
- •Completed — guest has arrived and been seated
- •No Show — guest did not arrive
- •Cancelled — booking was cancelled
Sending reminder emails
- •You can manually send a reminder email to a guest from the booking detail view
- •Automated reminders can be configured in Reservation Settings
Deleting a booking
- •Use the delete (bin) icon on a booking row — you will be asked to confirm
Viewing function room bookings
- •Go to Staff Portal → Function Room
- •Switch between List View and Calendar View using the tabs at the top
- •List view shows all bookings with status, guest count, buffet option and DJ requirement
- •Calendar view gives a monthly overview — click any date to see that day's bookings
Booking details — each booking includes
- •Guest name, email and phone number
- •Date, time slot (morning / afternoon / evening)
- •Event type (birthday, wedding, corporate etc)
- •Buffet option: None, Silver, Gold or Platinum
- •Whether a DJ is required
- •Special requests
Viewing signed Terms & Conditions
- •Customers sign T&Cs electronically when making a booking online
- •Click the 'View T&Cs' button on any booking to see their signature, name and date signed
Updating status
- •Confirmed — booking is active
- •Pending — awaiting confirmation
- •Completed — event has taken place
- •Cancelled — booking was cancelled
Use the Calendar View to quickly check what's booked on a given date — great for checking availability before taking a phone enquiry.
Creating an event booking
- •Go to Staff Portal → Event Bookings → New Booking
- •Fill in: booking name, date, times, number of guests, rooms, contact details
- •Select food choice: No Food, Buffet, or Set Menu (Menu A / B / C / Christmas)
- •Set deposit amount and whether it has been paid
- •Add internal staff notes if needed
Sending the food portal link
- •Once a booking with a set menu is confirmed, click 'Send Food Portal Link'
- •This marks the booking as 'portal link sent' so you know it's been actioned
- •Share the Food Booking Portal URL with the event organiser so they can collect individual guest meal selections
Accessing Kitchen View
- •Go to Staff Portal → Kitchen View
- •The calendar shows the current month — click any date to see that day's food activity
- •Blue dot — table bookings with special dietary requests
- •Purple dot — function room bookings with buffet
- •Green dot — event bookings with set menus
Reading the day view
- •Table Bookings — party sizes and any special dietary requests
- •Function Room Bookings — buffet package booked (Silver / Gold / Platinum)
- •Event Bookings — number of guests, menu type, food service time and a direct link to the Food Booking Portal
Using Kitchen View on the day
- •Check Kitchen View first thing each morning to see what food is needed
- •For event bookings, click the portal link to see each guest's individual meal choices
- •Use the month navigation arrows to look ahead at upcoming dates
Kitchen View is read-only — it is designed to give a quick overview. To make changes, go to the relevant booking section.
Accessing the portal
- •The portal URL includes the event booking ID — it is unique to each event
- •You can find the link via Kitchen View → click the event → Food Portal link
- •Or share the link with the event organiser to fill in themselves
Entering guest choices
- •The portal shows the menu options for the event's menu type (A / B / C / Christmas)
- •For each guest, enter: Guest Name (optional), Starter, Main, Dessert, Dietary requirements
- •Click Save for each guest row
- •You can update choices at any time before the event
Printing Place Cards
- •Once all guest choices are saved, click 'Print Place Cards'
- •This generates an A4-optimised print with 8 tent-fold place cards per sheet
- •Each card shows the guest name and their starter, main and dessert selections
- •Print and fold the cards — place them on the table at each seat
Print place cards the day before the event so the team can set the room up in advance without rushing.
Adding a new event
- •Go to Staff Portal → What's On → Add Event
- •Fill in: Event Title, Date, Description, and optionally an Image URL
- •Toggle 'Active' to ON to make it visible on the public website
- •Click Save
Editing or removing an event
- •Click the edit (pencil) icon on any event to update details
- •Toggle 'Active' to OFF to hide it from the public without deleting it
- •Use the delete icon to permanently remove an event
Image tips
- •Use a landscape image for best results (e.g. from Unsplash or your own photos)
- •Paste the direct image URL into the Image URL field
Reading enquiries
- •Go to Staff Portal → Enquiries
- •Unread enquiries are highlighted — the count also appears on your dashboard
- •Click any enquiry to read the full message
- •It will automatically be marked as read
Enquiry types
- •General — general questions about the pub
- •Function Room — venue hire queries
- •Booking — table booking questions
- •Feedback — customer feedback
- •Other — miscellaneous
Responding & deleting
- •Enquiries include the customer's name, email and phone number
- •Reply directly via email or phone — responses are handled outside the system
- •Use the delete icon to remove an enquiry once it has been dealt with
Opening hours
- •Set which days the restaurant accepts bookings and the open/close times
- •You can add multiple time windows per day (e.g. lunch 12–15:00, dinner 18–22:00)
- •Toggle a day OFF to block all bookings on that day
Capacity & booking cut-off
- •Set the maximum number of covers (guests) accepted per time slot
- •The booking system will automatically stop accepting bookings when capacity is reached
- •Set how many hours before a time slot the system stops accepting new bookings
Blocked dates
- •Use 'Block a Date' to prevent all bookings on a specific date
- •You can block the entire day or just a specific time slot
- •Add a reason for your own reference — customers just see the slot as unavailable
Reminder emails
- •Configure automated reminder emails to be sent to guests before their booking
Always block dates in advance for private events and bank holidays so the online system doesn't keep accepting bookings.
Inviting a new staff member
- •Go to Staff Portal → Staff Management → Invite Staff Member
- •Enter their name and email address
- •Select their role (see below)
- •Click Send Invite — they will receive an email to set up their account
Waiter / Waitress
- •Can view Table Bookings, Function Room Bookings and Event Bookings
- •Cannot access Kitchen View, Menus, Events or Settings
Kitchen Staff
- •All Waiter/Waitress access plus Kitchen View and Food Booking Portal
Admin / Website
- •Full access to all sections except Staff Management
- •Can manage Events, Menus, Enquiries, Reservation Settings, Event Menu Config
Owner
- •Full access to everything including Staff Management
- •Can invite new staff, change roles and remove staff access
Changing or removing a staff member
- •Find the staff member in the list and click Edit to update their role
- •Changes take effect immediately on their next login
- •Click the delete icon to remove their access entirely
Only give staff the minimum access they need for their role. Use 'Admin / Website' sparingly — it gives access to sensitive settings.
✦ Quick Reference
Common tasks and where to find them
Access the Staff Portal
→ Website → STAFF in the nav → Sign In to Staff Portal
Check today's bookings
→ Staff Portal → Table Bookings, or see the dashboard summary at the top
See today's food orders for the kitchen
→ Staff Portal → Kitchen View → click today's date
Check meal choices for an arriving event guest
→ Staff Portal → Kitchen View → click event date → Food Portal link
Print place cards for tonight's event
→ Food Booking Portal for that event → Print Place Cards button
Check function room availability for a phone enquiry
→ Staff Portal → Function Room → Calendar View
Read a customer contact form submission
→ Staff Portal → Enquiries — unread count shown on dashboard
Add a new event to the website
→ Staff Portal → What's On → Add Event
Upload a new menu PDF
→ Staff Portal → Menus → Add Menu → Upload PDF
Block a date from taking bookings
→ Staff Portal → Reservation Settings → Blocked Dates → Block a Date
Add a new staff member
→ Staff Portal → Staff Management → Invite Staff Member (Owner only)
Add dishes to the event menus
→ Staff Portal → Event Menu Config → select menu type → add items
Bookmark the Staff Portal page on your phone or tablet for quick access during a shift. The portal works on mobile too.
Crown & Anchor, 15-16 Marine Parade, Eastbourne, BN21 3DX · 01323 642500 · Staff Confidential