The evening's table plan
A floor plan with the number and the guests written at every table. The sheet that is in the server's pocket when the shift starts.
For restaurants
A restaurant table plan — clear for the staff, smooth for the guest
Drag the tables into place and the seat counter tells you at once what the room seats. Put the parties at tables by the rules, or take the wheel yourself. Print the evening's plan for the staff or send it as a PDF.
Runs in the browser on a computer or tablet. Nothing to install, no account to try it.
On a phone you can browse and show a finished seating plan. Building one goes better on a bigger screen. Email this link to myself
▶ The room set up and the guests seated
The floor plan is the restaurant's memory
The same room is à la carte on Monday, a Christmas party for 40 on Friday and a wedding reception on Saturday. Every time, the tables are somewhere else. On a seating chart you can try a layout and check the seat count before a single table has been carried anywhere.
In Pulpetti you draw the room once, and the variations come from copying it. Tables are numbered by their position, the seat counter gives the total, and the room's dimensions can be entered in meters or feet, so the plan matches the real room rather than your memory of it. On top of the same room you can build as many table plans as there are evenings.
Not a single guest is needed: the room editor works on its own, and the seat counter works out the capacity from the furniture alone.
Let the rules seat the parties automatically or drag the names to the tables yourself — the choice is yours.
Everything happens in the browser, including on the terminal in the room or on a tablet. A change takes as long as opening the plan.
Sound familiar?
Four situations that come up in every dining room.
- You are supposed to know the seat count by heart, but it changes every time the tables move. In practice it gets counted again in the room, one chair at a time.The plan tells you the capacity directly: the seat counter shows the total number of seats in the room. Push tables together on the plan and you see straight away what follows.
- The room was rearranged in the spring. The floor plan is still the old one, and the new one was drawn on a napkin.The room is kept as an editable layout, not as a picture. Move tables, change their shape, add the terrace — and the plan is up to date the same moment.
- A birthday for twenty: the names were on a list, but nobody knew who was sitting where.Record the party's names and give them seats. The booking status tells you who has confirmed, who has not answered and who has canceled — and cancellations can be left out with one tick, without undoing anyone's seat.
- The plan is on the computer, but the floor needs a printout. Screenshot into Word and print — and half the names are unreadable.From the same plan you print the table plan with names, an alphabetical door list in two columns, table signs for the stands and folded place cards with cut and fold lines. You see a preview of each before printing, and the same is available as a PDF.
All four are solved by the same plan: it tells you the capacity, stays up to date, remembers who sits where and prints for the floor.
How to make a table plan
01
Draw the room
Start from a ready-made template or drag the tables into place one at a time. Besides tables there are more than twenty objects: a bar, a buffet, a service station, the kitchen door, a screen, a waiting area, a dance floor, a stage and the toilets. Enter the room's dimensions in meters or feet and the plan matches the real room.
▶ Building the room
02
Add the parties
Type the names one by one or paste the whole list at once from the clipboard. Give each one a booking status — confirmed, unconfirmed or canceled — and, if you like, a tag that colors the names of the same party on the plan.
03
Seat them at tables
Drag a name from the list onto a table or swap two guests over. Eight rule types help on the bigger evenings: who goes to the same table, who goes to separate tables, whose seat is at a given table. Then either seat the rest yourself or press "Draw all" and correct it by hand.
▶ Parties to their tables
04
Take the plan to the floor
Print the table plan for the staff, the door list for the reception desk or table signs for a private function. The plan can also fill the screen on the terminal in the room — that works on the free plan too.
Try it yourself and see how easy it is to make a table plan. Try it free
Rules survive a redraw
On an ordinary evening you do not need rules. They start paying for themselves the moment the whole room goes to one party: sixty names, the host's wishes, and a table assignment that changes twice more before the doors open. Once the wishes are recorded, they hold in every new assignment — and you do not have to remember them again.
A party stays together
Mark who belongs at the same table or side by side. When you draw the rest, the rule keeps the group together even when the table assignment changes.
A tag does the grouping for you
Give the guests a tag you name yourself — say, party, company or side of the family — and use the rule "same tag, same table" or "different tags, different tables". Not one name has to be mentioned separately.
You see at once if a rule is not met
Below the plan there is a plain-language note about every broken rule, naming names. It does not stop you saving, it makes sure the matter is noticed.
Lock whatever has already been promised
The host has promised the seat of honour at table 1. Lock that seat and it stays put when you draw the rest again.
- Same table — a party together
- Side by side — a couple in adjacent seats
- Same tag, same table — a whole group at once
- Different tags, different tables — parties mixed
- At a given table — the window table that was promised
- Not at the same table — two kept apart
- Not side by side — named guests in different seats
- Sits alone — a table of their own when the situation calls for it
The plan on the floor
The same table plan produces the printouts a shift actually needs at the start of the evening.
Door list
An alphabetical name → table number list for the reception desk. Two columns, at a readable size — a name is found in seconds with a line waiting.
Table signs
The table number and the party at that table on a standing sign. At a private function the guests find their table without anyone showing them.
Place cards
Folded cards with the name on both sides — for the person opposite as well. Cut and fold lines included.
You see a preview of every printout before printing. The same is available as a PDF, so the plan can go out with the rota or be printed on the office computer without the file changing. Next Friday's plan does not have to start from nothing: make a copy of tonight's and change what changes.
Draw your own room and try printing it. Try it free
The same room, many situations
A large party on an à la carte evening
A party of fourteen in the middle of an ordinary evening. Push tables together on the plan and see at once what is left for the rest of the room — and if the solution does not work, try another one before anything has been carried anywhere. The names take their places, and the rest of the room stays untouched.
Christmas parties and private functions
The whole room for one group: tags by company or department and the rule "different tags, different tables", and the tables come out mixed. Place cards and table signs print from the same plan.
Layout options and seasonal changes
Six tables of four or three long tables? The terrace open for the summer, the winter layout back in the autumn? Copy the room and change the furniture in the copy — both stay side by side, and the seat counter tells you what each one seats. The real dimensions also tell you whether the tables really fit. Not a single guest is needed: a layout can be planned on the plan before anything is moved.
The start of a shift
The plan on the screen in the room or a printout in hand before the first diner. Everyone sees the same table numbers and the same parties, and the start of the evening does not go on a briefing.
Everything a floor plan needs
From drawing the room to the finished printout — in one tool.
Build the room
- Tables as circles, squares and rectangles, seat count changeable at any time
- More than twenty objects: bar, buffet, service station, kitchen door, screen, stage
- The room in meters or feet and the tables in centimeters or inches — the plan matches the real room
- The seat counter gives the total number of seats in the room
- Automatic table numbering, or set the numbers yourself
Manage the parties
- Paste a whole name list from the clipboard at once
- A booking status for each: confirmed, unconfirmed, canceled
- Colored tags by party and rules built around them
- Eight rule types: who together, who apart, who at which table
- Drag a name to a table, swap two guests over or let the draw fill the rest
Use it and share it
- Several table plans for the same room: ordinary evening, large party, private function
- Copy the room and change the furniture in the copy — the original stays untouched
- Lock a promised table before a new draw
- Presentation mode full screen — the plan on the terminal in the room, on the free plan too
- Printing and PDF: table plan, door list, table signs, place cards
Why not paper or a spreadsheet?
A layout drawn on a napkin survives one evening. A spreadsheet knows names but not the room. Neither tells you whether a party will fit or points out when something agreed is not being met.
| Pen and paper | Spreadsheet | Pulpetti | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The seat count is visible at once | – | partly | ✓ |
| The room to scale | laborious | – | ✓ |
| Automatic table numbering | – | – | ✓ |
| Parties seated by the rules | – | – | ✓ |
| A note when a rule is broken | – | – | ✓ |
| The same room for several evenings | – | partly | ✓ |
| Door list and table signs ready made | – | partly | ✓ |
Frequently asked questions
Does this replace a booking system?
No. It does not take bookings and it does not handle times — it is the room's plan and the table assignment. Bookings come from wherever they came from before; what is recorded here is where they go in the room.
Can I use this just for planning the room?
Yes. The room editor works on its own and does not require a single guest — you draw the layout and the seat counter tells you the capacity. On the free plan there is one room, so comparing options side by side, printing and downloading the layout as an image belong to the paid plans.
How do I know whether a party will fit?
The seat counter shows the total number of seats in the room, and the seat count of every table can be changed separately. When you give the room's dimensions in meters or feet and the tables' in centimeters or inches, the plan matches the real room — and the app points it out if tables overlap.
Can I make several table plans for the same room?
Yes, on the paid plans. A table plan — a seating chart for the evening — is always a combination of a party and a room. If the furniture stays the same, you can make as many plans in the same room as there are evenings. If the furniture changes — the terrace open, tables pushed together for a function — copy the room and edit the copy: the original and its plans stay untouched.
What rules can I set?
Eight rule types: who goes to the same table, who sits side by side, who goes to separate tables or separate seats, whose seat is at a given table, who sits alone, plus the tag-based "same tag, same table" and "different tags, different tables". Rules belong to the party, so they apply to every plan you make for it.
Do I have to do the seating automatically?
No. You can build the whole plan by hand: drag a name from the list to a table and swap guests around for as long as you like. A name dropped on a taken seat changes places with whoever is sitting there. The draw is an aid you can skip entirely.
How are last-minute cancellations handled?
Set the booking status to "Canceled", and the guest drops out of the seating but stays on the list. Seats already given are left alone, and when printing, cancellations can be left out with one tick — so the plan and the lists say the same thing.
Does this work on the terminal in the room or on a tablet?
The app is designed for computers and tablets — drawing the room needs room on the screen. Touch gestures work on a tablet: pinch to zoom, and a name can be moved with a finger. Note that without signing in, the data is only in the browser where it was made; for the same plan to open on another device, you need cloud storage on a paid plan.
What do I get on the free plan?
One party, one room and one table plan, plus up to 15 people. The full room editor, tags, rules and the same draw as on the paid plans — as well as presentation mode, which puts the plan on a screen. Printing and PDF export belong to the paid plans.
How many seats a room really holds, how wide a walkway has to be and what mix of table sizes serves your own booking book — those are collected in a guide of their own.
Read the guide: sizing the room, table mix and the flow of the evening →A fair price
A dining room lives all year round and needs many plans — which is why, for continuous restaurant use, the subscription is the right choice. The one-off purchase suits a single occasion.
Free
€0
Permanent, not a trial
- 1 party, 1 room and 1 table plan
- Up to 15 people
- The full room editor, tags and rules
- Seat counter, table numbering and presentation mode
- No printing and no PDF
- Data only in your own browser
One-off
€4.99
One payment, does not renew · valid for 3 months
- 1 party, any number of guests
- 1 room and 1 table plan
- Printing and PDF export
- Cloud storage and sync between devices
- Valid for 3 months from purchase
- Covers the restaurant setting only
Recommended
Subscription
€2.49/ month
or €27.39 / year (€2.28 / month)
- Unlimited parties, rooms and plans
- Ordinary evening, large party and private function side by side
- Printing and PDF export
- Cloud storage and sync between devices
- All four settings on the same account
- Cancel at any time
Start free
Prices include VAT. Charged in euros. At checkout you can pay in your own currency.
Behind Pulpetti
Pulpetti came out of a practical need. I have helped organise a number of events, and saw how awkward it is to work through every constraint by hand. A certain number of people had to fit in the room, and in the right parties. On paper and by other means that was slow.
My partner is a teacher, so I have seen the same work from the classroom side as well. I am a software developer by trade, and I decided to build a program that runs in the browser and keeps the rules between people unchanged from one occasion to the next. If something puzzles you or you want to suggest a new feature, write to me. I hope you like it!
Tomi NevalainenMaker of Pulpetticontact@pulpetti.com
Try it with your own room
Draw the room, look at the seat count and seat the first party. No account needed.
Try it free