=== VikRestaurants Table Reservations and Take-Away ===
Contributors: e4jvikwp
Tags: restaurant, menus, table reservations, food delivery, take-away
Requires at least: 4.7
Tested up to: 6.9
Stable tag: 1.5.3
Requires PHP: 7.4.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

The all-in-one solution to manage your restaurant reservations and take-away or delivery orders.

== Description ==

= Vik Restaurants Table Reservations and Take-Away for WordPress =

The all-in-one solution with tables reservations and take-away orders for any restaurant is now available for WordPress as a native plugin!

Whether you accept table reservations and/or take-away orders for your restaurant, you are all covered thanks to this powerful plugin.

Turn your website into a complete e-commerce platform for ordering food for take-away or delivery. Thanks to an incredibly flexible products management, you will be able to let your clients build their best pizza with custom toppings and crust size, create their preferred hamburger or pick the ingredients for their sushi or poke bowl. There is no food guests cannot build or order with Vik Restaurants!
Draw the optional delivery areas you can cover through an interactive map for delivery, or let your clients avoid queues at your restaurant for picking up their food. Anything you need to manage your e-Commerce for food.

If you need to manage your restaurant reservations, you will find Vik Restaurants your perfect partner. In fact, you can draw all rooms and tables through a smart interface. Your guests will be able to book the tables directly through your website, and you will be able to manage all of their reservations with custom statuses, such as: "arrived", "order received", "preparing", "bill paid" etc..

Custom Operators can be set up to work on your reservations and to update their status. Vik Restaurants brings the features of two complete systems for Restaurant Reservations and Take-Away Orders into one powerful plugin. There are no similar plugins that could compete with Vik Restaurants!

Born for a different CMS than WordPress, the same powerful and experienced framework is now at the service of all webmasters, designers and web-agencies that build websites with WordPress.

Do not look any further if you need a plugin for any food business. You have found the perfect solution!

Visit [VikWP.com](https://vikwp.com/) for more details.

= Some of its key features =

* Tables and rooms management to receive online reservations
* Build the sections and the products of your menus (*)
* The maps give you a visual overview of the table reservations in real time
* Manual/offline reservations via back-end to keep the availability up to date
* Create the menus and the products that you sell for take-away and delivery orders (*)
* Use the toppings to let the customers build a product with the ingredients they wish (*)
* Restrict the addresses available for delivery through a smart system (*)
* Upselling feature that provides product recommendations according to the items currently in the cart
* Food ordering via QR code
* Describe dish ingredients and allergens using images and icons
* Customizable dashboard with tens of widgets
* Search widget for the front-end to start the booking process from anywhere
* Extended working days management with the usage of special days
* Coupons to offer order discounts
* Status codes management for the restaurant reservations and the take-away orders
* Invoices generation
* E-mail notifications after the purchase/booking
* Conditional texts to dynamically change the contents of your notifications
* Front-end pages and mail notification customizer
* A system to backup the contents created through VikRestaurants

(*) the number of records that can be created is limited.

= Some of the Pro version features =

* Full reservations/orders management from the back-end (restaurant and take-away)
* Design the layout of your rooms and tables with a smart and intuitive tool
* Unlimited creation of menus and products (restaurant and take-away)
* Unlimited creation of toppings
* Unlimited creation of the available delivery areas
* Deals management system to set up automated offers and discounts
* Configure a stocks system to make sure you won't sell products that are no more available
* Flag the reservations and orders with custom codes (e.g. preparing, delivered, bill paid)
* Customers and delivery locations management
* Custom fields management
* Private area in the front-end for the operators of your restaurant
* Custom Payment Gateways (over 60 available on VikWP.com)
* SMS Gateways for customers notifications
* Various widgets to enhance the look of your front-end

= Interested in, curious about the Pro version? =

You should take a look with your own eyes at the demo website to see what you can do with Vik Restaurants. Do not stop at the front-end though, make sure to visit the wp-admin section too.

1. [Front-end Demo Website](https://vikwp.com/demo/vikrestaurants)
1. [Admin Demo Website](https://vikwp.com/demo/vikrestaurants/wp-admin)

== Installation ==

= Installation through the WordPress Plugins Browser =

* Search for "Vik Restaurants" in the Add Plugins section of your website back-end
* Install the Plugin by clicking on the apposite button
* Activate the Plugin by using the related activation button
* A link to access and configure Vik Restaurants will be visible in the side menu
* Enjoy it

= Alternative Installation Method =

You can only install the **free** version of Vik Restaurants, not the Pro version. If for some reasons the WordPress Repository installation won't work, you can contact us to receive the zip installer file and upload it via FTP onto your server.

* Download the installer zip file from [VikWP.com](https://vikwp.com/)
* Unzip the archive on your computer's local drive
* Upload via FTP the unzipped folder *vikrestaurants* onto your */wp-content/plugins* directory
* Log in to your *wp-admin* section and activate the plugin

Or, alternatively, just try to directly upload the ZIP archive through the **Upload Plugin** section of your website.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Is upgrading to Pro mandatory? =

No, not at all. However, it took our company 7 years to build the *Pro* version and we are willing to spend a lot more years of work on this software. We encourage you to evaluate the free version first, and then upgrade to Pro to unlock its potential.

= Why some functions are not available in the free version? =

We make money by selling licenses of the Pro version because our goal is to keep Vik Restaurants the best solution for those who need to use it everyday for their business. Maintaining and always developing new features is a heavy cost for our company.

= Is it worth upgrading to Pro? =

Vik Restaurants is not a one-page plugin. You can build websites worth a lot of money thanks to this plugin. You don't need anything else to deliver a complete website, if not a Theme and some experience with WordPress.

= Can I use Vik Restaurants with my preferred Theme? =

Yes, of course. You are free to install Vik Restaurants on your website with your own Theme. The plugin will adjust to it thanks to its own CSS framework. It is also possible to work on a custom CSS file to adjust some layouts.

= Will I lose any contents if I upgrade to Pro? =

Absolutely not. Upgrading to the Pro version is a simple and smooth process. You won't lose any data from your current configuration.

= Can I build a portal of multiple restaurants? =

No you can't. Our Vik Restaurants plugin is able to manage only one restaurant per website. In addition, it doesn't support the features needed to handle a multi-vendor system and the related search functions for the front-end.

= I'm the owner of a restaurants chain, does Vik Restaurants support it? =

Unfortunately it doesn't. As explained in the previous FAQ, Vik Restaurants is not able to handle more than one restaurant per website. This is because the menus, the tables, the products to sell (and so on) always refer to the same owner.

= Is it possible to auto-print the orders when they come in? =

Yes it is, but our client software called VRE Printer is needed in order to connect VikRestaurants with your personal printer. It is mandatory to have also the PRO version of VikRestaurants, since the connection is handled by the API framework.

= Where do I report security bugs found in this plugin? =

Please report security bugs found in the source code of the VikRestaurants plugin through the [Patchstack Vulnerability Disclosure Program](https://patchstack.com/database/vdp/b92e4b3b-6d54-476a-9a20-9d298c9e0c6e). The Patchstack team will assist you with verification, CVE assignment, and notify the developers of this plugin.

== Screenshots ==

1. Dashboard: an intuitive tool to keep all restaurants and take-away reservations under control.
2. Take-Away Ordering: turn your website into a powerful e-commerce to allow any food order.
3. Let your guests build their food or dishes with custom toppings, ingredients and characteristics.
4. Topping Groups: set up all types of toppings and variations for your food/products.
5. Delivery Areas: draw and define the exact areas that you can cover for delivering food.
6. Orders Management: easy access to manage the received takeaway and delivery orders.
7. Restaurant Menus: represent your menu online with all sections and food.
8. Menus Builder: create your menus and their products/food through a simple yet powerful interface.
9. Table Reservations: keep track of the status of each table for the guests sitting at your restaurant.
10. Rooms and Tables Design: draw the exact map of your restaurant by creating rooms and tables.
11. Reservations Management: rearranging the tables assigned to your reservations has never been easier.
12. Pages & Mail Customizer: stylize the pages in the front-end and the mail templates without having to write a single line of code.
13. Native Blocks: publish pages and widgets as native blocks for Gutenberg.

== Changelog ==

= 1.5.3 =

*Release date - 27 January 2026*

= Improvements =

* The system is now able to track reservation/order changes even if the user is not an operator.
* The dashboard overview widget now supports two buttons to easily access the calendar for previous and next days.
* Improved the styling of certain dashboard widgets.

= Bug Fixes =

* Fixed an issue that could execute maintenance tasks in the wrong order.
* Fixed low severity XSS vulnerability.

= 1.5.2 =
*Release date - 29 December 2025*

= Improvements =

* All the configuration pages now implement a form observer for unsaved changes.
* In case of login failures, the users are no longer redirected to the default WordPress login page.
* Several enhancements to the cron jobs framework.

= Bug Fixes =

* Fixed an issue that could send `ml encoding="utf-8" ?--><html>` in place of the correct notification.
* Fixed an error that could occur while updating an item with extra notes from the back-end.
* Fixed low severity XSS vulnerability.
* Fixed a PHP warning with the RSS notifications system.
* Fixed an issue that could change the timezone at runtime.

= 1.5.1 =
*Release date - 1 December 2025*

= Improvements =

* Implemented 2 new API plugins/events to save and delete records.
* Improved basic auth credentials detection for the API environment.
* Compatibility enhancements with WordPress 6.9.

= Bug Fixes =

* Fixed low severity XSS vulnerability.
* Fixed an issue that could display "undefined" in place of the real currency on the details page of an item.
* Fixed unexpected errors that could occur when the plugin was downgraded to the FREE version.
* Fixed a few PHP minor warnings.
* Minor back-end CSS adjustments.

= 1.5 =
*Release date - 27 October 2025*

= New Features =

* Added an upselling system to suggest food items to customers when ordering.
* The customizer now implements an easy way to change the color scheme of the plugin on the front end.
* It is now possible to specify some instructions for the special days, which will be displayed to the customers during the booking process.
* The food attributes feature is now available in the restaurant section as well.
* It is now also possible to use colored FontAwesome icons for the food attributes.
* Added a special days filter for custom fields, allowing you to collect specific details for certain events only.
* Implemented a minimum orderable quantity for take-away items.
* The table booking process can now be configured to restrict bookings to the configured room.
* Added a restriction that limits the maximum number of guests and reservations for the same date and time.
* Added the ability to configure products that are automatically added when closing a bill (e.g. service charges).
* Payment methods can now be restricted to specific services (e.g. takeaway or delivery).

= Improvements =

* It is now possible to assign a reservation to an existing customer from the operators area as well.
* The availability feature used to find the optimal cluster now considers also the distance between the tables.
* The system is now able to warn the administrators and operators in case they are erroneously going to overbook a table.
* Improved the Take-Away Cart widget design and introduced upselling suggestions.
* The Quick Reservation widget now uses a simple animation to inform the user that the system is processing the reservation.
* The Take-Away Map widget is now compliant with the latest Google requirements.
* Several styling enhancements to support the customizable color scheme.
* The menus list page now prefers the short description over the full one (when a READ MORE separator is specified).
* It is now possible to rearrange the ordering of the tables (for dashboard overview widget only).
* The system is now able to send e-mail notifications to the customers whenever the reservations/orders expire.
* The preferred service should now be pre-selected while creating a new take-away order from the back-end.
* The backup import now supports the re-assignment of the shortcodes to the pages.
* Prevented web crawlers from indexing certain pages and following nested links.
* Several accessibility improvements.

= Bug Fixes =

* The map inspector now fully supports clustered reservations.
* The system now prefers the deposit over the bill amount in case the status of the reservation is PENDING.
* Food sales statistics are now accessible even if the stock system is disabled.
* The datepicker is now able to properly highlight the special days, even if they don't share the same priority.
* Fixed an issue with the stock statistics filters.
* Updated the database collation and charset to support emojis.
* Fixed shifted times that may occur while exporting datasheets.
* All the task links in the notification email now support the URL rewriting.
* Fixed the price per unit while printing an order from the back-end.
* Fixed wrong ACL usage.
* The customizer preview is now able to load all the published menu items.
* The offline credit card payment method is now able to hold the collected details up to one week after the check-out.
* Fixed some language definitions.
* Compatibility improvements for PHP 8.4.

= 1.4 =
*Release date - 7 February 2025*

= New Features =

* Implemented a cron job system to periodically execute specific processes (such as notification reminders).
* Implemented a new dashboard widget to register administrative notes on the fly.
* It is now possible to schedule recurring room closures.
* The overrides manager is now able to display the differences between the original file and the custom one.
* Implemented a new driver to send SMS notifications through Whatsapp (WhatsApp Business account required).

= Improvements =

* Added a new setting to choose whether the customers are allowed to self-close the bill.
* The Reservations and Orders dashboard widgets have now quick access to the notes (when available).
* It is now possible to specify a different tax rate for delivery service.
* The Kitchen widget is now able to play a sound every time a new dish comes in.
* The system now uses the Confirmed status by default while creating new reservations and orders.
* VikRestaurants Take-Away Map widget is now compatible with the latest Google requirements.
* Various UI/UX improvements applied to the operators area.
* Added a new tag for the SMS template able to include the PIN code.
* The system now displays a descriptive error message to explain why the coupon validation failed.

= Bug Fixes =

* Fixed an issue that prevented the system from notifying the administrator about low stock products.
* Fixed a fatal error that could occur with the VikRestaurants Event widget.
* Fixed an issue with the translation of the topping group descriptions.
* Fixed a compatibility issue with Bricks page builder.
* Fixed a behavior issue with unpublished overrides.
* Fixed an issue that was not properly updating the serving number from the front-end.
* Fixed some misleading texts.
* Protected some back-end tasks from XSS vulnerabilities.

= Earlier versions =

For further details about older versions, please refer to the [changelog.md](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/vikrestaurants/trunk/changelog.md) file of the plugin.