How Square Prepares Digital Tabs for Customers Before They Arrive
A system that lets merchants create a digital customer tab before a guest arrives, using reservation data to pre-load preferences and payment info for a faster checkout.
Original patent title: “Anticipatory creation of point-of-sale data structures”
A system that lets merchants create a digital customer tab before a guest arrives, using reservation data to pre-load preferences and payment info for a faster checkout. Granted to Square Inc in 2018 with 23 claims and 3 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a way for point-of-sale (POS) systems to start a transaction record before a customer even walks through the door. When a customer makes a reservation or joins a waitlist, the system creates a data structure—essentially a digital tab—that stores the customer's ID and arrival time. When the system detects the customer has arrived, it automatically displays this pre-populated tab on the merchant's screen. This allows staff to instantly see the customer's preferences or pre-saved payment information, making the actual ordering and payment process much faster.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover general reservation systems that only track time and headcount without linking to a POS transaction data structure.
- Does not cover automated payment processing that occurs without a merchant-side POS device display.
- Does not cover systems that rely solely on proximity beacons without a prior reservation or waitlist request.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation is treating a future reservation not just as a calendar entry, but as the 'start' of a transaction data structure that can be enriched with payment and preference data before the customer is physically present.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Square for Restaurants POS
Modern digital waitlist apps
Pre-paid reservation systems in high-end dining
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This technology bridges the gap between booking software and payment hardware. By turning a reservation into an active, pre-loaded digital tab, merchants can reduce friction at the point of sale. It is a key component of the modern 'frictionless' retail experience where the payment happens in the background.
Filed
August 31, 2016
Granted
December 18, 2018
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Square (Block, Inc.) continues to integrate these features into their core restaurant and retail platforms. Other major POS providers like Toast and Lightspeed are actively developing similar integrated reservation-to-payment workflows.
Market impact
This patent helped formalize the integration of front-of-house reservation management with back-of-house payment processing. It pushed the industry toward unified platforms where customer data flows seamlessly from the booking stage to the final transaction, reducing the need for manual data entry by waitstaff.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a way for point-of-sale (POS) systems to start a transaction record before a customer even walks through the door. When a customer makes a reservation or joins a waitlist, the system creates a data structure—essentially a digital tab—that stores the customer's ID and arrival time. When the system detects the customer has arrived, it automatically displays this pre-populated tab on the merchant's screen. This allows staff to instantly see the customer's preferences or pre-saved payment information, making the actual ordering and payment process much faster.
The clever bit
The innovation is treating a future reservation not just as a calendar entry, but as the 'start' of a transaction data structure that can be enriched with payment and preference data before the customer is physically present.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover general reservation systems that only track time and headcount without linking to a POS transaction data structure.
- Does not cover automated payment processing that occurs without a merchant-side POS device display.
- Does not cover systems that rely solely on proximity beacons without a prior reservation or waitlist request.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
12/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
15/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
10/20
Granted 5–10 years ago
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$78K – $250K
Midpoint $156K · 10.2 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
23 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Simms, D., Moody, R., Huhn, D., Wolter, J. A., & Wilson, M. (2018). How Square Prepares Digital Tabs for Customers Before They Arrive (U.S. Patent No. 10,157,378). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10157378/stripe-connect
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Square Prepares Digital Tabs for Customers Before They Arrive cover?
A system that lets merchants create a digital customer tab before a guest arrives, using reservation data to pre-load preferences and payment info for a faster checkout.
Who owns patent US 10157378?
Square Inc owns this patent, granted in 2018.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on December 18, 2038, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 10157378 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 3 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This technology bridges the gap between booking software and payment hardware. By turning a reservation into an active, pre-loaded digital tab, merchants can reduce friction at the point of sale. It is a key component of the modern 'frictionless' retail experience where the payment happens in the background.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover general reservation systems that only track time and headcount without linking to a POS transaction data structure.
Same assignee
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