Guides
Seating plan or desk booking: which does your office need?
Desk booking tools are built for hot desking: people reserve a desk for a day. Many offices still give people their own desk, or mix both. They need a different tool: a seating plan.
- Main question
- Desk booking toolWhich desk is free tomorrow?
- Seating plan (Seatline)Who sits where, and since when?
- Typical office
- Desk booking toolEveryone shares desks
- Seating plan (Seatline)People have their own desk
- Daily effort
- Desk booking toolEveryone books, every day
- Seating plan (Seatline)Nobody books; desks change when people move
- History
- Desk booking toolBookings
- Seating plan (Seatline)Every assignment and move, with dates
- Moves
- Desk booking toolNot a topic
- Seating plan (Seatline)Plan team moves, carried out on the day
- IT and facility
- Desk booking toolUsage reports
- Seating plan (Seatline)An e-mail when someone joins, leaves or moves
| Topic | Desk booking tool | Seating plan (Seatline) |
|---|---|---|
| Main question | Which desk is free tomorrow? | Who sits where, and since when? |
| Typical office | Everyone shares desks | People have their own desk |
| Daily effort | Everyone books, every day | Nobody books; desks change when people move |
| History | Bookings | Every assignment and move, with dates |
| Moves | Not a topic | Plan team moves, carried out on the day |
| IT and facility | Usage reports | An e-mail when someone joins, leaves or moves |
When a seating plan fits
If most people come in most days and sit at the same desk, booking adds daily work for nothing. A seating plan answers what matters there: who sits where, which desks are free for new people and how to move a team.
Mixed offices
Many offices have fixed desks plus a few shared ones. In Seatline you can reserve a desk for a visitor or a future colleague, block desks that aren’t in use and see free desks with the features people need (standing desk, two screens, by the window).
Try it with your own floors
Open the demo office without signing up, or start a free 30-day trial and import your people from Excel or Microsoft 365.
Try it with your own floors
No credit card. Sign in with Microsoft 365 or by e-mail.