7:05 PM · apps out
POS coursing and firing that lets you hold the mains and fire on time
POS coursing and firing lets a server ring the whole meal at once and send each course to the kitchen when the table is ready. Appetizers go now, mains wait on hold, dessert waits until plates are cleared. Restaurant POS Studio puts course markers, fire, hold, rush and re-fire on the POS so the kitchen cooks to the table, not to the order time.
- Dumplings ×2
- Elote ×1
- Bulgogi platter
- Tacos al pastor ×2
- Flan ×2
- Mango sticky rice
- Seated & drinks
- Course 1 · apps
- Course 2 · mains (held, then fired)
- Course 3 · dessert
- Check & payment
How do coursing and firing work in Restaurant POS Studio?
The server rings the full order and places course markers between starters, mains and dessert. The first course fires right away. Later courses sit on hold. When the table is ready, the server taps fire and the kitchen screen or printer shows that course at once. Rush marks an urgent ticket, and re-fire sends a dish again.
Taking the whole order at once is good service. The guest orders, the server rings it, and nobody has to come back to the table with the pad. Course markers keep the order in the right sequence. The kitchen can see what is coming, which helps them prep, but they only start cooking a course when it is fired.
Firing happens from any register or tablet on the floor. The server watches the table, sees starters are nearly finished, and fires mains. The grill and saute stations see the course appear with a timer. If a steak goes back, re-fire sends it again without ringing a new item, so sales reports stay clean.
- Course markers between starters, mains and dessert
- Fire and hold from any register or tablet
- Rush flag for a ticket that cannot wait
- Re-fire for a remake without a duplicate sale
- Works with kitchen screens and kitchen printers
Who needs coursing, and when does it matter most?
Coursing matters for any restaurant where guests eat more than one course: steakhouses, Italian, Korean barbecue sides, tasting menus and family-style dinners. It matters most on a Friday rush, when the kitchen is slammed and mains that fire too early die under the heat lamp while the table is still on salads.
Without coursing, a server has two bad choices. Send everything at once and the mains arrive with the starters. Or hold the order in their head and come back later, which is how tickets get forgotten when the dining room is full. Both cost you food and table time. Neither is a fix.
On a busy night the kitchen also needs a fair picture of the load. Held courses show what is coming in the next ten minutes, so the chef can call the line before the rush lands. Fired courses show what must go now. That difference is what keeps the pass calm.
- Steakhouses and Italian: mains held until starters clear
- Tasting and set menus: each course paced to the table
- Large parties: one order, fired course by course
- Busy nights: the chef sees held load and fired load apart
What does coursing cost to run?
Coursing with fire and hold is part of the Full Service plan, together with unlimited registers and kitchen screens. There is no separate coursing add-on. The Counter plan is built for simpler service with one kitchen screen. Group includes everything in Full Service plus multi-location reporting, HR and accounting modules and the API.
The bigger cost of coursing is the food you save or waste. A main that sits under a lamp for eight minutes is often remade. Fewer remakes and fewer comped plates on a busy night can matter more than the software line, though the amount depends on your menu and volume. Track remakes for a few weeks before and after.
There is a training cost too. Servers need to learn to place markers and to fire on time. Most pick it up in one or two services when a manager calls fires out loud at first. Plan prices are on the pricing page, per location per month, month to month, with a 14-day free trial.
- Included in Full Service and Group
- No add-on fee for fire, hold, rush or re-fire
- Works with screens and printers you already have
- Try it free for 14 days, no card required
Why use POS coursing instead of calling fires by voice?
Calling fires by voice works in a small open kitchen. It breaks when the dining room is loud, the expo is busy, or a station is behind a wall. POS firing puts the instruction on the ticket, with the time it was fired, so every station sees the same thing and the record stays after the night.
Voice fires depend on the right person hearing the right words. On a Friday, with the dish machine running and music up front, that is a lot to ask. A server shouting fire 12 at the pass can be missed, and nobody can check later whether it was called at all.
With POS firing the course appears on the station's screen with a timer, or prints on the station's printer. The server does not need to walk to the kitchen. The chef can still call the line by voice, but now from a shared, visible list. When something goes wrong, the ticket times show where.
- Fires are visible on every station, not just heard
- Fire time is recorded on the ticket
- Servers fire from the floor, no walk to the pass
- Rush and re-fire are clear on the screen
How a coursed order moves
- Choose your coursesDecide the courses your menu uses, such as starters, mains and dessert, and agree the names with the kitchen.
- Set kitchen routingMake sure each product goes to the right station, so a fired course lands on grill, fry or cold as it should.
- Ring the whole orderServers ring every item and place course markers between courses. The first course fires, the rest hold.
- Fire from the floorWhen a table is nearly done with a course, the server taps fire on the next one. The station sees it in seconds.
- Use rush and re-fireMark a late table rush, and use re-fire for remakes so the kitchen redoes the dish without a second sale on the check.
Ways to pace courses in a full-service kitchen
| Method | How it works | What breaks on a busy night | Record after service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send everything at once | All items fire with the order | Mains arrive with starters or die under the lamp | Order time only |
| Server holds the order | Server rings the next course later | Forgotten tickets when tables pile up | Separate orders, hard to read |
| Voice fire at the pass | Server or expo calls fire by voice | Missed calls in a loud kitchen | None |
| Printed course ticket, manual fire | Ticket prints with courses, fire called by voice | Paper gets lost or out of order | Paper only |
| POS coursing with fire and hold | Courses held on screen until fired from the floor | Needs servers trained to fire on time | Fire and ticket times recorded |
What can go wrong — and the fix
Servers forget to fire the mains, and a table waits 25 minutes after starters.
Have a manager or expo watch held courses on the kitchen screen in the first weeks and prompt servers, until firing becomes habit.
Course markers are skipped, so the whole order fires at once.
Make course markers part of training and check a few orders at pre-shift. Short course names help servers place them fast.
A dish is remade by ringing it again, so the check shows two steaks.
Use re-fire for remakes. It sends the dish to the kitchen again without adding a sale to the guest's check.
Every ticket is marked rush, so rush means nothing.
Agree a house rule for rush, such as a table waiting past a set time or a guest with a show to catch, and keep to it.
Coursing questions
Onboarding desk · usually replies within a business day
Can a server fire mains from a tablet at the table?
Yes. Fire and hold work from any register or tablet signed in to the location. The server sees the starters are nearly done and taps fire. The course shows on the station screen or printer in seconds.
Does the kitchen see held courses before they are fired?
The kitchen can see what is coming, which helps prep and lets the chef plan the line. Held items are clearly not fired yet. Cooks start on a course only when it is fired.
What is the difference between rush and re-fire?
Rush marks a ticket as urgent, so the line knows to push it ahead. Re-fire sends a dish to the kitchen again, for example when a steak comes back under temperature. Re-fire does not add a second sale to the check.
Can I use coursing with kitchen printers instead of screens?
Yes. Coursing works alongside kitchen printers, so a fired course prints at the right station. Many kitchens start with printers and add a kitchen screen later. Both can run in the same location.
Is coursing included on the Counter plan?
No. Coursing with fire and hold is part of Full Service and Group. Counter is designed for simpler service with one register and one kitchen screen. You can move up to Full Service at any time from your account.
How many courses can one order have?
Most restaurants use three or four, such as starters, mains and dessert, sometimes with a separate drinks or soup course. Use the number your kitchen can follow without confusion. Fewer, clearer courses work better on a busy night.
Can I fire one guest's main early, for a child at the table?
Ring that item in an earlier course and it will fire with the starters. The rest of the table's mains stay on hold. It is a common request at family tables and takes one extra tap.
How do I handle a tasting menu with many small courses?
Use course markers for each step of the menu and fire them as the table finishes. The kitchen sees what is next on the screen. Ticket timers help the chef keep the pace even across tables.
Will coursing slow my servers down when ringing orders?
Placing a marker takes one tap between groups of items. Ringing the whole order once is usually faster than coming back to ring the next course. The first few services feel slower while servers learn the habit.
Can a manager see which tables have courses still on hold?
Yes. Held and fired courses are visible on the kitchen screen and on the order. A manager or expo can spot a table that has been on hold too long and prompt the server to fire.
Mains that land hot.
Try coursing on the free trial with your own menu, or watch it live on a demo.
