Description: Learn how Quick Coursing on SkyTab POS helps your team manage multi-course meals more efficiently by dynamically creating and firing courses without complex menu setup.
Note: This feature is currently available only for Pilot users.
Select a link below to jump to a section:
- Overview
- Why Use Quick Coursing?
- Enabling Quick Coursing
- Configure Open Ticket to Sort by Course
- Using Quick Coursing During Service
- Kitchen Printing and Display Options
- What the Kitchen Sees
- Best Practices
Overview
Quick Coursing is a SkyTab POS feature that helps restaurants manage multi-course dining smoothly and efficiently. Instead of assigning menu items to fixed courses ahead of time, servers can create and manage courses directly on a ticket and send each course to the kitchen when it’s ready.
This gives servers more flexibility, improves communication with the kitchen, and keeps service flowing naturally for guests.
Why Use Quick Coursing?
With traditional coursing, menu items must be pre-assigned to specific courses, and servers must manually manage held items to control when food is prepared. Kitchens only see items once they are fired, with no visibility into what’s coming next.
Quick Coursing solves this by allowing:
- Flexible, on-the-fly course creation (1st Course, 2nd Course, etc.)
- Simple, one-tap firing of the next course
- Clear visibility for the kitchen into upcoming courses
- Better pacing of multi-course meals without reopening tickets
Enabling Quick Coursing
To turn on Quick Coursing:
- Log in to SkyTab POS.
- Go to Manager > Settings > Menu > Coursing > Configuration.
- Turn on the Enable Quick Coursing toggle.
- (Optional) Select the Automatically Hold Subsequent Courses checkbox.
Note: When "Automatically Hold Subsequent Courses" is enabled, everything after the 1st Course is automatically held until the server fires it. - Tap Save.
Configure Open Ticket to Sort by Course
To use Quick Coursing, open tickets must also be sorted by course.
- On SkyTab POS, go to Manager > Settings > Tickets.
- Set "Sort an Open Ticket" to By Course.
- Tap Ok then Save.
Important: If open tickets are not sorted by course, Quick Coursing will not work as expected.
Using Quick Coursing During Service
Creating Courses on a Ticket
When Quick Coursing is enabled:
- Servers tap Next Course before adding items for the next course
- Courses are automatically labeled in order (1st Course, 2nd Course, 3rd Course, etc.)
- There’s no limit to how many courses can be added
If an item is added to the wrong course, it can be moved using the Coursing option on the POS.
Note: When Quick Coursing is enabled, any standard courses assigned to menu items are ignored. All courses are created and managed directly on the ticket.
Sending and Firing Courses
When a ticket is first sent to the kitchen:
- The kitchen receives items that are ready to be prepared
- Upcoming courses may also appear as held items, depending on settings
When it’s time to send the next course:
- Tap Fire Next Course from the ticket preview or ticket grid
- The next course is released to the kitchen
- Once all courses are fired, the option disappears
- This workflow works the same on SkyTab Workstation and SkyTab Air.
Kitchen Printing and Display Options
Important: To use Quick Coursing with ticket printers or KDS, tickets must be grouped by course in the printer or KDS settings.
Quick Coursing includes several options that control how courses, held items, and fire messages appear in the kitchen. These settings help you match the system behavior to your kitchen’s workflow.
Print Separate Tickets by Course
This setting controls how courses are organized on kitchen tickets.
- When this setting is off, all courses print together on a single kitchen ticket.
- When this setting is on, each course prints on its own ticket.
1st Course (separate) |
2nd Course (separate) |
3rd Course (separate) |
On KDS, courses are always displayed on separate tickets, regardless of this setting.
Send Held Items to Kitchen
This setting controls whether the kitchen can see upcoming (held) courses before they are fired.
- When this setting is off, only fired courses appear on the initial kitchen ticket.
- Held items are hidden from the kitchen.
- In this case, Print Items on Fire Ticket is automatically enabled.
- When this setting is on, held items are sent to the kitchen as a preview of what’s coming next.
On KDS, held items are always shown when Quick Coursing is enabled.
Print Items on Fire Ticket
This setting is available only when “Send Held Items to Kitchen” is enabled and controls what prints when a course is fired.
- When this setting is off (default), the kitchen receives a simple FIRE X COURSE message with no item details.
- When this setting is on, the FIRE X COURSE message includes the items being released.
This allows kitchens to choose between a simple fire signal or a detailed reminder of what needs to be prepared.
How This Works Together
Depending on your configuration, the kitchen may:
- See all courses together or separated by course
- See upcoming courses in advance or only when fired
- Receive simple fire messages or fire messages with item details
These options give you flexibility to support different kitchen workflows, from fast-paced line cooking to carefully timed multi-course service.
What the Kitchen Sees
Initial Ticket
Depending on your setup, the kitchen may:
- See all courses on one ticket or separate tickets by course
- See upcoming courses marked as held so they can prepare ahead of time
On KDS, each course is always shown separately, and held courses are clearly labeled.
When a Course Is Fired
When a server fires a course:
- The kitchen receives a clear FIRE COURSE message
- The course status updates from held to fire on KDS
- Ticket printers can be set to show just the fire message or include item details
This keeps communication clear and avoids confusion during busy service.
Notes:
- Quick Coursing applies to all order types
- Supported on SkyTab Workstation and SkyTab Air
- Quick Coursing settings are managed in SkyTab POS (not Lighthouse)
Best Practices
- Train servers to tap Next Course before adding items for additional courses
- Encourage kitchens to use held items as a pacing guide, not a prep signal
- Review printer and KDS settings with kitchen staff
- Test Quick Coursing during slower service before rolling it out fully
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