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title: "Fresh KDS: Coursing + Hold & Fire | SpotOn Restaurant"
canonical: "https://help.spoton.com/space/SK/4642242728/Fresh%20KDS%3A%20Coursing%20%2B%20Hold%20%26%20Fire%20%7C%20SpotOn%20Restaurant"
format: markdown
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> Macro (toc)

## Overview

The **[FreshKDS](https://help.spoton.com/space/SK/2705096726/Fresh+KDS+%7C+SpotOn+Restaurant+Integrations#What-is-Fresh-KDS?)** integration for SpotOn Restaurant (RPOS) supports both **Coursing** and **Hold & Fire **functionality. These features align the front-of-house (FOH) experience with kitchen operations by providing kitchens visibility into meal pacing and held items, while allowing FOH to maintain full control of timing.

Both features require **no additional setup** in FreshKDS or RPOS. 

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## Best Practices for Coursing and Hold & Fire Functionality

- Use **[Coursing](https://spotonteam.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SK/pages/edit-v2/4642242728#Coursing)** for multi-course meals or dine-in pacing
- Use **[Hold & Fire](https://spotonteam.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SK/pages/edit-v2/4642242728#Hold-%26-Fire)** for items that should not be cooked immediately
- Keep **[Show Held Items](https://spotonteam.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SK/pages/4642242728/Fresh+KDS+Coursing+Hold+Fire+SpotOn+Restaurant#Hide-Held-Items-on-the-KDS)** enabled to give kitchens better visibility
- Train FOH teams to manage release timing appropriately
- Use kitchen-side firing only when the restaurant prefers prep staff to control timing

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## Coursing

Coursing enables restaurants to organize menu items into meal courses in RPOS. An update in December 2025 ensures **Fresh KDS now shows items grouped by their course** on the KDS ticket.

**Coursing Benefits**

- Gives kitchens clear sequencing and pacing
- Reduces confusion for multi-course dine-in orders
- Works seamlessly with existing workflows


### **How to Course Menu Items **

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## Hold & Fire

Hold & Fire allows FOH to send an entire order to the kitchen but **place specific items on hold**, pacing when they should be prepared. When the item is ready to be cooked, FOH releases the hold manually in the POS by **releasing **(Fire)** the item**.

> ℹ️ - Held items** appear** on Fresh KDS by default
> ℹ️ - Held items are clearly labeled under **“Hold”**
> ℹ️ - Kitchens get visibility into what is coming soon
> ℹ️ - FOH can later release (Fire) the item, sending it live to KDS


### Hold an Item in RPOS 

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### Firing Items (Releasing Hold) in RPOS

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### Hide Held Items **on the KDS **

It may be beneficial for operations not to view held items until they are fired. Fresh KDS offers a simple control option, depending on the operational style: toggle **“Show Held Items”**.

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### Firing Items from Fresh KDS (Kitchen-Initiated)

When the default FOH-controlled firing isn’t ideal, Fresh KDS also allows the kitchen to fire held items on the KDS, providing an optional workflow for high-autonomy kitchen teams.

> ℹ️ - Firing from Fresh KDS **does not send the update to RPOS**
> ℹ️ - The FOH ticket will not show the [release](https://spotonteam.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SK/pages/edit-v2/4642242728#Firing-Items-(Releasing-Hold)-in-RPOS)
> ℹ️ - The kitchen must manage the timing manually

**How Kitchen-Side Firing Works**

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## FAQs

### Do I need to configure anything for coursing?

No. If items have a course assigned in RPOS, Fresh KDS will display them automatically.

### Can kitchens see held items by default?

Yes, unless the **Show Held Items** toggle is turned OFF in Appearance Settings. 

### Does this work for all order modes (dine-in, takeout, delivery)?

Yes. Any order type that uses RPOS routing will reflect coursing and hold/fire behaviors.

### Does firing an item require resending the entire ticket?

Yes. Release first, then tap **Send** — this updates Fresh KDS instantly to reflect the change, without double-firing any items.

### What happens if the kitchen fires an item on Fresh KDS?

- The item becomes active (labeled ‘Fire’) on KDS
- RPOS does **not** reflect that the item was fired
- The kitchen must manage the timing manually

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