On restaurants, my coursing order keeps printing backwards or out of order

[KonaRestaurant]

Our Coursing is Straight Fire, Course 1, Course 2, Course 3, etc. 

It should always print in the kitchen Course 1 before 2, and 3, etc as the cooks will cook in that order, from top to bottom. 

Lately, we have had probems with Course 2 printing above Course 1 and then the cooks prepare Course 2 (on top) first and then Course 1 later which screws up the whole experience. I have the Coursing in Restaurant Setting->Service Settings-> set to Print Fired and Held Courses. 

I have switched to "Only Print Fired Courses" with no change.  

How do I get the Courses to print in order and not randomize which course will print on top of the kitchen printer ticket? 

[Summer2024 · Accepted solution]

Hi, @KonaRestaurant ! Welcome to the Square Community! 

Here is what is likely happening: 

Square’s KDS and kitchen printer tickets print based on the firing time of the courses, not the numerical course number alone. So if Course 2 is fired before Course 1, either by mistake or a system delay, it may print first on the ticket, even if it's labeled "Course 2."

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting and Fixes

1. Verify Firing Order is Manual or Based on Course Timing

• Go to Square Dashboard > Restaurants > Service Settings > Coursing.

• Make sure you’ve enabled course control and are not allowing Square to auto-fire courses based on item prep time (this is often what causes course printing to appear “out of order”).

2. Set All Courses to 'Hold Until Fired'

• In your Coursing settings, verify that all courses are set to be held until manually fired, not automatically sent.

• This ensures your staff controls when each course prints.

3. Train/Check Firing Procedure

• Confirm that your staff is not firing Course 2 before Course 1 from the POS.

• On the Square Register or Tablet POS, the “Fire” button next to each course allows the user to manually trigger printing. If they tap Course 2 first, it will print first.

4. Printer Queue Settings

• Make sure your kitchen printer is not batching or reordering tickets based on job size or type. Some printers with custom firmware can unintentionally re-sort lines when overwhelmed.

5. Test with a Mock Order

• Create a 3-course order and manually fire in the correct order.

• Watch for print order and note if Course 2 still prints on top.

This is a known pain point. Square is still working on refining how KDS tickets and printer tickets display coursed items. If you continue seeing misordered tickets even when courses are fired properly after verifying all of the troubelshooting steps, please let me know!

I hope this helps!