Configure Item Fire by Prep Time

In this Article:

• Item Fire by Prep Time Overview
• Integral vs. Independent Modifiers
• Configure Item Fire by Prep Time in Toast Web
• Enable Item Fire by Prep Time
• How it Appears on Your Device
• Manually Fire Items
• Frequently Asked Questions

Item Fire by Prep Time Overview

When using the Toast Kitchen Display System (KDS), you can send an entire order to the kitchen at once but have individual items fired to the kitchen based on their configured prep times. This ensures that all items on a single order are ready at the same time. For example:

A restaurant serves NY Strip Steak and a Crab-Stuffed Lobster Tail. The steak takes 12 minutes to cook, and the lobster takes 20 minutes. Suppose guests at the same table order these entrees, the steak should not be fired to the kitchen until 8 minutes after the lobster has been fired.

When configuring this in Toast, the item prep time for the steak should be set to 720 seconds and the prep time for the lobster should be set to 1200 seconds. 

This feature only works alongside the Toast Kitchen Display System (KDS) and does not work for customers using printers/printed tickets.

Note: This feature is not available for Online Ordering. For information on configuring Online Ordering prep times, visit our article Online Ordering: Advanced Settings. 

Back to top
 

Integral vs. Independent Modifiers

Before configuring prep times for independent modifiers, it is important to review the difference between integral and independent modifiers. 

Integral modifiers have a direct effect on how long it takes to prepare the parent menu item. 

An example of an integral modifier would be meat temperature. Meat temperature modifiers determine how thoroughly to cook a beef item, and the temperature selected is integral to how long the item is cooked. A hamburger that is ordered rare takes less time to prepare than a hamburger that is ordered well done. For modifiers like these, you should configure prep times that add to, or subtract from, the parent menu item's prep time. Toast combines the prep times of the modifier and the menu item to calculate the prep time for the item.

Example:

Most guests order your hamburger cooked medium, so you set the menu item to have a prep time of 460 seconds. To accommodate guests who want the item cooked to other temperatures, which take more or less time than a medium burger to prepare, the menu item has a modifier group of meat temperature options.

• The prep time for the Medium modifier is set to 0.
• It takes a minute less time to cook a burger to rare than to medium, so you set the prep time for the rare modifier to -60.
• It takes two minutes longer to cook a burger to well done than to medium, so you set the well done modifier to 120.
  
  

Toast combines the prep time of the parent menu item with the prep time of the specified integral modifier. In this example, hamburgers with the rare modifier are scheduled to take 400 seconds, with the well done modifier are scheduled to take 580 seconds, and with the medium modifier are scheduled to take 460 seconds.

When creating an integral modifier, consider the following:

• Verify that the modifier shares at least one prep station with the parent menu item.
• If using courses or pacing, either:
  • The modifier must inherit its assigned course from the parent entity, or
  • The modifier must have no course assigned, or
  • The setting must be set to Do not fire modifiers separately.
• If the integral modifier group is associated with more than one menu item, the prep time is affected for every parent menu item that uses that modifier.
  
  

Independent modifiers are prepared and served separately from the menu item. For example, an entree includes a side salad that is included with the menu item, but prepared and served before the entree. You can configure prep times for so that the Toast platform automatically schedules and fires independent modifiers in the same way that menu items are scheduled and fired. Toast uses the modifier prep time to schedule and fire the modifier on its own ticket.

When creating independent modifiers, consider the following:

• If the independent modifier group is associated with more than one menu item, all of those menu items must be configured to specify a course, and not inherit it. Otherwise, the Toast platform treats the modifier as an integral modifier for some menu items, and as an independent modifier for other menu items. If course pacing is enabled, set the setting to Fire separately from its configured course.
• If you use different prep stations between parent menu items and modifiers to configure independent modifiers and an independent modifier group is associated with more than one menu item, all of those menu items must have different prep stations from the independent modifier group. Otherwise, the Toast platform treats the modifier as an integral for some menu items and as an independent modifier for other menu items.

Configure Item Fire by Prep Time in Toast Web

I
tem prep times can be configured in two locations in :

Advanced Properties: This is helpful when mass-entering item prep times. 

1. In Toast Web, navigate to Menus > Menu management > Advanced properties.
2. Select the Show/Hide drop-down, and check off the Prep Time column to include it on the advanced properties table.
3. Using the carets on your menus and menu groups, expand the advanced properties table until you see the items you want to add prep times to.
4. Enter your prep times in seconds (for example, a 12-minute prep time should be entered as 720 seconds).
5. Save and publish your changes. 

Note:

• When a modifier's prep time is lower than its parent item's prep time, ticket will be fired on the modifier's prep station after the parent item fires.
• When a modifier's prep time is higher than its parent item's prep time, ticket will be fired on the modifier's prep station before the parent item fires.
• When a modifier’s prep time is equal to its parent item’s prep time, ticket will be fired on the modifier's prep station when the parent item fires.

Directly on the item: This method might be useful if you just need to adjust prep time for a single item.

1. In Toast Web, navigate to Menus and find the item you'd like to configure.
2. Under Preparation, enter the prep time required in seconds. 
3. Save and publish your changes.

Note: Items with a blank prep time will fire right away. Items with a 0-second prep time will fire after everything else has fired. You cannot configure prep times for pre-modifiers. For more information about pre-modifiers, see this .

Enable Item Fire by Prep Time

When you've added prep times to the menu items you want the system to schedule, you can enable Item Fire by Prep Time for your restaurant. 
 

1. In Toast Web, navigate to Kitchen > Pacing > Meal pacing.
2. Scroll down to the Item Pacing section, and select Enable item fire by prep time for the Item Fire by Prep Time setting.
3. Save and publish your changes.

How it Appears on Your Device 

When item's fire by prep time is configured, items will appear differently on the expediter KDS screens.

• Unfired items (items not yet sent to prep stations) appear in greyed-out, italic text
• Fired items (items that the system has sent to prep stations) will appear in black text
• Fulfilled items will appear as black text with a green checkbox beside it

​Note: Prep stations will still need to fulfill items manually.

Manually Fire Items

When configured, expediters can manually fire items on KDS tickets. To configure this setting in Toast Web, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Kitchen > Printers, tickets, & KDS devices > Kitchen.
2. Scroll down to the Expediter section, and select Yes for the Override Item Prep Time.
3. Save and publish your changes.

On your expediter screen, select the ticket in question and choose which item you'd like to adjust. 

• Unfired items can be either fired (sent to the prep station ahead of schedule) or fulfilled. 
• Fired items can be fulfilled.
• Fulfilled items can be unfulfilled.

​Frequently Asked Questions

I forgot to ring in a side with an order and need to ring it in separately. Since it's on the same check, will the side's prep time roll in with the original order?

No, the side will be on its own ticket, and the prep time will not be calculated based on the original order's prep time. 

My restaurant uses courses, can I fire all courses and have them fire by prep time?

Servers will still need to fire individual courses manually, as prep times currently only apply to items. Prep time refers to individual items, so if you fire a cheese stick appetizer that takes 5 minutes and a steak that takes 7 minutes at the same time, they will come out together. 

How does item fire by prep time work with tapas?

To learn more about how item fire by prep time works with tapas, see .

Can I manually update multiple items on a ticket at once?

Yes, you can select multiple items that have various statuses. If you select Fire, you'll only affect unfired items. Fulfill will fulfill all items, regardless of whether they've been fired. 

What is the difference between a blank item prep time and a 0-second prep time?

Blank prep time items will fire right away. 0-second prep times fire at the end of the ticket time. 

Can you configure a negative prep time?

You can assign a negative prep time to a modifier so that its base item gets scheduled to take less time to cook. To learn how to configure modifier prep times, see the article . 

If you add a negative prep time to an item, the item's prep time will be set to zero seconds and fire at the end of the ticket (as though it takes no time at all to prepare).