One price. Eleven decisions.

What makes thali service different

The usual workaround is a modifier tree. It produces three specific failures every service:

1. The counter slows down. Eleven prompts per thali, during the exact window when the queue is longest.
2. The check looks wrong. A wall of zero-price modifier lines under one priced item confuses guests and invites questions at the till.
3. The kitchen ticket reads like a receipt. Components buried in modifier text rather than presented as things to cook, at the station that cooks them.

How ThaliPOS models it

• Composite plates are a real item type. Not a modifier tree wearing a costume. Pick two curries and a bread; the check shows one thali at one price.
• Components reach the kitchen as components. Each one routes to the station that cooks it, so the dal appears on the dal station's screen and the roti on the tandoor's.
• Half and full are portions, not quantities. Different price, different portion, correct kitchen count.
• Per-diner spice rides the line it belongs to. "Medium for me, mild for the kids" survives the trip from counter to tandoor.
• Table tags and parked checks for dine-in service — hold a check, add across a meal, settle when the table is ready.

Refills, and why they confuse a check

Unlimited-refill service is normal in a thali house and awkward in software. If refills post as items, the check inflates and the guest queries it. If they post as nothing, you lose the record of what the kitchen actually sent — which is also what your food cost depends on.

The right behaviour is that a refill reaches the kitchen without changing what the guest owes. ThaliPOS is built for unlimited-refill service that does not confuse the check.

• Composite plates, portions, per-diner spice, table tags

  ✓ available in pilot

  The core of thali service at the counter and on the kitchen display.

• Component-level food costing and refill consumption reporting

  ✓ built · pilot validation pending

  Compound recipes carry component-level cost through to the plate, so a thali can be costed by what actually went on it. Built; not yet proven across a live service week. Current inventory status →

The rest of the service

Dine-in thali houses generally want the counter and table service rather than a kiosk — but the same platform runs both, plus QR ordering at the table for re-orders mid-meal without flagging down a server, and your own storefront for pickup.

And when the connection drops at 7:30 on a Friday, the counter and the kitchen keep running. How that works →