# Quickstart

> From sign-up to your first paid order, in the order Sofra expects you to do things.

Source: https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/quickstart

Section: Get started

This walkthrough takes a brand-new account to a working restaurant. Allow around an hour. Each step links to the full guide.

> **Start on Free:** The Free plan never expires and includes the POS, menu, tables, kitchen screen and bills. You can upgrade at any time and nothing you create is lost.

## Before you start

- An email address you can open (a verification link is sent to it).
- Your restaurant’s name, country and currency.
- A rough list of your menu, tables and staff (you can add more later).

## Set up in nine steps

1. **Create your owner account.** Open the Sofra portal and choose **Sign up**. Enter your name, email, a password of at least 8 characters, country, phone number with country code, and accept the terms. See [Account & owner portal](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/account-portal).
2. **Verify your email.** Click the link in the email we send (valid for 24 hours). Until you verify, you can only view your account or ask for a new link.
3. **Add your restaurant.** In the portal choose **Add new restaurant**. Enter the name, pick a free subdomain (3 to 30 letters, numbers or dashes), your country and currency. Sofra creates the restaurant as a **draft** with one default branch called *Main Branch*.
4. **Publish and open it.** Choose **Publish** to make the restaurant live, then **Open** to sign in to it as the owner. Until you publish, your address shows a coming-soon page and staff cannot sign in.
5. **Set up your branch and floor.** Fill in the branch details (hours, timezone, order prefix), add floor areas and tables, and arrange them on the floor plan. See [Branches](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/branches) and [Floor areas, tables & floor plan](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/floor-tables).
6. **Build your menu.** Create a menu, add categories, then items with prices, and add modifier groups for sizes and extras. See [Menu catalog](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/menu-catalog).
7. **Configure money rules.** Add taxes, service charges and payment methods (Basic and above). See [Taxes & service charges](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/taxes-charges) and [Payment methods](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/payment-methods).
8. **Invite your team.** Add staff, choose a role for each, and give them access to the right branches. See [Staff, roles & departments](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/staff-roles).
9. **Take your first order.** Open **Orders → New order**, pick a table, add items, send to the kitchen, then take payment. See [POS & orders](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/pos-orders).

_Screenshot: The owner portal after sign-up: your restaurants, with Publish and Open actions on each card._

## Your first order, end to end

1. **Choose the channel.** Pick **Dine-In** and select a table. (For other channels see [POS & orders](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/pos-orders).)
2. **Add items.** Tap items. If an item has modifier groups, choose the options; add a note such as “no onions”.
3. **Send to the kitchen.** Choose **Send to Kitchen**. Items appear on the kitchen screen and, if you configured print rules, print on the right printer.
4. **Request the bill and pay.** When the guests are done, request the bill, then **Pay**. Split between several payment methods if needed.
5. **Print the receipt.** The order completes, the table frees up and the sale is recorded. Print the receipt from the order page.

## What to set up next

- [Printing](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/printing): Silent kitchen tickets on thermal printers.
- [Inventory & recipes](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/inventory): Auto-deduct ingredients per sale.
- [Reservations](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/reservations): Bookings, deposits and the public booking page.
- [Reports](https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/reports-dashboard): Sales, top items and branch comparison.