early shabbos
Question
"What I do is, daven Mincha and then eat the meal, then go daven Maariv after night. CYA " I assume you mean kabbalas shabbos.
Answer
Answered by Aaron AbadiNo. Kabbalas Shabbos is not in Shulchan Aruch. It is an opportunity to say Tehillim and/or Shir Hashirim between Mincha & Arbit/Maariv. It is not a part of prayers. If someone comes late Friday night, he should do Arbit/Maariv and not try to catch up on the Tehillim. AA