No more paper tickets: how a kitchen display gets dishes out faster

Paper tickets get lost, get wet and get mixed up on the rail, and nobody knows whether table 12 has had its appetizers yet. A kitchen order screen brings structure to this part of the job, as long as you set it up right.

What is a kitchen display (KDS)?

A KDS, or Kitchen Display System, is a screen where the kitchen and bar see orders from the POS system instead of paper tickets. Each station gets its own part of the order, and floor staff can see what stage each dish is at.

What you gain

• Speed. An order taken at the table shows up in the kitchen within a few seconds, with no one carrying a ticket back.
• Organization. All order statuses are in one place that both the kitchen and the bar can see.
• Control. Servers track how the dishes for their tables are coming along and know when to head over.

According to Townely, its POS system gets orders out 8 minutes faster and speeds up table turnover by 24%.

How to set up the screens right

1. Split orders by station. The hot kitchen, cold kitchen, desserts and bar only see what they need to prepare.
2. Set the course sequence. Appetizers, mains and desserts go out at set intervals, so each table gets everything at the right pace.
3. Make it easy to read. Large text, clearly flagged guest notes (allergies, for example) and a screen mounted where the cooks naturally look.
4. Assign an expeditor. Someone has to check that a table's order is complete before it goes out to the dining room.
5. Close orders as you go. Tapping the “served” status right away keeps the screen showing what's happening now, not history.

The most common mistakes

• Too much information on one screen.
• Verbal changes to orders that never make it into the system.
• No training. The screen only works if everyone uses it.
• Going back to paper “just for now” when it gets busy.

Where the KDS connects with everything else

The kitchen display shows both orders taken by servers on a mobile device and orders placed by guests via QR code. The POS system works together with inventory, so every sale is immediately reflected in stock levels.