Why Kitchen Display Systems Are a Hospitality Must-have

Picture the scene. You’re a sous-chef at a top restaurant, the head chef warned you that the most powerful critic in your city is coming in tonight, the order ticket comes in and you can’t read the server’s handwriting, and even worse, you just dropped the ticket into a vat of melted butter. 

If a scenario like that sends a chill down your spine, you’re probably aware of how simple mistakes in the kitchen can tank a restaurant. The hospitality industry is an unforgiving place and it’s vital that your staff work efficiently and accurately. 

Luckily, technology has provided tools that will have your kitchen singing. A Kitchen Display System (KDS), also known as a restaurant screen, is one such tool. In this blog, we’ll explore the ins and outs of this piece of hardware and show how it could help your business. 

An introduction to kitchen display screens 

In simple terms, a kitchen display screen is a monitor in a kitchen that displays orders imputed by the front of house staff. They can be found in restaurants, cafes, and hotels and can also display things such as tables with allergies and other important information.

What do restaurant screens do? 

Restaurant screens display food orders to the kitchen staff. This allows the cooks and porters to quickly get a full, real-time view of what needs to be prepared. This frees up the kitchen staff from the tyranny of traditional paper tickets that can be difficult to read, easily lost or overlooked, and sometimes inaccurate. 

Accuracy is key in a kitchen and can be difficult to achieve during the extremely high-stress environment that comes with a busy service. The work of an expeditor is integral to a well-run kitchen but even they can make mistakes as they shout an order across a heaving kitchen. A KDS entirely removes human error from the equation. 

Some companies, like Epos Now, take the extra step and allow businesses to connect their electronic point of sale (EPOS or POS) system directly to their KDS. This can speed up service significantly and ensure a higher level of accuracy in customer orders.

How does a kitchen display system work?

The basics of how a kitchen display system works is very simple. Your front of house staff will enter the customers’ orders into your system (this is usually a POS system), and the orders are then displayed on the screen in the kitchen. 

The kitchen staff can then organise the orders, see what needs to be prepared and be made aware of any allergies or special dietary requirements. This improves the efficiency of your staff and your customer experience, both vital aspects of the hospitality industry. 

The benefits of a KDS 

As mentioned above, there are a variety of different benefits that come with using a KDS. Kitchens can be chaotic places and anything that can improve is a good thing. Consider the following benefits of a good KDS: 

• Order accuracy - At the press of a button, your kitchen knows exactly what needs to be prepared and how it is to be served. If a customer needs to change an order, this can be quickly taken care of on the POS system. 
• Efficiency - A lot of time is lost to servers having to scribble down orders and giving the tickets to everyone who needs them. KDS screens get rid of tickets entirely. You can even install screens at every station so that orders are consistent from the prep station to the porters. 
• Environmental concerns - Tickets are usually made of paper and if you’re using fewer tickets, you’re using less paper. This is a very simple way to reduce waste with KDS devices.

Where to buy a KDS? 

While there are several different KDS systems on the market, we would say the best place to buy them would be from Epos Now. Epos Now have a long history of creating intuitive tools that work to the benefit of business owners and their KDS is a great example of this. 

The Epos Now KDS is a ground-breaking combination of hardware and software that seamlessly integrates with your existing POS system. Your front of house staff can enter and edit orders with a few taps. It even includes online ordering that syncs with delivery apps. 

Flexibility is a key aspect of the Epos Now KDS. The Epos Now system is completely hardware agnostic. This means that our intuitive software works with a number of different screen brands. While we would recommend that our customers upgrade to our system, they can still choose to only use our software. 

Unfortunately, food wastage is an unavoidable part of the restaurant business. The Epos Now KDS system works to reduce it as much as possible through its “expeditor view.” This allows the kitchen to get a summary of all the current orders so that they know exactly what needs to be produced in what order. 

Best the best restaurant you can be 

A KDS system is just one of the ways Epos Now can help you business. Our restaurant POS system is designed to help you drive profits and better serve your customers. Our features include: 

• Real-time business insights so you can evaluate your restaurant from the top down
• Details reports into your cash flow, overheads, and profits 
• Sophisticated inventory management tools 
• Automate stock checks and orders

If you’re interested in finding out more about Epos Now, get in touch with our expert team below.