Author: Guiseppi Marzelli, Co-Founder at Boomtown!
The first job I had in college was working 'the line' at Panera Bread. I was getting paid $15/hr to help pay the bills (aka Beer Money) and I got a lot of free food to bring back to the dorms at night. All together it was a good experience.
The one thing I remember dreading about that job was the KDS (Kitchen Display Screen) over my head while the Manager shouted, "move it Guiseppi!". The ticket would start off as Green and then turn Yellow to Red as time progressed.
As much as I hated the KDS, I quickly learned that it was the most effective tool for QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) to keep the staff on its toes and keep orders organized.
With Poynt (Smart Credit Card Terminal) leading the way in 2018, it was a no-brainer for their team to make this tool available immediately. Here's a quick break down on why KDS is an effective tool and how to set it up for merchants using Poynt.
1. Key Features
Display all open orders inside the kitchen instantly for food preparation once order is placed on Poynt Terminal
Keeps track of time taken for delivery of orders
Alerts your team by changing color if delivery time crosses the threshold
Allows you to complete the order once it is delivered
Displays all closed orders and canceled orders any time for the day
No need to hand over the printed/written orders to the kitchen
2. Getting Started
Download the Kitchen Display App which costs $6.99/month in the Poynt App Marketplace (built by Appkogent)
Hardware: You need to have a touchscreen with Internet connection like an iPad or any other smart tablet. It can support any size of the touchscreen. You can also display on TV through Apple TV or Google Chromecast via your laptop / smart tablet / Smartphone
Make sure you switch off the Auto close of orders in your Poynt terminal
Ensure you refresh order numbers every day as the kitchen display will show the same order numbers as Poynt
3. Log In
Sign in to your Business account on your smart tablet at http://appkogent.com/sms/kds.html using your poynt.net user id and password.
4. Display / Action
Once you Log in, it will show all the open orders on the screen of Tablet / TV that needs to be prepared in the kitchen.
You can set up the threshold to change the color of order display if delivery is not done in a certain period of time. Go to the configuration on the left side menu and set up the Timer as shown below.
Click on “Complete order” to close the order.
Click on the icon in the top right to expand the order if needed.
You can also look at all closed orders at any given point in time. This helps in case of any customer complains about their menu items not delivered or customization requested.
You can also see average processing time of orders on right side top corner of the screen.
If you get stuck helping your merchants set up their KDS or downloading the KDS Application, feel free to reach out by emailing info@vividpayments.com