KDS Dashboard
The dashboard is the whole of the kitchen display. It fills the screen, has no menus and no navigation, and is built to be read from across a kitchen rather than operated up close.
This page describes what is on the screen. For bumping, the keyboard shortcuts and the zoom, see Using the Screen.
The Three Columns
The screen is divided into three columns, left to right in the order work flows:
| Column | Holds |
|---|---|
| Pending | Received, not yet started |
| In Progress | Being prepared |
| Ready | Finished, waiting to go out |
Within a column the oldest order sits at the top, so the next thing to deal with is always the top card.
Note
The column headings read Pending, In Progress and Ready on every screen, including French and Dutch ones. They are deliberately kept in one wording so that a mixed brigade reads the same three words.
The Order Card
One card is one account. Its heading carries the name of the order and, on its right, a running timer.
The name is the first of these the account has:
- the name given to it when it was opened
- its order number, shown as
#1234, for a kiosk or webshop order - its table, shown as
Table #12 - failing all of that, the account number
Tip
The timer counts from the moment the items were ordered, not from when they arrived in the current column. It is the age of the order as the guest experiences it, which is what a pass needs to see.
Under the heading, a row of chips gives the context the kitchen needs:
| Chip | Shows |
|---|---|
| Staff member | Who took the order |
| Covers | How many guests, when the number was recorded |
| Service mode | Eat-In for a table, otherwise the account type, such as takeaway or delivery |
The Items
Below the chips, in standard mode, the card lists the items in that column. Each line shows the quantity, the product name, its product group, and any comment typed on the register, such as a cooking instruction or an allergy.
Options and supplements chosen on a product appear indented beneath it, marked with an arrow, so a garnish is never mistaken for a separate dish.
Note
In call screen mode the cards carry no item list and no timer. They give the order and its overall status only. See Overview → Display Modes.
Cancelled Items
When a member of staff cancels an item that has already reached the kitchen, the display reacts immediately so the item is not prepared by mistake.
- The item's card turns red and is marked with a Cancelled chip.
- An alert sound plays on the screens concerned, so the cancellation is noticed even when nobody is looking at the display.
The cancelled item stays on screen, flagged, rather than disappearing. Kitchen staff see what was withdrawn instead of watching a line vanish silently from a ticket they may already be working on.
Note
A cancellation creates a reversing line on the account for fiscal reasons. That reversing line is never shown on the display — only the original item, flagged as cancelled. The kitchen sees one item struck off, not two lines to reconcile.
Tip
The alert sound only plays on screens that actually display the cancelled item. A screen limited to specific product groups stays silent for a cancellation in a group it does not show, so a pastry station is not interrupted by a change at the grill. A screen with no product group restriction is alerted for every cancellation.
Warning
If the item had already been printed on a kitchen ticket, a cancellation ticket is still printed. Paper cannot be taken back, so the printed trail is kept in step with the screen.
Staying Up to Date
The screen does not have to be refreshed and does not have to be touched.
- A new order arrives on its own, and a sound plays as it lands.
- A bump made on another screen is reflected here immediately, so two stations never work the same item twice.
- The display stays awake for as long as the app is open, and takes the whole screen with no status bar.
- After a network interruption the screen reloads its orders by itself as soon as the connection comes back.
Tip
If a screen looks stale, check the network before anything else. A display that has lost its connection keeps showing the last state it knew, and catches up on its own once it is back.
Reading the Screen at a Glance
Each column has its own background shade, and an order card is coloured by the column it sits in, so the state of the kitchen is legible from a distance without reading a word.
A card being acted on shows a brief progress indicator beside its column heading while the change is saved. During that moment further bumps are ignored, which prevents a double-tap from skipping a state.