Kitchen order ticket (KOT)

A kitchen order ticket, usually called a KOT, is the instruction the kitchen works from. It lists the table or order number, the items, quantities and any special requests such as less chilli or no onion. It does not show prices, because the cook does not need them. In many Pakistani restaurants the KOT is a handwritten parchi pushed through a window or stuck on a hook above the tandoor.

Example

Table 6 at a karahi restaurant orders one half-kilo chicken karahi, six naan and two raita. The KOT says exactly that, plus the time and the waiter's name. The bill for the same order shows the prices: karahi Rs 1,450, six naan at Rs 40 each for Rs 240, and two raita at Rs 120 each for Rs 240, a total of Rs 1,930.

Why it matters

Most kitchen mistakes start with the KOT. A slip that is hard to read, gets lost or is never written at all leads to wrong dishes, remakes and food that goes out without being billed. When the KOT and the bill come from the same entry, what the kitchen cooks and what the customer pays for always match.

How software handles it

A restaurant POS creates the KOT automatically when the cashier or waiter enters the order. ArfaPOS prints it as a kitchen ticket on a thermal printer on every plan, and on Growth and Business also sends it to a kitchen display screen, so the cooks see each order as soon as it is placed. Because the order is in the system, the bill is built from the same items, and nothing cooked is left off it.