Kitchen display system that sends orders from counter to kitchen
A kitchen display system puts every order on a screen in the kitchen the moment it is placed. No running with parchis, no lost tickets, no arguments about what was ordered.
Orders from every channel
Counter, waiter tablet, QR table and website orders all land on the same kitchen screen without anyone carrying a slip.
Live order-age timers
Each order shows how long it has been waiting, so the cook can see which table is about to complain.
Mark ready in one tap
Orders move from placed to preparing to ready, and the counter and waiters see the change at once.
Accept or reject web orders
Online orders wait for the kitchen to accept them, with a reason recorded if an order is rejected.
Feeds the order status board
A TV in the waiting area shows Preparing and Ready order numbers, with a chime when food is ready.
The problem with paper kitchen tickets
In a typical Pakistani restaurant, the cashier writes a parchi or prints a kitchen order ticket, and a waiter carries it to the back. On a quiet afternoon that is fine. At 9 pm on a Saturday, with the tandoor running, three karahis on the flame and delivery riders waiting, paper starts to fail.
- Slips get wet, greasy or lost behind the counter.
- Handwriting is misread, so a half karahi becomes a full one.
- Changes are shouted across the kitchen and only half the staff hear them.
- Food gets cooked without a bill, because someone took a verbal order and the parchi never existed.
If you want the basic idea first, our glossary explains a kitchen order ticket and how it differs from a screen-based system.
How the ArfaPOS kitchen display works
- An order is placed at the counter, on a waiter's tablet, from a QR table card or on your website.
- It appears on the kitchen screen with its items, variants, notes and order type, and a timer starts.
- The cook taps Start Preparing, then Mark Ready when the food is up.
- The counter, the waiter tablets and the order status board all see that the order is ready.
- The order stays tied to the bill, so the owner can later match what was cooked with what was paid.
Because the kitchen only sees orders that went through ArfaPOS, the old habit of cooking first and billing later becomes harder. That one change often does more for a restaurant's margin than any discount or deal. Kitchens that still want paper can print kitchen tickets on a thermal printer alongside the screen.
Paper tickets compared with a kitchen screen
| Situation | Paper parchi | Kitchen display |
|---|---|---|
| Rush hour with 25 open orders | Slips pile up on a spike, order is guessed | Orders listed in sequence with how long each has waited |
| Cashier's handwriting | Cook guesses what was written | Menu item names, no handwriting |
| Order taken but not punched | Kitchen may cook it anyway | Kitchen only sees orders placed in the system |
| Customer asking if food is ready | Waiter walks to the kitchen to check | Status board and tablets show Ready |
| Owner checking a dispute | Slip is in the bin | Order is in the system with its bill |
Who gets the most from a KDS
Fast food outlets with a long counter queue gain the most, because speed between counter and kitchen sets how many customers they can serve in the lunch hour, and the status board stops staff shouting order numbers. Cloud kitchens that only do delivery have no waiters at all, so the screen is the only link between order and cook, and web orders can be accepted or rejected right there. BBQ and karahi restaurants with a separate tikka grill and a karahi line benefit because everyone works from the same list instead of shouting across the yard.
A small café with one barista who also takes the order may not need a separate screen on day one. As soon as the person taking the order is no longer the person making it, the screen starts paying for itself in fewer mistakes.
A simple cost check
Suppose a busy burger outlet makes two order mistakes a day, such as a wrong burger, a missed drink or a doubled item, and each mistake costs around Rs 450 in food that is remade or given away. That is Rs 900 a day, or Rs 27,000 over a 30-day month. Even if the screen only halves those mistakes, it saves Rs 13,500 a month. The kitchen display is part of the Growth plan at Rs 9,999 a month, so in this example it covers its own cost with Rs 3,501 to spare.
Setting it up
You need a screen in the kitchen placed where the cooks can read it without leaving their station, away from direct heat and splashes. The order status board runs in a browser on any smart TV or spare monitor. During remote setup the AiroxLab team connects the kitchen display to your counter, tests a few orders with your staff, and stays on WhatsApp for the first busy evenings. The KDS is part of the wider restaurant POS software, so orders, stock and reports all stay connected. For a longer explanation, read what is a kitchen display system.
Questions people ask
Which plan includes the kitchen display?
The KDS is included on Growth (Rs 9,999 a month) and Business (Rs 14,999 a month). Starter prints kitchen tickets on a thermal printer instead.
Do I still need to print kitchen tickets with a KDS?
Many kitchens stop printing once the screen is in place, since the order is already on the display. Kitchen ticket printing stays available if a station prefers paper.
Does the KDS show online and QR orders?
Yes. Orders from the counter, waiter tablets, QR table ordering and your website all appear on the kitchen screen. Web orders can be accepted or rejected from there.
Can customers see when their order is ready?
Yes. The order status board shows Preparing and Ready order numbers on a TV in the waiting area and plays a chime when the kitchen marks an order ready.
What screen do I need in the kitchen?
Tell us your kitchen layout during setup and we will advise on a suitable screen and where to place it so cooks can read it from their station.
Related solutions
Restaurant POS software
ArfaPOS gives your cashier a fast billing screen that keeps working when the internet goes, and gives you an admin portal to control the store. Orders reach the kitchen on a screen, stock deducts by recipe, and every day closes with numbers you can check.
Online ordering system
Your regular customers already know your food. Give them your own website and Android app where they can browse your menu and order from you directly, connected to the same ArfaPOS system that runs your counter.
Waiter tablet ordering
Give your waiters a tablet and cut the walk to the counter. The ArfaPOS Order Taker app sends each order straight to the kitchen and the billing counter, and prints through the printers you already have.
Delivery management software
Delivery is a different business from dine-in: phone orders, packaging, riders carrying cash and thin margins. ArfaPOS keeps delivery as its own order type and gives your riders their own app.
QR menu ordering
Put a QR card on every table. Diners scan it with their phone camera, browse your menu with photos and send the order themselves, and it reaches your kitchen already tagged with the table number.
Tell us about your business.
We reply with a price, a demo time and the setup that fits your branches, counters and users.