A Guide to Kitchen Display Systems (KDS) for talech

What is a kitchen display system?

A kitchen display system (KDS) is a screen or set of screens that pair with your talech POS to display orders in your kitchen or food prep stations. A KDS can replace paper ticket printers, handwritten orders, or verbally calling items that need to be prepared. Finding a KDS for talech can help your employees stay organized, improve your speed of service, and reduce errors in order production.

What are the main benefits of a KDS?

Kitchen display systems are more than just digital printers. By capturing and displaying order information digitally kitchen display systems can unlock a host of features that improve the efficiency of your kitchen operations. Some of the added benefits of a talech-compatible KDS include:

Improved Speed of Service

Slow speed of service is one of the top complaints from unhappy customers. Many kitchen display systems use color-coded headers to display how long tickets have been open, and digital systems can also provide valuable real-time metrics to operators.  Staying on top of ticket times helps your kitchen deliver orders faster, which results in more satisfied customers.

Staying Organized

Paper tickets can easily get lost behind a cooler or covered in BBQ sauce.  It’s easy for paper tickets to get mixed up on the rail so you’re not making the right order next. And when you need to recall an order? Hopefully the ticket is on the spindle and not in the trash. A KDS helps solve all these problems by keeping orders organized on an easy-to-navigate tablet display.

Do More With Less

Service industry staffing is challenging these days. It can be hard to find and keep good employees. Kitchen display technology can help alleviate staffing shortages in a couple of ways:

• Keeping the food prep stations organized results in increased productivity, meaning you can serve the same number of customers without needing to add more staff
• It can help with training and retention. Employees enjoy using technology that makes their job easier. A simple, intuitive KDS for talech can both help new employees get up to speed quickly and create a lower-stress work environment that can reduce turnover.

What to look for when choosing a KDS

There are several things to consider when searching for the best kitchen display system for talech point of sale.

• Compatibility. You’ll want to make sure you choose a KDS that works with your existing tech stack, which means it will need to integrate with talech. Look for a KDS that integrates easily to minimize your setup time and effort.
• Hardware. Check to see what type of hardware each KDS provider supports. Some KDS solutions sell you both hardware and software while others use a “bring your own device” model. Bringing your own hardware gives you more flexibility and options, but make sure to check what operating systems are supported (iOS, Android, Windows).
• Features. Does the kitchen display system offer the features that match your restaurant’s unique set up? Will you be able to cross off individual items, sync order bumps between stations, or send orders to the next station in the assembly line? Do you want the ability to communicate order status updates to your customers or the ability to print sticky labels for to-go cups or boxes?
• Cost. There are two main costs to consider when evaluating kitchen display systems - the hardware cost and the software cost. Some KDS providers charge a one-time hardware plus software licensing fee, which typically does not include software updates. Other KDS companies only charge a monthly or annual fee for software while allowing you to bring your own hardware. This type of software typically will include ongoing updates for new features and functionality.
• Support. How much support you’ll need to set up and maintain your new KDS depends on how easy the system is to use and how tech savvy you are. If the system you choose looks complicated to set up, or if you don’t have much IT experience you might want to opt for a product that provides a higher level of onboarding support.
• Offline Mode. Many kitchen display systems require internet connectivity to receive orders. If your restaurant doesn’t have a reliable, strong internet connection you should consider a KDS that can operate “offline.” Kitchen display systems with offline mode receive orders across the local network and therefore can work even without a connection to the internet.

Kitchen Display Systems for talech

There are a couple of options when it comes to choosing a kitchen display system to work with your talech POS.

Fresh KDS

Fresh KDS is a great choice for cafes, restaurants, and food service providers of all types and sizes. Fresh KDS connects to talech by emulating a printer, which means it can work without internet connectivity. The Fresh KDS app is available on both iOS and Android, providing you with a lot of flexibility in choosing your hardware. Fresh KDS also has some of the most advanced features on the market, including multiple options for communicating between stations, the ability to send order status updates directly to customers, and curbside “I’m Here” functionality. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles, Fresh KDS also offers a very affordable entry level plan.

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Epson KDS

Epson’s KDS is a solid, if more expensive choice, for those looking for a more traditional kitchen display system. Epson’s KDS connects via ethernet which allows it to work offline but requires placing screens at network drops. Epson’s KDS also offers a number of commercial-grade screen options, including touchscreens and bump bar controllers. Epson’s KDS requires a printer to function, which is an added expense but may make sense if you want to “bump to print” from the KDS screen.