Kitchen Printer & Kitchen Display¶
Orders are automatically forwarded to the kitchen — either as a printed ticket or on a screen (Kitchen Display System). This way, the kitchen instantly sees what needs to be prepared without the waiter having to come in person.
Kitchen Printer¶
Setup¶
- Admin → Settings → Printers
- Create a new printer:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Printer designation | Kitchen printer |
| IP address | Network address | 192.168.1.51 |
| Port | ESC/POS standard | 9100 |
- Admin → Articles → [Article group]
- For the group "Dishes", assign the kitchen printer as the receipt printer
Now all food orders are automatically printed on the kitchen printer.
What Is Printed?¶
A kitchen ticket contains the table number, course, items with options, and the waiter's name:
══════════════════════════════
KITCHEN Table 5
──────────────────────────────
Course 1
2× Schnitzel
→ without fries
→ with rice
1× Lasagna
Waiter: Maria 18:45
══════════════════════════════
Multiple Printers for Different Areas¶
You can set up different printers for different areas:
| Printer | Article Groups | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen printer | Dishes, sides | Kitchen |
| Counter printer | Beverages, cocktails | Counter/Bar |
| Dessert printer | Desserts, ice cream | Patisserie |
| Pager printer | Pager system | Pickup |
Each article group can be assigned to its own printer — or to multiple printers at once (e.g. kitchen + consolidated order ticket).
Print Assignment at Article Level¶
The print assignment follows a hierarchy:
- Article's own print setting (highest priority)
- Article group of the article
- Parent article group (parent group)
Additionally, ExtraPrintOptions can be configured per table group — e.g. "Terrace orders on printer 2".
🖥️ Kitchen Display (KDS)¶
The kitchen display (Kitchen Display System) shows orders on a screen — no paper, no clutter. New orders appear in real time via SignalR websocket.
Setup¶
- For the articles/article groups that should appear in the kitchen, enable Kitchen display in the print options (see "Configuration at Article Level" below)
- Open a browser on the kitchen screen
- Navigate to:
http://[Server-IP]:5015 - Log in and select Menu → Kitchen
ℹ️ There is no separate "Enable kitchen display" toggle in the settings. The display is always reachable and shows every item whose article (or article group) is enabled for the kitchen display.
Order Display¶
Orders are displayed as cards per table, sorted by arrival time (oldest first):
┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐
│ Table 5 │ │ Table 2 │ │ Table 8 │
│ 18:45 (3 min.)│ │ 18:42 (6 min.)│ │ 18:31 (17 min)│
│───────────────│ │───────────────│ │───────────────│
│ Course 1 │ │ Course 1 │ │ Course 2 │
│ 2× Schnitzel │ │ 1× Pizza │ │ 3× Burger │
│ → without │ │ 1× Salad │ │ → medium │
│ fries │ │ │ │ 1× Steak │
│ 1× Lasagna │ │ │ │ → rare │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ [🔥 Cooking] │ │ [🔥 Cooking] │ │ [✅ Done] │
└───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘
white orange red
Color Coding (Wait Time)¶
The cards change color based on wait time — so the kitchen can see at a glance which orders are urgent:
| Wait Time | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 minutes | White | New order, everything on schedule |
| 5–15 minutes | Orange | Order is waiting — attention needed |
| Over 15 minutes | Red | Critical — order overdue |
The wait time is calculated from the time of the oldest item on the table.
Work Status (WorkStatus)¶
Each individual item can be cycled through its status by tapping it. In practice, you'll use this cycle:
New → Cooking started → Cooking done → (back to New)
┌────┐ ┌────┐ ┌────┐
│ 📋 │ → │ 🔥 │ → │ ✅ │
└────┘ └────┘ └────┘
| Status | Description | Display |
|---|---|---|
| New | Item received, not yet started | Default |
| Cooking started | Preparation in progress | Orange border + flame icon |
| Cooking done | Preparation complete | Green border + checkmark (strikethrough) |
Tapping a "done" item again switches it back to "New". The "Done" button on the whole table card completes all items at once and the card disappears from the monitor (see below).
ℹ️ Internally, the system also has the stages "Packed" and "Completed" — but in the current display these aren't reachable by tapping.
"Done" Button¶
When all items for a table have been prepared:
- Tap "Done" on the table card
- All items are set to status "Completed" (99)
- The card disappears immediately from the monitor (optimistic update)
- The waiter sees in the POS that the order is ready
The status change is transmitted to all connected devices in real time — including other kitchen displays and the POS.
Course Control on the Monitor¶
Orders are grouped by course within each table card:
┌──────────────────┐
│ Table 5 │
│ 18:45 │
│──────────────────│
│ Course 1 │
│ 1× Tomato soup │
│ 1× Bruschetta │
│ │
│ Course 2 │
│ 1× Beef fillet │
│ 1× Salmon fillet │
│ │
│ [Done] │
└──────────────────┘
When the waiter triggers a course change at the table, the new course is updated on all open items for that table and displayed grouped accordingly in the kitchen display.
On top of that, a course ticket is printed on the assigned (station) printers whenever the course changes, so the kitchen is informed of the new course immediately, even without the monitor.
Delivery Service Tab¶
If the delivery service is enabled (Admin → Settings → Operations → Delivery service), a second tab "Delivery service" appears in the kitchen display.
Delivery Service Orders in the Kitchen¶
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Order number | e.g. "#1042" |
| Customer name | Name of the person who placed the order |
| Desired delivery time | If specified |
| Items | Articles with quantity and notes |
Delivery Service Status¶
Delivery service orders have their own status workflow:
| Status | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | 0 | Order received |
| Confirmed | 1 | Order accepted |
| In preparation | 2 | Being prepared in the kitchen → visible in kitchen display |
| Ready | 3 | Preparation complete, waiting for pickup/driver |
| On the way | 4 | Driver is en route |
| Delivered | 5 | Delivered |
| Cancelled | 6 | Order cancelled |
Only orders with status "In preparation" (2) are shown in the kitchen display. The "Ready" button sets the order to status 3 and it disappears from the kitchen view.
⚡ Real-Time Updates (SignalR)¶
The kitchen display uses SignalR (websocket connection) for real-time communication:
Waiter places order
↓
Server saves OpenBon
↓
SignalR sends "DocumentChanged"
↓
Kitchen display receives signal
↓
Card appears instantly on the monitor
How it works: - Every change to an OpenBon (new order, status change, void) triggers a SignalR event - All connected kitchen displays update automatically - No manual reloading required - Works across multiple kitchen displays simultaneously (e.g. kitchen + bar)
Configuration at Article Level¶
Which articles appear in the kitchen display is controlled via the print options:
Admin → Articles → [Article/Group] → Print options → Kitchen display
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | Article appears in the kitchen display |
| Target workstation | Optional: assign the article to a specific monitor/workstation — the filter is applied (see below) |
| Extra ticket after done | Ticket is printed when an item is completed (this now actually prints) |
| Extra ticket printer | Which printer to use for the extra ticket |
The kitchen display setting is inherited hierarchically: if the article group "Dishes" is enabled for the kitchen display, all articles in that group appear automatically.
ℹ️ Note on target workstation: The kitchen display filters by the selected workstation and shows only the items assigned to it. This lets you achieve a true "food only / drinks only" separation per monitor via the workstation filter.
Advantages Over Printer-Only Operation¶
| Property | Printer | Kitchen Display |
|---|---|---|
| Paper consumption | High | None |
| Overview | Paper clutter | All orders at a glance |
| Real time | Ticket must be read | Instant display + update |
| Sequence | Tickets can get mixed up | Automatically sorted by wait time |
| Status tracking | Not possible | Status per item (New/Cooking/Done) |
| Urgency | Not visible | Color coding by wait time |
| Feedback | None | "Done" → waiter is notified |
| Void | New ticket needed | Automatically updated |
💡 Tip: Even if you use the kitchen display, you can additionally configure a kitchen printer as a backup — e.g. in case the monitor fails.
Practical Example: Restaurant with Kitchen and Bar¶
Situation: Restaurant "Bella Vista" with a separate kitchen and bar.
Setup: - Monitor 1 in the kitchen: shows only food groups - Monitor 2 at the bar: shows only beverage groups (filtered via target workstation) - Backup printer in the kitchen for outages
Workflow: 1. Waiter Maria places an order at Table 5: 2× Schnitzel + 2× wheat beer 2. Schnitzel appears instantly on Monitor 1 (kitchen) 3. Wheat beer appears on Monitor 2 (bar) 4. Bartender pours the wheat beer → taps "Done" → card disappears 5. Cook prepares the Schnitzel → taps "Done" → card disappears 6. Maria sees in the POS: Table 5 is ready to be served
Frequently Asked Questions¶
Does the kitchen display work on a tablet? Yes. The kitchen display is a web application and works on any device with a browser — tablet, PC, TV screen.
What happens with a void? Voided items automatically disappear from the kitchen display. If the cook has already prepared the item, they see the change immediately.
Can I run multiple kitchen displays simultaneously? Yes. All monitors are synchronized via SignalR. The target workstation setting lets you define per monitor which items are displayed (e.g. food on Monitor 1, drinks on Monitor 2).
Do I need internet for the kitchen display? No. The kitchen display runs entirely on the local network. The devices only need to be able to reach the DiKAS server.
Online and QR Orders on the Kitchen Display¶
When DiKAS is used with a cloud connection, online orders, delivery and pickup orders, and QR table instant orders appear automatically and instantly on the kitchen display — just like orders placed by a waiter at the table.
The kitchen display does not distinguish between the source: whether a waiter places an order at the table or a guest orders via the web shop — the ticket appears immediately on the display.
- Online orders / delivery service: appear in the "Delivery service" tab (see above)
- QR table instant orders: appear directly in the regular table view
How it works
The cloud forwards incoming orders immediately to the local machine (relay). The local machine then updates the kitchen display in real time — no manual refresh needed. → More details: Cloud & Local Machine
Next Step¶
→ End-of-Day Report — Close the shift and cash count