Kitchen Display System (KDS)
Instant tickets, faster service, no missed orders
OrderEase KDS pushes tickets straight to the kitchen screen — no runners needed. Timers track wait times, completion marks prevent double-firing, and multi-station routing keeps the kitchen running smoothly.
Core features
Turn chaos into order and boost kitchen throughput
Instant order reception
The moment a guest scans to order or the POS rings in a ticket, it pushes to the kitchen screen — no runners, zero lag.
Wait-time timers
Every ticket runs its own timer, and overdue orders flash red. Chefs instantly see what's most urgent and prioritize accordingly.
Mark as complete
One tap marks a dish as ready, preventing double-firing. Servers immediately see what's ready to run.
Multi-station support
Wok, cold line, and drinks stations each get their own screen showing only their items — clearer division of labor.
Audible alerts
A sound plays when a new order arrives so the kitchen never misses one, even when things get hectic. Volume and tone are customizable.
Large-screen display
Runs on tablets or large external monitors with larger fonts and high-contrast colors — easy to read from anywhere in the kitchen.
Order handling workflow
Every stage is tracked from ticket in to plate out
Receive the order
Once a guest scans to order or a staff member enters it on the POS, the ticket pushes to the kitchen display with table number and item detail.
Start prep
Chefs prep in ticket order. Timers display wait time for each order in real time and warn automatically when one runs late.
Mark complete
One tap when a dish is ready moves the ticket from the prep lane to completed. Servers get the run notification instantly.
Confirm delivery
Once servers confirm the order is delivered, the ticket closes out. Every step is logged so you can analyze throughput later.
Kitchen display preview
Clean card-based UI — check every order status at a glance
Three wins from adopting a KDS
About 30% faster service
Tickets arrive instantly — no more waiting on runners. Timers help chefs pace themselves and dramatically boost throughput.
No more missed or wrong orders
Every ticket shows digitally on screen — no more dropped paper tickets or illegible handwriting.
Clear firing order
Tickets sort by time, first in first out. Same-table items appear together so everyone at the table gets served simultaneously.
Go deeper on KDS, kitchen efficiency, and table-turnover optimization
Kitchen Display System (KDS) Complete Guide: How to Choose, Set Up, and Use It
The real benefits of upgrading from paper tickets to KDS and the rollout steps, with a setup SOP.
Read moreHow to Improve Table Turnover? 10 Effective Methods with Real Data
KDS, QR ordering, and prep-flow optimization — each method comes with its actual improvement figures.
Read moreWhat to Do About Restaurant Labor Shortages? 6 Automation Tools in Practice
From QR ordering to KDS tickets — free up staff from running orders to serving customers.
Read moreKDS in Action
The actual OrderEase KDS interface — three-column board, per-ticket status, rush priority. Not a mockup.
What Is a KDS? How It Differs from a Kitchen Printer
Understand what a kitchen display system replaces before deciding whether your kitchen needs one
A KDS (Kitchen Display System) replaces paper tickets in the kitchen with a screen: the moment a guest orders by QR code or the counter rings up a sale, the order appears on a tablet or large display in the kitchen. Cooks work straight off the screen and tap once when a dish is done, so the front of house knows immediately that it is ready to serve. It replaces the traditional thermal ticket printer — no paper rolls, no tickets blowing away, and order changes or notes update right on the screen, with overdue orders changing color automatically.
The two are not mutually exclusive. A ticket printer gives you a physical slip that can travel with the dish; a KDS gives you real-time updates, automatic sorting, and full tracking. In practice many restaurants end up running both: the KDS as the kitchen's main board for the big picture, and the printer producing small tickets to attach to dishes or takeout bags for double-checking.
| Comparison | KDS (Kitchen Display) | Thermal Ticket Printer |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Runs on any existing tablet or browser-capable screen, no paper consumables | Hardware costs run high per unit, plus thermal paper as a recurring monthly expense |
| Ticket fading | On-screen display never fades; past orders can be looked up any time | Thermal paper fades with heat, grease, and time — reconciling old tickets gets hard |
| Lost tickets | Orders live in the system and cannot be lost; new orders chime so nothing is missed | Slips get blown off by fans, stacked over, or torn off wrong — a lost ticket is a missed dish |
| Changes and notes | Guest changes and notes update instantly on the same order card | A new ticket must be reprinted and cooks must work out which old one is void |
| Peak hours | Orders auto-sort by time placed and change color when overdue — you see at a glance who has waited longest | The ticket rail grows and grows; sequence lives in someone's head, so rush hours mean skipped and missed orders |
Which One Does Your Restaurant Need?
Go straight to a KDS
Made-to-order kitchens where dishes take real prep time — brunch spots, rice bowls, pasta, bubble tea. Once volume climbs, paper tickets become chaos, and the KDS's auto-sorting and timers pay off most.
A printer alone is enough
Small menus with almost no wait — a stall selling three to five items or a takeout window. Short flow, manageable volume: printed slips are fine, and when business grows you can turn on the KDS later without switching systems.
Run both together
Kitchens with multiple stations, or where a slip must travel with the food — labels on drink cups, itemized slips stapled to takeout bags. Use the KDS as the kitchen's main board and the printer for slips; OrderEase supports both, kept in sync on the same order.
Multi-Station Routing in Practice
The grill sees grill orders, the drink station sees drinks — each station works its own tickets without the noise
A kitchen is rarely one station. The grill, the drink station, and packing each handle different items — and when every order piles onto one screen or one printer, every station has to fish its own work out of a long queue, getting messier the busier it gets. OrderEase routes automatically by category: a single order splits itself across the right stations, each station sees only the items it needs to make and marks them done independently, while the front of house sees the combined progress of the whole order and only calls it out once everything is finished.
Grill station
Sees only grill-category items like egg crepes and toast — never buried under drink orders — with a chime when a new ticket lands.
Drink station
The black tea and soy milk on an order split off to this station automatically; mark them done and move on, without tracking the food side.
Packing / pass
Watches the combined progress of the whole order and only bags and calls the number once food and drinks are all done — no more handing out orders one cup short.
Real Case: Dacheng Breakfast's Two Printers, Three Stations
Dacheng Breakfast splits its flow across three stations with two printers: the counter prints a full ticket for checkout and cross-checking, while the grill prints only grill-category items. Routing is automatic by category — egg crepes and other griddle items print at the grill, while items like the sweet cheese pancake that never touch the grill simply do not appear on the grill's tickets, so the cook never has to filter by hand. 77 business days, 2,890 orders, and a peak day of 129 orders all ran through this routing during the breakfast rush.
Read the full case studyRouting rules follow your menu categories: change a category in the back office and the routing changes with it — no hardware reconfiguration. KDS stations and printer routing can be mixed freely, with some stations on screens and others on paper, all synced on the same order.
How Much Does the KDS Cost?
Included in the PRO plan — no per-device connection fees, no station limit
The OrderEase KDS is included in the PRO plan at NT$2,450/month, with no per-device connection fee and no limit on the number of workstations. Two stations or five, the price is the same — and it runs on the tablets you already own or any screen with a browser, so there is no proprietary hardware to buy.
Many systems on the market charge for their KDS per device — every extra station is an extra line on the bill, so bigger kitchens pay more. OrderEase does not meter by device: however your kitchen grows, the monthly fee stays flat. And if all you need today is QR ordering with printer tickets, the STARTER plan (NT$1,950/month) covers it — upgrade to the KDS whenever you are ready, with your menu and order history staying right where they are.
See the full plan comparison on Plans & Pricing, or start the 30-day free trial and run the KDS through a real service before paying anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Kitchen Display System (KDS)? How is it different from a kitchen printer?
A KDS is a screen installed in the kitchen that automatically displays all incoming orders. Kitchen staff can see each dish's wait time and tap to mark items complete. Compared to traditional paper tickets or printer slips, KDS is more eco-friendly, avoids faded thermal prints, prevents lost tickets, and significantly improves kitchen efficiency.
Do I need a special screen? Can I use an old tablet or TV?
No special equipment needed. Any screen that can open a browser works — tablet, old laptop, TV with Chromecast, or any HDMI-connected display. A touchscreen is recommended so kitchen staff can operate it even with greasy hands.
Can I split displays by station — wok, cold dishes, beverages?
Yes. The PRO plan supports multiple workstation configurations, each showing only its assigned orders. For example, the wok station sees only stir-fry orders, the cold-dish station sees only cold dishes, the beverage station sees only drinks — no missed orders, smoother multi-person workflow.
Can KDS work alongside thermal ticket printers?
Yes, in parallel. OrderEase supports KDS screens and ESC/POS printers running simultaneously: KDS for the kitchen, printers for checkout backup or takeout pickup tickets. The same order can push to both locations without conflict.
Are there alerts for delayed orders?
Yes. Each order card displays its wait time in real time, and orders exceeding your configured threshold (e.g., 15 minutes) automatically turn red to flag priority for the kitchen. Different alert thresholds can be set per item type.
How do kitchen staff mark dishes complete? How does the front-of-house know to serve?
Kitchen staff tap an order card on the KDS screen to mark it "complete." The status pushes in real time to the front-of-house POS, the customer's phone (showing "ready"), and the order-pickup display screen (if configured). Front-of-house staff see the notification and can immediately pick up and serve.