Kitchen Display and Preparation

The preparation mode is set under Restaurant > Settings > Kitchen & prep, or by a preset on Service setup. Kitchen Display sends new orders only to the kitchen screen, Paper tickets keeps them off the screen and uses printed tickets, and Display + paper uses both. The selected mode is saved on each new order, so changing the setting affects new orders without moving existing work between workflows. Paper tickets can use an 80 mm roll or A4 and can optionally show prices.

7.1 Sending Items

Before: Confirm the order number, options, instructions and saved mode. Check whether auto-fire has already sent items, so they no longer show Not sent. Items use their configured prep station, such as Kitchen or Bar.

Steps — Paper tickets:

1. Check the lines under Not printed yet, then choose Confirm & Print · N items for the correct order.
2. When the browser allows it, the kitchen copy and the unpaid customer bill go straight to the browser print dialog. Choose the correct printer and matching paper size, then print. If the browser does not allow direct printing, the copies open in Print history under Prepared copies; choose Print copies.
3. Check the physical copies. Hand the kitchen copy to the correct preparation station, and give the unpaid customer bill to the guest or waiter according to house policy.
4. With After Confirm & Print set to Clear the till for the next order (the default), the till empties for the next slip. A green strip reads "ORD-… printed" over "Kitchen copy and unpaid bill", with Reprint (opens Print history for that order) and Open order. With Stay on the printed order, the order stays on the ticket.

Steps — Kitchen Display: Choose Send N new items. Kitchen staff follow sections 7.2 and 7.3. The order stays on the ticket, and no paper confirmation is required. If the guest wants a bill before payment, use Print bill; this does not send food.

Steps — Display + paper: Use the paper steps above, and have kitchen/bar staff use the kitchen screen for the same order. Agree whether the screen or the handed-over slip is the kitchen's working reference. Do not prepare a second meal because both exist.

Result: Successfully dispatched items have preparation records and the configured stock movement. A print dialog alone is not evidence that the kitchen received a physical slip.

Confirmation saves the preparation batch and deducts configured stock before the copies print. The batch stays in Print history for another attempt if printing is cancelled or fails. One print document contains a customer bill and a kitchen copy for the waiter to distribute. The customer bill is unpaid, not a payment receipt. Configured taxes come from the POS calculation; later additions, cancellations or authorised adjustments can change the final amount. Kitchen prices are hidden unless enabled in settings.

Additional items create a new kitchen batch containing only those additions, with an updated customer bill. Changes to dispatched preparation instructions and cancellations create labelled notices. Give these notices to the kitchen so staff do not prepare an outdated order.

Recovery: If the copies could not be prepared, the order stays on the ticket instead of clearing; check Print history before retrying. To recover saved batches after a cancelled print dialog or a printer failure, open ⋯ > Print history (or Reprint on the strip), pick the order under Recent paper orders, choose the batch's printer button, then Print copies. The copy is labelled REPRINT. Customer bill in the same window prints the current unpaid bill. A reprint never dispatches food again, deducts stock again, or records payment. A print request does not prove that paper physically left the printer. Check the printer and distribute the slips before continuing service. Cancelling the browser print dialog does not undo dispatch, stock deduction or the saved batch; reprint it from Print history and do not add the food again.

Paper-only orders do not require kitchen-screen approval. Use Pay to collect payment and the receipt flow for proof of payment. If items are still unprinted when you pay, the till asks first (Print and pay), prints their kitchen copy, and keeps the batch in Print history. Printing uses the browser's printer dialog; automatic routing to different kitchen or bar printers is not included.

Stock-managed recipe ingredients or the linked stock-managed product are consumed when preparation is dispatched. Non-stock items need no deduction. An error during confirmation must be checked before any kitchen handover; fix the reported stock or configuration issue and inspect the saved state before retrying. Reprinting and paying for already-dispatched items do not consume stock again.

7.2 Kitchen Queue

Kitchen Display opens full-screen kitchen mode: no sidebar, sized for a kitchen tablet or wall screen.

Before: Open Restaurant > Kitchen Display, or Open Kitchen Display on Kitchen & prep. Check the location (a location list appears when there is more than one) and the station. Paper-only orders are deliberately absent; changing the location cannot make them appear.

The kitchen screen shows:

• Station switch: All plus each station, such as Kitchen and Bar, with the number of items waiting. The chosen station stays in the page address, so a station screen can be bookmarked.
• All day: how many of each dish are still to make for the selected station, or Nothing left to make.
• Tickets: one card per order with the table or guest, order number, a timer since the order was sent, the waiter, the order type, and a status in words: New for the first two minutes, On time, Due in N min near the target, and Late · N min over after it. The target is the longest menu preparation time on the ticket, or 15 minutes when no dish has one.
• Ticket body: the order note, then items grouped by course (Drinks, Starters, Mains, Desserts) with options and notes. Items the till has not sent yet ride along greyed as Held, and a course with only held items reads "held until called". Do not cook held items.
• Ready at the pass · N: ready food waiting to leave the kitchen (section 7.3).
• Sound on / Sound off: a chime when a new ticket arrives. Browsers only play sound after someone taps the screen once; the choice is remembered on that device.
• Exit kitchen mode: returns to the dashboard.

Tickets older than 4 hours are hidden so they do not distort the timers. A banner says how many are hidden and whether they are from earlier days; Review shows them under Older than 4 hours, and Hide again folds them away. If the screen cannot reach SikaBooks, a banner reads "Can't reach the kitchen queue", gives the last update time and offers Retry now. The screen refreshes on the KDS refresh interval set on Kitchen & prep (5–60 seconds). Staff who can view the kitchen but not bump see View only and no buttons.

Steps: Choose All or your station, match the order number and table or guest, and read every option and note before preparation. Keep change and cancellation notices with the original order in paper or combined service. Escalate an unclear change to the waiter rather than guessing.

Result: Each station prepares its assigned items, using the latest saved instructions and physical notices.

Recovery: For an empty queue (All caught up), check section 12.3 before asking a waiter to resend. A screen refresh is a read action, not permission to prepare another batch.

7.3 Bumping Items

Before: Check that the food or drink is actually ready for pickup, and that the number matches the order being collected.

Steps:

1. Tap an item's check button (Mark ready) when that dish is finished. It stays on the ticket marked Ready while the rest is cooked.
2. Choose Bump order when everything for your station on that ticket is ready. On a station view it marks only that station's sent items ready; on All it marks every sent item on the ticket ready. Held items are never bumped.
3. A message offers Undo for 10 seconds; hovering over it or focusing it pauses the countdown. Undo puts the items back to the status they had.
4. Ready food appears under Ready at the pass with the table, waiter, items, and how long it has waited (an hourglass appears after 5 minutes). When the food leaves the kitchen, tap Picked up. That marks those items served on the order; on a station view, only that station's items.

Result: Bumping records preparation readiness and Picked up records that the food left the pass. Neither records payment.

Recovery: If an item was marked ready by mistake, use Undo while it shows. Once the message has gone, the bump can no longer be undone from the screen; and if the items were picked up or changed in the meantime, undo is refused ("This can no longer be undone: the items were picked up or changed since."). Each bump can be undone only once; tell the waiter and supervisor immediately. Do not cancel or create replacement food merely to correct the display. "Nothing on this ticket is waiting at the Kitchen station." means that station has nothing left to bump on the ticket.

7.4 Service Status

Front-of-house matches the order number and table or guest, checks all items and instructions, then serves or hands over the order.

• Kitchen Display service: the till shows N ready to serve in the top bar and Food ready on the floor. Ready lines on the ticket carry Mark served; use it when the dish reaches the guest and the kitchen has not already used Picked up. Either one sets the line to Served.
• Display + paper service: the kitchen screen's Picked up records serving; the till does not show Mark served.
• Paper-only service: coordinate pickup directly with the kitchen; there is no kitchen screen step, and the till shows Printed until payment.

Do not use Pay just to clear a kitchen queue. Payment, kitchen readiness, guest handover and cleaning a table are different events.