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The kitchen, on rails

KDS software: a kitchen display system that keeps time

With KDS software, every KOT is on a screen with a timer: no lost tickets, no shouting, no “five minute, boss”.

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Last reviewed 1 Oct 2026

The short answer KDS software, a kitchen display system, puts kitchen order tickets on a screen instead of paper: each order arrives with a running clock, a station and a stage, so the kitchen works one queue in order. CountStand’s KDS is in every plan, from ₹2,999 a month, and runs in the browser on a tablet or a TV.
K38+2:00K41K42₹9351Till2Board3Late4Pass
  1. 1TillK41 fires, order #184’s kitchen ticket
  2. 2BoardEvery KOT with a clock, amber at 4 minutes
  3. 3LateA red ring at 8 minutes: K38, +2:00
  4. 4PassOne press per stage; Recall keeps 15 minutes
Fig. 0One kitchen ticket at Akira, Surat, a sample outlet: from the till to the pass.
  • 8 minand a late ticket wears a red ring
  • Liveprep timers on every order
  • Browseron a tablet or a TV, nothing to install
  • 15 minof sent tickets, a press away in Recall
Fig. 1The kitchen board at 1:42 pmAll stations · sample tickets from Akira
Fig. 1Two tickets at 1:42 pmSample tickets
  1. 1The count never leaves the screen.Late 1, worst +2:00, in the strip that stays on top.
  2. 2Late is a ring, not a colour.From 8 minutes, a red ring sits outside the stage colour.
  3. 3Every stage has its colour.New grey, preparing violet, ready teal, recalled amber.
  4. 4An allergy is never small.A seat’s allergy sits above the dishes, in solid red.

01Anatomy

One ticket, read in a second.

What the cook sees on each card, and why it is there.

  1. 1Where it goesThe table, or the order number for a takeaway, set largest.
  2. 2The ticket numberK41, as printed on the backup chit.
  3. 3What it isDine-in or takeaway, and the station it was sent to.
  1. 4The clock3:00 of 8 minutes. It restarts on a recall and stops at ready.
  2. 5How it is madePortion beside the dish, add-ons under it, allergens in red.
  3. 6One buttonNamed for what the press does next: Mark ready.

02At a glance

What the kitchen screen changes.

  • Live, ordered, timedKOTs reach the board as they are sent, late ones first, then oldest first. The clock turns amber at 4 minutes; at 8 the ticket wears a red ring.
  • One press per stageStart, Mark ready, Mark served: each press moves the whole ticket on and turns its border the next stage’s colour.
  • Station by stationEach station filters the board to its own tickets: the bar sees drinks, the kitchen sees food, and expo sees them all.
  • Prep-time truthEvery ticket keeps when it was sent and when it was marked ready: real prep times, not a guess.
  • An outage does not lose a ticketWhen the internet drops, the till keeps taking orders. Their KOTs wait in its queue and reach the kitchen, in order, when the line returns.
  • No special hardwareA tablet or a TV with a browser is enough. Mount it and open the board.

03In detail

KDS or paper KOTs: what changes?

Paper fails in familiar ways. A chit goes missing or greasy, the order of tickets becomes whoever shouts loudest, nothing is timed, and a reprint can cook the same dish twice. A screen keeps one queue in the order it was sent, puts a clock on every ticket, and shows the floor what is ready without a walk to the pass.

Paper does not have to go. The print agent can print each KOT at its station as well, with the same number the screen shows.

Does a small kitchen need a KDS?

With one cook and one counter, paper may be enough. A screen starts to earn its place when there is more than one station, when dine-in and takeaway share a kitchen, or when tickets go missing at the rush. In CountStand the kitchen display is part of Single, so trying it costs a tablet you may already own.

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04Questions

Questions about the kitchen display.

05Also for the kitchen

Put the kitchen on one screen.

The kitchen display comes with the till and the printers, in Single.

From ₹2,999 a month per outlet, plus GST

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