Managing Kitchen Order Flow

When a server submits an order from the floor, it flows to the kitchen in under two seconds. The KDS receives the order, splits it across stations based on your routing rules, and starts the timer. Kitchen staff see items grouped by course — starters first, then mains. When all items for a course are marked ready, the front-of-house view shows a notification to run the food.

For multi-course meals, the server can hold courses until the previous one is cleared. In the POS order screen, toggle Hold on the mains course. The kitchen sees starters immediately but mains show as held. When the server taps Fire on the mains, they appear on the KDS. This prevents the kitchen from preparing everything at once and food sitting under heat lamps.

If a VIP table or a time-sensitive order needs to jump the queue, the server can mark it as Rush. Rush orders display in red on the KDS and move to the top of the queue. Use this sparingly — if every order is a rush, none of them are. The system logs rush frequency so managers can address any overuse.

If a customer changes their order after submission, the server modifies it on the POS. The KDS updates in real time — removed items disappear, new items appear with a Modified tag. If an item is already being prepared, the kitchen staff sees a warning. All modifications are logged in the audit trail with the server's name and timestamp.