Kitchen display system (KDS): what it is, what it costs, and do you need one?

A kitchen display system (KDS) is a screen in the kitchen that shows orders instead of paper tickets. Chefs tap or "bump" each order when it is done. A good KDS times every ticket and splits orders by station. In the UK, KDS software costs about £11 to £19 a month per screen on published plans, plus a screen or tablet. Small kitchens often do fine with a ticket printer. This guide helps you choose.

Orders ring loudly and print in the kitchen from day one.

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What is a KDS?

A KDS replaces the kitchen printer and the ticket rail. Orders from the till, the website, QR codes and delivery apps appear on a screen in the order they arrive.

A typical KDS does five things:

1. Shows each order with dishes, modifiers and notes ("no onion", "nut allergy").
2. Times each ticket. Tiles turn amber, then red, when an order runs late.
3. Routes by station. Fryer items to the fryer screen, grill to the grill, drinks to the bar.
4. Bumps orders when done, often with a bump bar or a tap.
5. Reports ticket times so you can see where service slows down.

Some systems also show a "ready" screen to customers at the counter, or send a text when food is ready.

KDS vs kitchen printer

In short: a printer is cheap and robust. A KDS earns its keep when tickets go missing, stations argue over who has what, or you need ticket-time data.

What does a KDS cost in the UK?

Prices from public UK pages on 11 October 2026, ex VAT unless stated.

Hardware tips:

• A consumer tablet in a wall mount is the cheapest screen. Keep it away from the fryer and the dishwasher steam.
• A commercial kitchen screen is sealed against grease and heat, and costs more.
• A bump bar (a small keypad) lets chefs bump orders with wet or gloved hands.

Worked example: is a KDS worth it for a Friday-night takeaway?

A takeaway does 180 orders on a Friday. Two orders a night go wrong because a ticket was lost or misread. Each remake costs about £12 in food and a refund.

• Cost of errors: 2 × £12 × 52 Fridays = £1,248 a year.
• One SumUp kitchen screen: £19 × 12 = £228 a year in software, plus a tablet.

If a KDS fixes even half of those errors, it pays for itself. If you rarely lose a ticket, keep the printer. (The figures are illustrative. Use your own.)

Do you need a KDS? Five signs

You probably need one if:

• Tickets go missing or get splashed on busy nights.
• You run two or more stations (grill, fryer, pizza oven, bar).
• Online, QR and app orders arrive faster than the printer can keep up.
• You want ticket-time reports to fix slow dishes.
• You run a dark kitchen with several brands from one kitchen.

You probably don't if you have one cook, one station and fewer than about 100 orders a day.

KDS for takeaways and multi-channel kitchens

The real problem for many UK takeaways is not paper. It is too many tablets. Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats, your website and the phone all compete for attention.

There are two ways to fix it:

1. One system for everything. A full EPOS with a KDS and a delivery-app integration puts every order on one screen. It costs more and usually comes with a contract. See EPOS for takeaways.
2. Fewer channels. Move regulars from the apps to your own commission-free online ordering and WhatsApp ordering. Fewer app tablets, lower commission, and one queue for your direct orders.

Where Menuthere fits

Menuthere does not have a dedicated KDS screen. It sends every direct order to your kitchen in two ways:

• Ringing alerts. The partner app on Android, iPhone or a Windows counter PC keeps ringing until someone presses Accept. See order notifications.
• Kitchen tickets. When you accept an order, a kitchen ticket can print by itself on any printer your PC or browser can print to. Auto-print needs the dashboard open in a browser on that device, or the Windows app. It shows the table or order type, dishes, quantities and notes, with no prices. Extra items from a second round are marked "(ADDED)". See kitchen printing.
• Separate printers for food and drinks. Food tickets can print in the kitchen and drinks tickets at the bar.

Orders from your website, QR table ordering and WhatsApp all land in one live Orders screen with clear statuses: Pending, Accepted, Food Ready, Dispatched and Completed. You can keep a tablet at the pass and move each order to Food Ready from there. Statuses change for the whole order, not dish by dish, so it isn't a KDS with item bumping.

What Menuthere doesn't do:

• No station routing to separate screens. Printing splits food and drinks between a kitchen printer and a bar printer.
• No ticket timers or bump bars.
• No Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats orders on the same screen.

Kitchen tickets and order alerts are included on every plan, including Free. If you need a full KDS later, you can run Menuthere alongside an EPOS that has one.

test ringing alerts and kitchen tickets on your next service.

Create your free ordering page

How to set up a KDS: a quick checklist

1. Map your stations. List which dishes go where.
2. Check your Wi-Fi in the kitchen. Metal and tiles block signals.
3. Choose the screen. A commercial screen near heat, a tablet elsewhere.
4. Mount it at eye level, away from steam and splashes.
5. Set ticket-time targets for each order type, such as 12 minutes for collection.
6. Keep a printer as backup for internet or power cuts.
7. Train the team on bumping and recalls before a quiet lunch, not a Friday night.