Settings — Kitchen Display Settings (KDS)

Feature Overview

Kitchen Display Settings gives you precise control over how tickets appear and behave on your Kitchen Display System screens. The KDS is the digital screen in your kitchen (and optionally bar or expo station) that shows incoming orders in real time. Fine-tuning these settings improves kitchen efficiency, reduces missed items, and ensures your team sees information in the format that works best for their workflow.

How It Affects the System

• All changes in this section take effect on KDS screens the next time they refresh or reload — most apply within seconds.
• Ticket Fulfillment Flow determines the sequence of steps a ticket goes through from creation to completion (e.g., whether tickets must be acknowledged before being marked done).
• Ticket Stacking controls whether multiple items on the same ticket are stacked together or shown as individual lines.
• Check Header Display configures what information appears at the top of each ticket (table number, server name, order mode, time, etc.).
• Repeat Details in Header Display controls whether header information is repeated on continuation screens for long tickets.
• Ticket Color Status sets how ticket colors change to reflect urgency — such as turning yellow after a set number of minutes and red after longer.
• KDS Mode determines the layout style of the KDS (e.g., standard ticket view vs. summary view).
• Ticket Course enables course-based firing — tickets display items by course so the kitchen prepares appetizers before entrees automatically.
• Ticket Font Size sets the text size on KDS screens to accommodate different screen sizes and viewing distances.
• Ticket Double Confirmation requires kitchen staff to confirm completion twice before a ticket is marked as done, reducing accidental dismissals.
• Allow Complete Entire controls whether staff can mark an entire ticket complete with a single action, or must confirm each item individually.
• Bins Configuration manages prep station assignments — which KDS screen (bin) receives which category of items.
• KDS Configuration shows and manages the KDS devices registered to your restaurant and their connection status.
• Additional Settings contains supplemental KDS behavior options.
• KDS Settings provides broader restaurant-level KDS configuration.

Prerequisites / Requirements

• The Kitchen Display System feature must be enabled for your restaurant. If KDS is disabled, the page will display: "Kitchen Display System is disabled for this restaurant. Contact Katalyst team to enable this feature."
• Your account must have KDS manage or KDS read permissions.

Step-by-Step Guide

Accessing Kitchen Display Settings

1. Navigate to Settings > Kitchen Display Settings.
2. The Kitchen Display Settings heading confirms you are on the correct page.

Configuring Ticket Fulfillment Flow

1. Locate the Ticket Fulfillment Flow section.
2. Select the flow option that best matches your kitchen's process (the options appear as visual cards — click the one you want to activate).
3. The active option is highlighted with a blue border.

Setting Ticket Color Timers

1. In the Ticket Color Status section, set the number of minutes after which a ticket changes from its default color to yellow (warning) and then to red (urgent).
2. These thresholds help kitchen staff prioritize aging tickets at a glance.

Configuring Ticket Font Size

1. In the Ticket Font Size section, click the font size option that is most readable on your KDS screens.
2. Options appear as selectable cards. The active selection is highlighted.

Assigning Prep Station Bins

1. In the Bins Configuration section, review how menu item categories are routed to each KDS screen (bin).
2. Update bin assignments by selecting the correct KDS device for each category.
3. Changes save automatically.

Viewing Registered KDS Devices

1. In the KDS Configuration section, review the list of KDS screens registered to your restaurant.
2. Confirm each device is online and correctly identified.

Common Troubleshooting / FAQs

Q: Tickets are not appearing on the KDS screen. Verify that the KDS device is online and connected to the same network as the Katalyst system. Check the KDS Configuration section to confirm the device is registered and active. Also confirm that menu items are assigned to the correct bin in Bins Configuration — items not assigned to a bin may not route to any screen.

Q: The Kitchen Display Settings page shows "Kitchen Display System is disabled." The KDS feature must be enabled at the account level by Katalyst. Contact the Katalyst team to request activation. Once KDS is enabled and your account has KDS manage permissions, the full configuration page will become accessible.