KDS tickets order

[kaijukitchenvt]

Hi there. We are a takeout only restaurant and we have had to make multiple workarounds to get Square to resemble a functional POS. We recently downloaded the KDS app and changed our printers, set up a kiosk, and still we have issues. Primarily, if customers are to be allowed to order ahead, they have to be able to order a WEEK ahead (the settings in fulfillment say they can choose a time in my pickup hours but this option IS NOT FUNCTIONAL—PLEASE FIX!— the only way they can actually choose their time is if I select “allow customer to schedule their time - minimum 7 days”) Since 5his had happened, I want to see the tickets and print them, but they only print at the prep time, even if there are orders for days in advance. I changed the setting to show when order created, and have tickets for Friday mixed with tickets for today. I can’t see how to change the tickets on the KDS to reflect pickup time, just order time. The timers also are for order date not pickup time and that seems like a huge flaw, even when it’s set to organize by pickup time, it doesn’t.  Now I have an order up first for today at 6pm ahead of an order for 12 pm because it came in first. I want to be able to move tickets around on the KDS and I can’t. I added an order myself that should have gone between the two and didn’t. The settings are currently organize by pickup time and view 1 day in advance. Any help with this app would be greatly appreciated! Does anyone use the KDS for online orders for the future and have any luck? Thanks

[Donnie-M]

@kaijukitchenvt Had similar issue.  We use a 10 minute prep time on tickets and we went to "view all settings"

Orders

Show online orders based on pickup time

tickets will appear 15 minutes before pickup time

This will cause the kds to pop the ticket up right before it prints out for the kitchen.

If you want to see the orders coming in early and print the tickets you can do this from the order manager in the point of sale and you can see the upcoming orders.

Square's KDS is still growing and is designed more towards a paperless kitchen.  I am using it, but if you want the functionality you are looking for I would look in the app marketplace at Fresh KDS.  It has the ability to take the digital order ticket and hold it for the future and set when the ticket will pop up again.

[kaijukitchenvt]

Thanks!!  I changed the timing to 2 hours so we can see it but then we don't have the ability to sort the tickets, which I think is so weird!  We have a ticket come in for an in-person order and it's AFTER the order for 20 minutes from now.  So maybe I need to set it back to 15.... Or look into Fresh KDS.  Thanks so much for the helpful feedback!!

[kaijukitchenvt]

Well, I tried Fresh KDS and it looks really nice, but the printer we use (Star) doesn't connect to Fresh!  Back to the drawing board.  At least it was a week free!  I think we will just need to change how we do it and be okay with that 😆  I REALLY want new orders to actually be organized by pickup time, not order time.  The most frustrating thing about Square has been that the settings SAY that they will do something, but they don't actually.  For example, the fulfillment hours: it SAYS that I can have a customer choose a time to pick up within my hours BUT that doesn't work unless I also select "allow customers to schedule (7 days minimum)"  Now on the KDS I've selected "sort by order time" and "sort by pickup time" and they both are the same: order time.  Ugh.  I also wish the timers were by pickup time not order, that's pointless to us.  I hear that we will have to change our settings, but it's just obnoxious, you know?  Thanks again for your time! 

[Donnie-M]

@kaijukitchenvt When are you wanting to the ticket to print?