How Can I Optimize My Restaurant POS System With Kitchen Printer Technology?

Using a restaurant POS system with kitchen printer capability should make the lives of your staff easier, but sometimes it makes things harder. Issues ranging from technical difficulties, poor integration, or improper training could affect how smoothly the ordering process runs in your kitchen. Follow these steps to optimize the integration of your restaurant POS software and kitchen printer technology.

Step 1: Ensure Printer Compatibility With POS Software

Too often, kitchen printing hardware or POS software are purchased separately or without following their respective compatibility guidelines often resulting in poor or limited functionality. 

Resolving any potential compatibility issues between a POS solution and your kitchen printers are best handled by a POS partner who will have already tested multiple hardware options with their software. For kitchen printer compatibility, this will mean that a POS software provider will have a concise list of kitchen printers that are certified for use with the POS systems they sell.

Step 2: Determine Appropriate Maintenance and Support

A top POS solution provider will not just supply the list of compatible printers but will offer you details of how the hardware was certified for each feature in its POS software.

Hardware and software support should be provided by one party, streamlining the support process and offering you a maintenance plan that supports the entire business. This ensures that your entire POS system and kitchen printer are properly supported and maintained throughout its lifecycle.

Step 3: Configure the Flow of Ordering Data

With all of the proper POS tools now at your fingertips, the time has come to establish how information will be routed to your kitchen printers. To determine the way information flows, you must first develop an ordering strategy. 

A detail-oriented POS provider will guide you through this process by helping you align ordering and other business processes to the POS technology. This white-glove level of assistance will keep your ordering organized since everything will go through one hub.

Step 4: Use Kitchen Display Technology to Digitize Printers

The kitchen display system (KDS) is the last piece of the puzzle when optimizing your POS and kitchen printer technology. To put it simply, the KDS is a digital version of the kitchen printer that connects directly to POS software. Using a KDS instead of a physical kitchen printer can yield benefits that include faster order processing and reclaiming valuable kitchen real estate.

An integrated KDS will help to improve efficiency and accuracy of how orders are filled by allowing employees to remain in one place and eliminating errors caused by poor penmanship. Also, orders appearing on the screen in front of line cooks helps better manage inventory by reducing the guesswork when making each dish.

Integrate Your Restaurant POS System with Kitchen Printer Technology

The kitchen printer is a great POS tool, but like anything, it must first be properly integrated. When making technology choices, the best decision is the one in which a business savvy POS partner can recommend and implement all elements of your POS platform. This reduces costs, enhances support, and adds new efficiencies which will help build up your reputation and profit margins.

Adding talech as a partner to your restaurant POS system can help integrate your kitchen printer. We bring years of restaurant business experience to the planning table, ensuring that the final POS solution you implement will propel sales and efficiency into everything you do.