At a takeaway counter, payment comes first and preparation second. To get the right order to the right guest, every order needs a number, and the kitchen needs to know what to make in which order. This guide shows how to run a counter without shouting and mix-ups using the pickup number, kitchen tickets or the order monitor.
The routine
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The guest orders at the counter; you book and take payment right away.
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The guest's invoice carries the pickup number, e.g. KA00042.
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The kitchen receives the order with the same number, as a ticket or on the order monitor.
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When the order is ready, staff call the number and hand it out.
Step 1: Take payment at the counter
Payment is taken directly, without a table. Put the best sellers on the first page of the order screen and group the rest into categories. If the guest chooses extras or sauces, the Sales Point asks for them right when booking via article options.
If you sell for takeaway and for eat-in, enable both consumption types on the Sales Point, see Eat in or take away.
Step 2: Enable the pickup number
With the pickup number, the Sales Point gives every counter order a number that appears on the invoice in the Pickup block and in large print on the kitchen ticket; the order monitor shows it as the order's label. You enable the pickup number in the bessa Manager under Locations → Sales Points → Sales Point → Display tab with the Generate pickup number checkbox. Details in Pickup number on the receipt.
The numbers keep running and don't start at 1 every day. Call out the last two or three digits, e.g. "42".
Step 3: Kitchen ticket or order monitor
With kitchen tickets: because payment at the counter is taken without a table, the Sales Point only prints the kitchen ticket with the Automatically print order setting on the invoice printer. Route food to the kitchen printer via a printing group, see Plan the order flow. Drinks you hand out at the counter yourself don't need a ticket: give their article group no printing group and set the order ticket printer role on this Sales Point to Do not print.
With the order monitor: once several orders run at the same time, a screen in the kitchen is clearer than paper:
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Orders appear in the order they come in; waiting ones turn yellow and red after the times you set.
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The kitchen moves an order to Done with one tap; with your own steps such as "In preparation" the whole team sees what is being worked on.
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When a step is advanced, the monitor can print to a printing group, e.g. a hand-out ticket at the counter.
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If an article runs out, the kitchen blocks it on the monitor; it can then no longer be booked.
Setup in Order monitors, operation in Order monitor.
Several stations, such as grill and fryer, each get their own monitor with the matching article groups. Each monitor needs its own licence.
Step 4: Several Sales Points at the counter
If two people take payment at peak times, set up the second Sales Point as a Sub-Terminal. Pickup numbers and the order monitor then work for both, see Wireless ordering on Sub-Terminals.
Frequently asked questions
Do orders from the self-service kiosk get a number too? Yes. How kiosk orders reach the kitchen is described in Self-service kiosk next to the Sales Point.
Can the pickup number start at 1 every day? No. The number is formed from the Sales Point's running order number.
Does the order monitor work without internet? Yes. It only needs the local network to the Sales Point.