The TimeWorks Kitchen Display System replaces noisy kitchen printers with a bright colour screen that shows orders the moment they are placed at the front counter. Kitchen staff can bump completed items, prioritise by ticket age, and communicate prep status back to the front of house. South African restaurants using KDS report a measurable reduction in ticket errors and faster average service times.
Every product TimeWorks supplies is configured and tested for the specific demands of South African trading conditions, including load shedding resilience, rand pricing, and SARS compliance.
Thermal paper, ink ribbons, and printer maintenance add up across a busy South African restaurant. KDS removes those recurring costs entirely. The display is designed for a 5-year service life with no consumables required, paying for itself quickly in a high-volume kitchen environment.
Colour-coded ticket ages alert kitchen staff when orders are running behind, prompting immediate action. South African restaurants using KDS report a reduction in average ticket times, translating to more covers per service and higher revenue per seat without expanding the dining room.
TimeWorks KDS stores orders locally and reconnects to the POS server automatically when network or power is restored. This means kitchen staff never lose an active order during load shedding, and the system resumes exactly where it left off without manual re-entry.
The Kitchen Display System works directly with TimeWorks POS across these industry sectors. Click through to see full industry-specific solutions.
The TimeWorks KDS connects to the main POS server via your existing LAN or Wi-Fi network. Orders placed at any front-of-house terminal are transmitted to the KDS instantly over the network. No proprietary cabling is required. TimeWorks configures routing rules so specific order categories go to specific kitchen stations. For example, hot meals route to the grill display and drinks route to the bar display. This is configured during the initial installation and can be adjusted as your menu or layout changes.
Yes, in most restaurant configurations the KDS fully replaces kitchen printers. A typical setup uses one 22-inch screen at the main hot station and a smaller 15-inch screen at the bar or cold prep area. TimeWorks recommends keeping one printer as a backup for emergency use during system maintenance windows. The KDS also provides a printed chit option if your kitchen team prefers a physical reference for complex orders. This hybrid approach is popular with fine dining restaurants handling elaborate plating requirements.
The TimeWorks KDS is designed to recover gracefully from power interruptions common with South African load shedding schedules. Orders placed before the outage are stored in the local queue on the KDS unit and re-displayed when power returns. TimeWorks also offers a UPS pairing option that keeps both the POS server and KDS running for 2 to 3 hours during outages, allowing kitchens to continue operating through most standard 2-hour load shedding blocks without any interruption to service.
TimeWorks will assess your current setup, recommend the right configuration, and handle full installation and staff training. No guesswork, no wasted spend.