What is a KOT, and why your kitchen needs one

If you have ever heard a waiter shout an order into the kitchen and then seen the wrong dish come out, you already know why KOTs exist. A KOT, or kitchen order ticket, is a small printed slip that tells the kitchen exactly what to cook, for which table, and in what quantity.

What a KOT looks like

A good KOT is short and easy to read from a distance. It usually shows:

• The KOT number, so the kitchen and counter can talk about the same ticket ("KOT 14 is ready")
• The table or order number for takeaway and delivery
• Each item and quantity, in big print
• Notes such as "less spicy", "no onion" or "Jain"
• The time and the name of the person who took the order

It does not show prices. The kitchen does not need them, and a clean ticket is faster to read.

Why paper and shouting do not work

On a quiet afternoon, anything works. On a Saturday night with every table full, spoken orders and handwritten chits cause three problems:

• Missed items. One naan out of four is forgotten, the guest waits, the table gets cold.
• Wrong items. "Paneer tikka" becomes "paneer tikka masala". Someone pays for the mistake.
• Unbilled food. An item is cooked and served but never makes it onto the bill. This one costs real money, every day, and nobody notices.

How a KOT flows in billing software

With restaurant billing software, the waiter or cashier adds items to the table's order and presses Send KOT. The KOT prints on the kitchen printer straight away. Later, when the guest asks for the bill, every item from every KOT is already on it. Nothing is typed twice, so nothing is forgotten.

If the table orders more, a second KOT goes to the kitchen with only the new items. The bill still has everything.

Cancelled items: the cancel KOT

Sometimes a guest changes their mind after the order has gone to the kitchen. In a careful system, removing an item that was already sent is not a quiet delete. It needs a reason and a manager's approval, and it prints a cancel KOT so the kitchen stops cooking it.

This matters because "removed after the KOT" is the most common way food leaks out of a restaurant without being paid for. When every removal has a reason, an approval and a record, it happens far less.

One kitchen printer or two?

Most small restaurants need just one thermal printer in the kitchen for KOTs and one at the counter for bills. Bigger kitchens sometimes split KOTs, for example one printer for the tandoor and one for the main kitchen. Start simple: one kitchen printer is enough for most places.

KOTs with more than one device

If waiters take orders on a phone while the counter uses a PC, each device sends its own items to the kitchen. The KOT numbers make it clear which ticket came from where, so nothing is cooked twice.

How DeviPOS handles KOTs

• Press Send KOT (or F8 on the keyboard) and the KOT prints on the kitchen printer
• New items on the same table go out as a new KOT; the bill always has everything
• Removing a sent item needs a reason and a manager PIN, and prints a cancel KOT
• If the kitchen printer is off, DeviPOS keeps the KOT and tries again
• An Android phone can take orders at the table and send its own KOTs

See how it works for restaurants and takeaway counters, or book a free demo.