Glossary

Café and restaurant POS glossary

Short definitions of the terms you meet when choosing or running a café or restaurant POS. Each entry has an example and explains how KalasOS handles it.

Point of sale (POS): A point of sale (POS) system is the software, and sometimes hardware, a business uses to take orders, record payments and keep sales records.
Kitchen display system (KDS): A kitchen display system (KDS) is a screen in the kitchen that shows incoming orders and lets cooks mark each one as it is prepared, in place of paper tickets.
Kitchen order ticket (KOT): A kitchen order ticket (KOT) is a printed or on-screen slip that tells the kitchen which items to prepare for an order, and for which table or customer.
Self-order kiosk: A self-order kiosk is a screen where guests browse the menu and place their own order, without waiting for a cashier or waiter.
Table management: Table management is how a restaurant keeps track of its tables: which are free, which are occupied, and what each table has ordered and still owes.
Tab (open check): A tab is an open bill that collects everything a table or guest orders during a visit, paid once at the end instead of after each order.
Modifiers: Modifiers are changes a guest makes to a menu item, such as less spice, no onion or oat milk, recorded with the item so the kitchen prepares it right.