Kitchen Ticket
Clarity Guide
Fewer mistakes, cleaner tickets, faster kitchen.
The 5 Standards
Follow these rules and your kitchen runs cleaner from day one. For modifier setup details, see our modifiers tutorial.
Ticket Naming Standards
Set Kitchen Print Names in the Advanced tab per item — max 12 characters. Every cook reads the same abbreviation, every time.
- ✓ Use ALL CAPS for mods, Title Case for items
- ✓ Abbreviate consistently: BURG, TEND, WRAP
- ✓ Max 12 characters for print names
- ✓ Set Kitchen Print Name in item Advanced tab
- ✗ "Hamburger Sandwich" — too long, gets cut off
- ✗ Mixing abbreviation styles across items
- ✗ Relying on default item names for tickets
- ✗ Leaving Kitchen Print Name blank
Modifier Display Rules
Pre-Modifiers prefix the modifier name: NO Onion, EXTRA Cheese, SUB Fries. Red/bold formatting on KDS makes them impossible to miss.
- ✓ Pre-Modifiers prefix: "NO", "EXTRA", "SUB"
- ✓ Enable red/bold formatting on KDS for Pre-Mods
- ✓ Group: allergens first -> customizations -> sides
- ✓ Each Pre-Modifier/modifier combo tracked in reports
- ✗ Burying allergen mods below customizations
- ✗ Using nested modifiers that confuse the line
- ✗ Inconsistent mod naming across similar items
- ✗ Skipping Pre-Modifiers for common changes
Coursing for Timing
Shift4 Dine fires courses in sequence — appetizers first, entrees after clear. KDS Prep Times standardize when each item should be ready.
- ✓ Use courses: Appetizer, Entree, Dessert, Salad
- ✓ Set KDS Prep Times per item for timing
- ✓ Use Multi-Stage Fulfillment: prep -> assembly -> expo
- ✓ Course separators on tickets for visual clarity
- ✗ Firing all items at once regardless of course
- ✗ Skipping prep time configuration
- ✗ Ignoring course order during rush
- ✗ Manual timing instead of system-driven
Kitchen Routing
Each KDS station shows only its assigned items. Multi-stage routing moves tickets from grill -> assembly -> expo automatically.
- ✓ Assign items to specific KDS stations
- ✓ Configure in Manager > Settings > Hardware
- ✓ Set up multi-stage: grill -> assembly -> expo
- ✓ Configure kitchen printers as KDS backup
- ✗ Sending all items to all stations
- ✗ No backup printer if KDS goes down
- ✗ Routing modifiers to wrong stations
- ✗ Skipping station assignment for new items
Expo Verification
Expo station gets the full ticket from all stations. Bump bar clears completed orders. Order & Call Numbers unify tracking front-to-back.
- ✓ Expo sees full ticket — all items, all stations
- ✓ Bump bar to clear completed orders
- ✓ Use Order & Call Numbers for tracking
- ✓ Split view for complex kitchen layouts
- ✗ Expo missing items from secondary stations
- ✗ No final verification before window
- ✗ Skipping call numbers on busy nights
- ✗ Ignoring split view for multi-line kitchens
Shift4 Dine KDS Setup Path
Your Kitchen, Upgraded
Get the full Kitchen Ticket Clarity Guide — naming standards, modifier rules, coursing templates, and routing diagrams. Use Shift4 Dine's menu management tools to implement every standard. Fill out the form to download.
Download the Guide
Fill out a demo form to get the full guide.