Payments & Orders

Set up your Kitchen Display System (KDS)

Turn your Oliver POS register into a real-time Kitchen Display System (KDS) or warehouse fulfillment board. Create custom order steps, automate customer emails, and track orders from checkout to completion.

Updated May 28, 2026

Set up your Kitchen Display System (KDS)

Turn any Oliver POS register into a real-time Kitchen Display System (KDS) or warehouse fulfillment board.

The fulfillment screen acts like a digital order board for your kitchen or packing staff. Orders move from left to right through custom columns (like New, Preparing, Ready, and Complete). Best of all, the board updates instantly across all your registers without anyone needing to refresh the screen.

Here is how to set up your Kitchen Display System and customize it for your store.

Step 1: Create your order steps

You build your fulfillment pipeline directly in WordPress.

  1. In your WordPress Admin dashboard, go to Settings > Fulfilment.

  2. Turn on the fulfillment feature.

  3. Create your steps (columns). You can name them whatever fits your workflow.

  4. Pick a custom color for each step so they stand out on the register.

  5. Set a stale order alert. This is a time limit (in minutes) that highlights orders if they get stuck in one step for too long.

Note: You can set a default pipeline for your entire business, and then create custom steps for specific outlets if your locations operate differently.

Step 2: Automate customer emails

You can trigger automatic emails when an order reaches a specific step in your Kitchen Display System.

For example, you can attach a "Ready for Pickup" email template to your Ready column. The moment your kitchen or fulfillment staff drag an order into that column, Oliver POS emails the customer so they know to come to the counter.

Step 3: Automatically complete WooCommerce orders

Save your staff from doing double data entry by linking your final pipeline step to WooCommerce.

When setting up your steps, look for the Completes Order setting. Turn this on for your final column (e.g., Complete). When a staff member drags an order into this column on the register, Oliver automatically updates the WooCommerce order status to Completed.

Every time an order moves between steps, Oliver also logs a note in WooCommerce showing exactly who moved it and from which station, giving you a perfect audit trail.

Reading the display at your station

Once your pipeline is set up, your staff will see a dedicated fulfillment tab on their registers. A notification badge alerts them the moment a new order drops into the queue.

Order cards on the display give your staff everything they need to get to work:

  • Customer details: Names and order numbers.

  • Order contents: Quantities and specific item variations.

  • Custom notes: Any special requests entered by the cashier (like "no onions" or "gift wrap") show up clearly.

  • Prep instructions: If you added specific fulfillment instructions or prep times to a product in WooCommerce, they appear right on the card.

To add prep instructions to a product, just open the product in WooCommerce, click the Oliver POS tab, and enter your recipe notes, prep times, or routing categories (like "food" vs "beverage"). You can even set specific products to automatically prompt your cashiers for a note at checkout.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to refresh the screen to see new orders?
No. The fulfillment board updates automatically the moment a new order is rung in or an online order drops into WooCommerce.
Can my different store locations have different fulfillment steps?
Yes. You can set a default pipeline for your whole business, and then customize or override the steps for specific outlets.
Will my kitchen staff see special requests from customers?
Yes. Any customer notes (like 'ring the bell') or item-level notes (like 'extra cheese') appear directly on the order card on the display.
Set Up Your Kitchen Display System (KDS) | Oliver POS — Oliver POS