BOSAppsTaking BOSApps mobile with a KDS from scratch
How ZeroHour Enhanced BOSApps' Restaurant Tech with Advanced KDS-POS Integration"“...Right from the start, ZeroHour showcased exceptional professionalism and dedication to our project's success.I highly recommend ZeroHour for their expertise, reliability, and unwavering commitment to client satisfaction”
Our collaboration with BOSApps continues after the last successful build and we continue to grow its ecosystem of apps.
This time, our mission was to help the restaurant kitchens improve how they take their orders.
We set out to build a nifty tablet app that talks to kitchen staff and takes orders like a champ, blending a Kitchen Display System (KDS) and a Point of Sale (POS) into one slick tool.
The Challenge: Streamline the order-taking process
Kitchens are hectic, orders fly fast, and no one has time for tech that lags.
Especially when it involves one of our least favourite types of hardware that exists on the planet - printers.
They always throw tantrums.
BOSApps was offering the kitchen staff a basic web-based KDS setup to work with a thermal printer which was printing out the orders.
The process was meant to be simple - the order comes in the KDS, the kitchen staff accepts it, and the order gets printed on a kitchen note which the staff can follow.
The main headache was ensuring smooth communication between the web-based KDS and the notoriously temperamental thermal printers.
This meant delayed orders stuck in the digital limbo.
The Solution: Everything at the tap-of-a-button
BOSApp wanted to go full mobile and offer a simple and smooth experience with an always-on display or tablet.
We cooked up a React Native app designed to thrive on tablets right where culinary action happens.
Our first batch focused on getting the KDS part just right, making sure those orders were printed without a hitch. The app-printer communication was a paramount feature.
Next batch was focused on improving the overall UX and making the operation and flow as smooth as possible, keeping required taps to a minimum, a crucial aspect in a high-pressure environment.
App’s Tasty Features:
- Orders on Display: See what’s cooking with real-time updates on orders, complete with all the tasty details like what’s in the dish, who ordered it, and how much they’re paying.
- Ding, You’ve Got an Order: Notifications pop up the moment a new order lands, so there’s no Missing a beat (or a meal).
- Tap, Print, Done: A simple tap sends the order to the printer, updates the order status, and out comes the receipt - easy-peasy.
- Printer-Friendly Setup: Since printers can be picky, we added a nifty setup wizard that scans for printers and connects them in just two steps. No fuss, no muss.
Implementation and Results
To mimic the entire flow of a kitchen backend (and to properly test the printer connection) we got our own thermal printer before jumping into create mode.
Again, thermal printers are a special kind of printer species. The challenge wasn't only to find, connect and communicate with these printers on a network.
Getting to grips with 'printer slang' felt like deciphering an ancient code — but it was crucial for ensuring our app could 'talk' to any printer in the kitchen.
Our focus was on creating a simple and intuitive user interface to eliminate any learning curve for the kitchen staff.
This MVP is currently being field-tested across BOSApps's range of restaurant businesses, allowing us to gather real-time feedback and make iterative improvements.
We aim to reduce order processing times by 33% and significantly decrease operational errors once the app is fully deployed.
A few words from Jon, founder of BOSApps
Conclusion
This second project with BOSApps has been a great mix of challenging, technical, creative, and novelty.
It helped ZeroHour show off again how it nails it when it comes to whipping up custom tech solutions.
We're pumped to keep rolling out more features and help BOSApps keep those restaurant operations running smoothly.