In a busy kitchen, not every order needs to be prepared right away. Some should be held back until the right moment to keep food fresh, ensure proper pacing, and manage kitchen workload. With Order Holds, Fresh KDS lets you pause orders and automatically release them at the scheduled time, keeping your team focused and your screen clutter-free.

Instead of overwhelming your kitchen with future or timed orders, you can hold tickets off-screen and have them automatically appear when needed. Whether you’re managing multi-course meals, coordinating online orders, or handling peak-hour rushes, this feature ensures your team only sees the orders they need to work on right now.

Orders on hold stay in sync across all KDS screens, so every prep station stays updated. When it's time to start working on a held order, it will automatically appear on screen for fulfillment.

Key Benefits

• Keep Your KDS Screen Organized – Held orders remain hidden until they’re ready.
• ‍Reduce Confusion – Kitchen staff only see active orders, preventing early preparation mistakes.
• ‍Improve Meal Pacing – Orders are released at the right time, so food stays fresh and courses arrive as intended.
• ‍Sync Across Multiple Screens – All KDS screens update instantly when an order is released.
• ‍Automatically Hold Future Orders – For integrated POS systems, future orders are held based on pickup time and released automatically.

How It Works

1. Hold Orders Manually – Tap to place an order on hold, keeping it hidden from the active queue.
2. ‍Orders Release at the Scheduled Time – Held orders will automatically appear on the KDS screen when it's time for fulfillment.
3. ‍Sync Orders Across Screens – Released orders automatically update across all relevant KDS screens.
4. Automate Future Order Holds – For compatible POS integrations, future orders are held based on pickup time and released when they need to be prepared.

Get Started with Order Holds

Want to learn more? Check out our Help Center for step-by-step instructions:

• How to put tickets on hold.
• Syncing held orders across screens.
• Automatically holding future orders.