Restaurant KOT explained — from order to GST bill

What is a KOT (Kitchen Order Ticket)?

A Kitchen Order Ticket (KOT) is a printed or digital slip that travels from the front of house to the kitchen the moment a customer places an order. It lists every dish ordered, the quantity of each item, the table number (or token for takeaway), and any special preparation instructions — no paneer, extra spicy, half portion, and so on.

The KOT is an internal document. It never shows prices. It is not given to the customer. Its sole purpose is to tell the kitchen exactly what to cook and in what quantities, so that no dish is forgotten or duplicated. The customer receives a separate, priced invoice (the bill) when they are ready to pay.

Why restaurants use KOTs

In a busy restaurant without a KOT system, orders are communicated verbally or written on notepad paper that can be misread or lost. Common problems:

• A dish is forgotten because the waiter's handwriting was unclear
• The kitchen prepares a dish twice because two waiters relayed the same order
• A customer waits 30 minutes because the order slip fell behind the counter
• Billing is wrong because the waiter forgot to record an add-on order

A KOT system eliminates these problems. Every order is logged digitally, printed immediately on the kitchen printer, and tracked against the table until the bill is settled. The kitchen and front of house share one source of truth.

The dine-in KOT flow — step by step

1. Customer is seated and orders

Once a customer sits at a table, the serving staff (or the billing counter person) opens BillRaja's restaurant workspace, taps the table on the table map, and begins adding dishes. Dishes are listed from the product catalogue — the same catalogue that powers the public QR menu.

2. KOT is sent to the kitchen

Once all ordered items are added, the staff taps Send KOT. BillRaja does two things simultaneously:

• Saves the order against the table number in the app
• Prints the KOT on the kitchen thermal printer — dish names, quantities, table number, and any special instructions

The kitchen team picks up the printed KOT and begins preparing the order. The table is now marked as occupied with an open order in the app.

3. Additional items (second KOT)

If the customer orders more dishes after the first round — a second serving of bread, a dessert, an extra beverage — the staff taps the same table and adds the new items. When they send the KOT again, only the new items are printed. The kitchen does not see the full order again, just the additions. This prevents the kitchen from re-preparing items already in progress.

BillRaja accumulates all KOTs against the table internally. The running order total is always visible to the billing staff.

4. Generating the final GST bill

When the customer asks for the bill, the staff opens the table, reviews the full order summary, and taps Generate Bill. BillRaja:

• Consolidates all KOTs for the table into a single order
• Calculates subtotals, applies GST (typically 5% for non-AC restaurants, 18% for AC restaurants that serve alcohol), and computes the total
• Generates a GST-compliant invoice with a sequential BR-YYYY-NNNNN number, CGST + SGST or IGST breakdown, and the restaurant's GSTIN
• Prints the bill on a receipt printer and optionally sends it as a PDF over WhatsApp

Once payment is recorded, the table is marked as free and appears available on the table map for the next customer.

Takeaway KOT flow

Takeaway orders use the same KOT system with one difference: instead of a table number, the KOT carries a token number or the customer's name. The kitchen uses this to identify the order when it is ready.

The billing flow is the same: items are added, a KOT is sent to the kitchen, and a GST invoice is generated when payment is collected — either before the food is prepared (common for takeaway) or on pickup.

KOT vs. bill — a quick comparison

Managing KOTs for a busy service period

During peak hours — lunch rush, Friday dinner — a restaurant with 20 tables may have dozens of open KOTs in progress simultaneously. BillRaja's table map view gives you the status at a glance:

• Free tables — shown in green, available for seating
• Occupied with open KOT — order has been placed, food in progress
• Bill requested — customer has asked for the check, waiting for payment

Managers can see which tables have been waiting a long time and follow up with the kitchen if needed.

From KOT to GSTR reports

Every bill generated from a KOT in BillRaja is a proper GST invoice. BillRaja aggregates these bills into GSTR-3B-ready monthly reports, showing total taxable turnover, total CGST, total SGST, and total IGST for the period. At month end you hand this report to your accountant or use it to file directly — no separate accounting software needed for the tax summary.

Customers who need a copy of their restaurant bill for reimbursement or GST records can retrieve it themselves through the customer bill portal using their phone number — no repeat visit to the restaurant required.