Receipts and printers
What this is for
Two related jobs: connecting the printers, and deciding what they print.
Adding a printer
Go to Settings › Printers and select Add Printer.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Printer Name | Something you'll recognise — "Kitchen — Grill", "Front Till". |
| Printer Type | Network Printer or USB Printer. |
| IP Address / Port | Network printers. Ask whoever set up your network, or read it off the printer's own test page. |
| Printer Name (share) | USB printers, via the desktop printing app. |
| Is Thermal | Thermal receipt printer or a regular one. |
| Print Format | Thermal 56mm, Thermal 80mm or Thermal 112mm — the paper width. |
| Characters Per Line | How many characters fit. Match your paper. |
| Printing Choice | Browser Popup Print or Direct Print. |
| Print Type | Image or PDF. Image is faster. |
| Is Default | The one used when nothing else is specified. |
Then say what the printer is for:
- Select Kitchen — which kitchens' tickets it prints. See Kitchen tickets.
- Select POS Terminal — which till's receipts it prints.
A printer with no assignment prints nothing. That's the most common setup mistake.
Browser popup vs direct print
Browser Popup Print opens the browser's print dialogue. It works anywhere with no extra software, but someone has to confirm each print, and pop-ups must be allowed for the site.
Direct Print sends straight to the printer with no dialogue. It's what you want in a kitchen — nobody is tapping "OK" with their hands full. Network printers do this over the network; USB printers need the desktop printing app running on the machine they're plugged into.
Paper width
Get this right or every receipt looks wrong:
| Width | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 56 mm | Small handheld printers. Tight — keep item names short. |
| 80 mm | The standard receipt printer. Start here. |
| 112 mm | Wide. Roomy tickets. |
Characters Per Line must match the paper. Too high and lines wrap badly; too low and you waste half the roll.
Cash drawer
Open Cash Drawer When Printing Invoice pops the drawer when a receipt prints — for drawers wired to the printer, which is how nearly all of them are.
What goes on a receipt
Under Settings › Receipt, switch on what you need:
Your identity
- Restaurant logo
- Restaurant name
- Branch name
- Branch address
The order
- Table number
- Waiter
- Total guests
- Order type
The customer
- Customer name
- Customer phone
- Customer address
Money and compliance
- Tax breakdown
- Restaurant tax details
- CR number
- VAT number
- Payment details
- Payment status
Extras
- Payment QR code — for guests paying by scanning.
- Receipt languages — print in more than one language where you need to.
Deciding what to include
Start from what a receipt is for: proof of purchase, a record for the guest, and whatever your tax authority requires.
- Tax numbers and tax breakdown — turn on if your jurisdiction requires them. Check locally rather than guessing.
- Table number and waiter — genuinely useful when a guest returns with a query.
- Customer address — delivery only. Leave it off for dine-in; nobody wants their address printed at a restaurant table.
- Everything else — each line is paper and clutter. Include it if someone reads it.
A shorter receipt is a better receipt, once the legal minimum is met.
Printing a receipt
At payment, or afterwards from the order. For split bills you're asked which receipts to print — see Split, merge and hold.
When nothing prints
Work down this list in order:
- Is the printer on, connected, and loaded with paper? It usually is this.
- Does Settings › Printers show it online? A printer showing offline is a network or power problem, not a Restodesk one.
- Is it assigned? A printer with no kitchen and no terminal has nothing to print.
- Using browser popup printing? Allow pop-ups for the site.
- USB printer? The desktop printing app must be running on the machine it's plugged into.
- Right kitchen? A ticket routed to a kitchen whose printer is elsewhere prints elsewhere. Check the item's kitchen assignment.
- Is the paper width right? Output that prints but looks mangled is a format problem, not a connection problem.
Good to know
- Printers are per branch.
- One printer can serve several kitchens; a kitchen can have only one printer.
- Test after any change. A printer that worked last month and hasn't been used since is not evidence.
- The kitchen screen can remove printers from the kitchen entirely.