LS Central 27.0: what’s new for restaurants, self-service, and KDS

LS central 27.0, which was released October 14th, 2025, brings a range of improvements for restaurants, from front-of-house efficiency to back-of-house communication.

With improvements to the Order Host, Web KDS, self-service kiosks, and more, these updates help your team deliver exceptional service with less effort and greater accuracy.

LS Central for restaurants

Here’s a look at the latest updates and improvements designed to make daily operations faster, smoother, and more efficient for your team.

Smarter order management in the Order Host

The Order Host now displays the FAB order list, which shows both paid and unpaid transactions in one view. A new FAB-PRINTRECEIPT command lets staff print receipts directly from this list — printing a copy for paid orders or a pre-receipt for unpaid ones.

For restaurants handling both POS and web orders, the SHOW_TAKEOUT_PANEL command now opens the Order Host panel directly from the same POS terminal used for taking orders.

These enhancements simplify order handling, reduce the number of steps staff need to take, and help teams serve guests faster and more consistently.

Easier tip setup and collection

You can now configure tip percentages directly from the Hospitality Type card, allowing up to three suggested percentages, which can also be printed on pre-receipts and card pre-authorization merchant receipts. You can also choose whether tips include tax in the calculation.

A new POS popup makes capturing tips simple, with quick entry buttons for suggested amounts and options to enter either a tip or a total amount. The TIPS_SUGGESTIONS command can even be set to run before payment to encourage consistent tip entry.

With these updates, you can better manage tips, reduce manual entry errors, and improve the overall guest checkout experience.

Faster table service setup

Restaurants can now configure simple casual dining table openings, so clicking a table can automatically open the POS or seat guests — skipping the usual free table pop-up. This is managed through the Hospitality Service Flow set-up, saving time and helping staff focus on guests rather than screens.

More flexibility for self-service kiosks

The Self-Service Kiosk now offers greater design flexibility. You can customize button colors, fonts, and other interface elements — all without editing the web template.

Modifiers have also been enhanced. Items that use unit-of-measure selections can now have modifiers applied, making order customization smoother for guests.

Web Kitchen Display System enhancements

Several updates have been introduced to make kitchen operations more efficient and organized:

• Media panel for ads – Display images, slideshows, or videos on customer-facing screens. The display automatically maximizes when no orders are active — a great way to promote specials or partner ads.
• Preparation instructions – Kitchen staff can now view item instructions, including images, ingredients, and recipes, directly on the station screen. This ensures every dish is prepared correctly and consistently.
• Separate routing for item modifiers – Modifiers or sides can now be sent to a different prep station from the main item, helping kitchens divide tasks more efficiently.
• Customizable buttons and layouts – Add Font Awesome icons to buttons, rearrange operations in a grid layout, and place custom buttons (like reload or toggle) where they’re most useful. A new full-screen button also makes it easy to switch to full-screen mode in browsers.

Instantly spot order types with content-based styling

You can now apply dynamic styling to fields in the Kitchen Content profiles based on their content. For example, the Sales Type shown in the chit header can automatically change color depending on whether the order is eat-in or takeaway. This visual distinction helps kitchen staff instantly recognize order types, improving clarity, reducing errors, and speeding up food preparation.

Easier control for grouped kitchen stations

You can now turn individual kitchen stations on or off within a group when using load balancing in the Web KDS.

When the station is turned off:

• Any existing items at that station stay there and can still be finalized.
• New items won’t be sent to that station until they’re turned back on.

A new button operation has also been added in the operation profile setup, so you can easily switch stations on or off whenever needed.

To read the full release notes, visit the LS Central Help: https://help.lscentral.lsretail.com/Content/Release-Notes-LS-Central/LS-Central-27-0-Release-Notes.htm