Kaha

Most mornings I sit in the same café in Davao, and every day I watched the cashier fight the POS. Kaha is the one I’d want behind that counter.

Year

2026

Role

Solo designer

Platform

Tablet

Status

Concept

Why I made it

At my usual café, adding one iced latte took four screens while the line grew. The owner only checked her sales at night, on a laptop at home. I wanted to give both of them an easier day.

What I did

I designed it end to end and built a working prototype for the tablet at the counter: ordering, paying, tables, the kitchen board and closing the day.

The aim

Fewer taps on every order, and today’s sales one tap away for the owner.

One tap per dish

Dishes sit on the left with their photos, the order on the right. One tap adds a dish. Hold it to set how many are left or mark it sold out. The order shows what has gone to the kitchen and bar and what hasn’t, so nobody has to shout across the room.

Recorded from the prototype: in Kaha’s register a Spanish Latte, Berry Pancakes and a second Spanish Latte are tapped into Table 4’s order, the total goes from ₱985 to ₱1,565, then the five new items are sent to the kitchen and bar — Fig. 1
Three dishes into Table 4’s order, then Send
Recorded from the prototype

Iced Latte’s options: size, milk, sugar and add-ons, with Add to order for ₱160 — Fig. 2
Size, milk, sugar and add-ons, priced as you pick

Holding Iced Mocha opens its stock: 2 left today, a warning at 3, Sold out and Hide from menu — Fig. 3
Hold a dish to set what’s left

The discount everyone gets wrong

Senior and PWD discounts come up every day here, and shared bills make them hard. Kaha takes off the 20% and the VAT for the guest with the ID, even when the bill is split three ways. If the internet drops, cash and card keep working, and the tablet counts what it has saved.

The senior discount for one guest of three: 20% off, VAT removed, and what she pays for her share — Fig. 4
A senior pays one of three shares

Charging with no internet: QR Ph, GCash and Maya greyed out, cash still open, and 14 saved shown on the side — Fig. 5
No internet, still selling

Tables and orders

The floor plan shows how long each table has waited and what it’s waiting for. Seat a group of six and it shows which two tables to push together. Dine-in, take-out, Grab and foodpanda orders move from New to Making to Ready on one board.

The floor plan seating six people, with tables 3 and 6 outlined and a tag saying push 3 and 6 together for 6 seats — Fig. 6
Six people: push 3 and 6 together

The orders board: Grab, foodpanda, table and take-out orders in New, Making and Ready columns — Fig. 7
Grab, foodpanda and the tables on one board

Closing the day

Closing used to mean a calculator and a notebook. Today shows the sales, how people paid, the best sellers and what is running low. At closing, the cashier counts the drawer, by bills and coins if they like, and Kaha checks it against what should be there.

Today’s report: sales, orders paid, average order, cash in the drawer, sales by payment, best sellers, what’s running low and what’s open right now — Fig. 8
Today, as of 11:04 AM

The cashier’s menu: Andrea Reyes, cashier since 7:02 AM, with ₱19,960 expected in the drawer, Close shift and Switch staff — Fig. 9
The cashier’s menu: ₱19,960 expected in the drawer

Close shift, step one: how much cash is in the drawer, with a keypad and Count by bills and coins — Fig. 10
Close shift: count the drawer

Light first

I started with five screens in three directions and chose a dark one first. Then I held the tablet up in a bright café at noon, moved Kaha to light, and kept dark for the evening.

The same register in dark: the café menu with photos and Table 4’s order on near-black panels — Fig. 11
The same register in dark

More work

Granted

Neighbours chip in to grant each other’s wishes.

Want one
like this?

Tell me what you’re building. I’ll tell you how I’d design, build and ship it.

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