KitchenTools PCMS™ FAQ

These are only recommended configurations limited to issues related to operating KitchenTools PCMS™ and do not cover general hardware issues such as monitors, keyboards, etc. You may find that you can run KitchenTools PCMS™ satisfactorily with a lesser configuration. You may also find that if you have other demands on your systems that you need to put more into your hardware.

• Any computer that will run MS Windows 7 or later
• Current versions of MS Windows require more than enough RAM to run KitchenTools PCMS™
• The KitchenTools PCMS™ client side requires very little hard drive space. The machine running the actual database will require enough to install SQL Server Express and store the database itself.
• Network – 10/100 hub and cables
• Printers – for KitchenTools PCMS™ reports, any recent windows ink jet or laser printer should do nicely (not dot matrix). For labels, see http://www.seagullscientific.com/aspx/thermal_95.aspx for a list of printers supported by BarTender®.
• Printer sharing – There are various ways that your label printers can be set up in order to run from KitchenTools PCMS™. Whether or not you require additional hardware for this will depend on your needs.
• SERVER MACHINE: We highly recommend that the machine that will run the database server be configured for maximum performance. This means using the best quality, most reliable and highest limit hardware you can manage. SQL Express will support dual processors (Standard edition can use up to 4 CPUs) and up to 1GB RAM (see notes below on SQL Express). If you can manage that, we highly recommend it. Since workstations are relatively inexpensive, we also recommend that you not use the database server machine as a workstation. This can cause system resources needed by SQL Server to be used up by other applications thus decreasing performance on other workstations while accessing the database. You will need to make the final decision based on the performance you wish to achieve. Consult your hardware specialists for further recommendations including issues related to types of hardware, UPS and RAID configurations (recommended).
• We have designed most of the forms (screens) in KitchenTools PCMS™ to be run on a minimum of 17 inch monitors at a resolution of 1024x768. However, there is a lot of information built into many forms and you will find that even larger monitors set at a resolution of 1280x1024 will be easier to work with. The forms that handle Menu Item Labeling are designed so that you can use 17 inch monitors set at a resolution of 800x600 if necessary.

• In order to make use of the Menu Item Labeling features that are built into KitchenTools PCMS™, you will need to have one or more licensed copies of BarTender® Enterprise Edition installed (version 7.75 or higher).
• Windows 7 Professional or Windows 8.1 Professional (see footnote #3 below).
• Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition (or SQL Express if appropriate (see footnote #2 below)).
• High speed Internet connection to allow our staff remote access to your system. This will allow us to more quickly correct problems that may arise without the time and expense of travel. This will also enable us to email you KitchenTools PCMS™ licensing files which are need to unlock your copy of the program.

No, BarTender® Label Printing Software by Seagull Scientific is not included with your purchase of KitchenTools PCMS™. BarTender® will need to be purchased separately if you wish to use KitchenTools PCMS™ for high speed label printing. For more information about Bartender® professional label printing software from Seagull Scientific, please click here: http://www.seagullscientific.com/aspx/btw_table_of_contents.aspx.

No, KitchenTools Software, Inc. will not install hardware or network equipment or any other software except KitchenTools PCMS™, Microsoft SQL Server® Standard Edition (or SQL Express if appropriate (see footnote #2 below)). For any on site installations that we do you must have your system ready for the installation. If we have to return to your facility to complete an installation that we could not complete due to lack of equipment or equipment readiness, you will be billed for travel, lodging and installation time expenses for subsequent visits.

We will install the KitchenTools PCMS™ program (see footnote #4 below) on up to 10 workstations in the same physical location as the data server (additional workstation installations will be charged at an additional hourly rate per workstation). If necessary we will also install your own properly licensed copy of either Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition (or SQL Express if appropriate (see footnote #2 below) (the database engine required by KitchenTools PCMS™).

• SQL Express (the free, but limited feature version of Microsoft SQL Server®), which is intended for single users or small workgroup environments, is a limited/restricted edition of Microsoft SQL Server. We are able to provide and install SQL Express for you free of charge. There are some limitations as to its capabilities and features such as how much data it can store (10GB maximum data file size), the resources it can make use of (1 GB memory, 1 CPUs with up to 4 cores, etc.) and how many concurrent workloads it can maintain at one time (see https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993%28v=SQL.110%29.aspx for more information or contact Microsoft directly).
• We cannot guarantee that SQL Express will be adequate for your business. If it is not, then you will have to purchase the appropriate SQL Server licenses. These costs are not included in the purchase price of KitchenTools PCMS™. If it becomes necessary for you to obtain licensing for Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition then there are several places where you can purchase 5 licenses packs (you need one license for the server and one for each workstation running KitchenTools PCMS™).

Training on KitchenTools PCMS™ is not included in the purchase price. However, We will be happy to provide either on-site or remote training at an hourly rate. KitchenTools PCMS™ includes an extensive electronic help system. We do provide limited support.....

1. KitchenTools Software, Inc. will not install hardware or network equipment or any other software except KitchenTools PCMS™, Microsoft SQL Server® Standard Edition (or SQL Express if appropriate (see footnote #2)). For any on site installations that we do you must have your system ready for the installation. If we have to return to your facility to complete an installation that we could not complete due to lack of equipment or equipment readiness, you will be billed for travel, lodging and installation time expenses for subsequent visits.
2. SQL Express®, which is intended for single users or small workgroup environments, is a limited/restricted edition of Microsoft SQL Server®. We are able to provide and install SQL Express for you free of charge. There are some limitations as to its capabilities and features such as how much data it can store (2GB maximum data file size), the resources it can make use of (2 GB memory, 2 CPUs, etc.) and how many concurrent workloads it can maintain at one time (see https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993%28v=SQL.110%29.aspx for more information or contact Microsoft directly). We cannot guarantee that SQL Express will be adequate for your business. If it is not, then you will have to purchase the appropriate SQL Server licenses. These costs are not included in the purchase price of KitchenTools PCMS™. If it becomes necessary for you to obtain licensing for Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition then there are several places where you can purchase 5 licenses packs (you need one license for the server and one for each workstation running KitchenTools PCMS™). Note: Windows Vista will not support SQL Express. If you plan to move to Windows Vista please contact us for further information regarding SQL Server. Most of our customers should be able to use SQL Express (which is the free version of SQL Server) for quite a long time without any losses in performance. Issues that might cause a customer to have to purchase a SQL Server license would be if they do not wish to summarize some data that can tend to make the database large and might exceed the 1GB Sql Express limitation. Also customers who desire to take advantage of more than one CPU or 1 GB RAM in the server machine would need to purchase a SQL Server license.
3. We have not yet tested the KitchenTools PCMS™ application on Windows 10. We are confident it will run fine under this new operating system but cannot guarantee this at the moment.
4. Covers installation of the KitchenTools PCMS™ program on up to 10 workstations in the same physical location as the data server (additional workstation installations will be charged at the rate of $80 per hour for any additional workstations). If necessary we will also install your own properly licensed copy of either Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition (or SQL Express if appropriate5) (the database engine required by KitchenTools PCMS™).