Item routing sends each kitchen ticket to the right prep station and printer automatically, so every station sees only the items it makes. You create prep stations and set up routing in your Owner Dashboard.
Requirements
Owner POS
One tablet for each printer (printers and tablets connect 1:1)
⚠️ Each printer needs its own tablet. Right now, printers and tablets connect 1:1, so a printer can't be added as a standalone, independently routed prep-station printer. For every additional kitchen or prep-station printer, the restaurant also needs a tablet (sell an 11" tablet with each extra printer).
Video walkthrough
Prefer to watch? This short walkthrough covers the same steps.
Where to set up item routing
You can set up routing from the Owner POS tablet or a KDS tablet, but the easiest place is your Owner Dashboard.
In your Owner Dashboard, go to Settings › Stations and tablets › Station set up.
From here you can create new stations and set up routing for existing ones.
Step 1: Create prep stations
From Station set up, click Add station.
Select the Prep station type.
Give the station a clear, descriptive name, like Salad Prep or Drinks Prep.
Repeat for each prep station you need.
✅ Tip: you can rename stations anytime. If a station ends up handling more than its original scope (say, salads and sandwiches), rename it to match, for example from Salad Prep to Salad/Sandwich Prep.
Step 2: Set up item routing for each prep station
Item routing decides which menu categories and items are sent to a station.
Open the prep station you just created.
Go to Items.
Click Deselect all.
Select only the categories whose items are made at this station. You can check or uncheck a whole category, or click a category name to open it and check individual items.
Click Save.
A category with only some items selected shows as partially selected. Repeat these steps for each prep station. For example:
Salad/Sandwich Prep: sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, and bagels.
Drinks Prep: drinks, smoothie and juice, and coffee and beverages.
⚠️ Items in multiple categories appear in multiple places. If an item is tagged with more than one category (for example, a smoothie tagged as both "Drinks" and "Smoothie and Juice"), it appears under each of those categories in the routing list.
Step 3: Filter by order type (optional)
You can also filter each station by order type. This works the same way for prep and expo stations.
Open the station.
Go to Order types.
Deselect any order types you don't want sent to that station. The options are Pickup, Delivery, To-go, and Dine in.
Click Save.
ℹ️ Note: Restaurants with two expo stations often set up one for pickup orders (so that station can focus on bagging) and one for dine-in orders.
What happens after routing is set up
Once your stations are configured, the connected tablets and printers automatically receive only the items relevant to that station. For example, the salad/sandwich prep station's tablet shows (and its printer prints) only salad and sandwich tickets, while the drinks station handles drinks. For how it all plays out during service, see How do stations and item routing work on the Owner POS KDS?