The problem: one screen, five sections

A breakfast order might hold a shakshuka for the hot line, a croissant for pastry and two coffees for the bar. With one kitchen screen, every section reads every ticket, the barista scrolls past eggs to find the latte, and items get missed when it is busy. Station routing sends each item to the screen of the section that makes it, while keeping the order together so food and drinks still leave at the same time.

Routing starts in Business Admin, where you decide which part of the kitchen makes which category, and ends on each kitchen screen, where a manager picks the station that screen belongs to.

Step 1: create your stations

In Business Admin, in the sidebar under Catalog, open Kitchen Stations and click Add Station.
Type the station name in English and in Arabic, for example Bar.
Pick a Colour. Kitchen screens show the station in it.
Under Kitchen ticket prints, choose Only this station's items or The full order.
Turn on Main station for the one that should take items from categories with no station, usually your main kitchen. Only one station can be the main station.
Click Save. The Categories window opens next: tick what the station makes, such as Coffee and Fresh Juices, and save.

Every item follows its category to a station, and a category can sit at one station only. When you tick a category that belongs elsewhere, the window shows that it moves from the other station, and a summary lists every move before you save. You can also set the station from the category itself in Categories.

Step 2: send one dish somewhere else

Sometimes one item does not follow its category. A croissant in Bakery might be warmed in the main kitchen. Open Products, edit the product, open the Options and modifiers tab, and under Preparation change Kitchen station from Same as category to the station that makes it. Save, and only that product moves; the rest of the category stays put.

Step 3: tell each screen which station it is

The first time a manager signs in on a kitchen screen after stations exist, it asks Which station is this screen? Tap one or more stations, or All stations for the pass, and tap Save, or Later to decide another time. To change it afterwards, open Settings, then Kitchen station. Only a manager can change it; kitchen staff see a note saying so. The choice is saved on that screen, per branch.

What a station screen shows

Each order card shows only that station's items, and staff tick and bump only those.
Show full order, on by default, lists the other stations' items in grey under Other stations, so the cook knows what else is on the order. Switch it off to hide them.
The order moves to Ready when every station has finished its items.
A combo goes to every station that makes one of its parts: the croissant of a breakfast combo on pastry, the espresso on the bar. Each station bumps its own part. This works for fixed combos and Build your own combos.
Kitchen tickets and labels follow the station setting, so a bar printer can print only the drinks.

Nothing can fall off every screen. An item whose category has no station goes to the Main station, and with no main station it shows on every station.

What is and is not included

Stations are business wide: every branch uses the same list, and each screen picks its own station. Routing is by category, with a per product override; it does not route individual add ons, and it does not balance load between two screens of the same station. Stations are for restaurants, and setting them up needs the Edit menu permission. Do not confuse stations with Counters in the kitchen screen settings: Counters filters orders by the POS till they came from, such as a drive thru window, while stations split the items inside each order.

Tips for getting it right

Start simple, with a main kitchen and a bar, then add stations such as grill or desserts once the team is used to it.
Make your busiest station the Main station, so new categories land somewhere sensible until you assign them.
Keep one screen on All stations at the pass, so whoever hands out orders sees everything.
Give each station a clear colour. Cooks learn to read the colour faster than the name.
After adding a category, check it has a station. A station with no categories shows No categories yet and a red warning.

Frequently asked questions

How do I send drinks to the bar screen and food to the kitchen screen?

Create a Bar station, tick the drink categories on it, make the kitchen the Main station, and set each screen to its station in Settings, then Kitchen station.

Will the bar know the food is ready?

With Show full order on, the bar sees the other items in grey. The order only moves to Ready when every station has finished, so the pass knows when it is complete.