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Station kinds: prep vs expo

The difference between prep stations (only routed items) and expo stations (everything), and when to use each.

Every station is one of two kinds — prep or pass / expo — and the difference is simply which items it sees. You choose the kind when you create the station (Set up kitchen stations) and can change it any time from Details on the station's page. The page explains what each kind does as you pick it, so you can see the effect before you save.

Heads up

A station called "Pass" is not automatically a pass station. The name is just a label — the Kind field is what changes behaviour. If you name a station "Pass" or "Expo" but leave its kind as prep, it will only ever see the items routed to it, never the whole order, which is the one thing a pass is for. The station page flags this for you; if you see that warning, switch the kind. Remember to click Save.

Note

KDS must be switched on for your account. If you don't see the KDS section, ask your account manager.

Prep stations

A prep station shows only the items routed to it. The grill sees grilled items, the bar sees drinks — each cooking position gets just its own work, kept clean of everything else. You decide what reaches a prep station in Menu routing. An item not routed to it simply won't appear there.

Most stations are prep — any position that makes a specific subset of the menu.

Note

If you only have one station, this distinction doesn't bite yet: a single prep station automatically receives every item, just like an expo station would, so there's no routing to do. The "only routed items" rule kicks in once you add a second station and routing becomes manual.

Expo stations

An expo station automatically sees every item on the order, regardless of routing. You don't route anything to it — it gets the lot. Use expo for a pass or checking position whose job is to see the whole order come together and check it before it goes out.

Because expo sees everything by default, you never need to route items to one, and there's nothing to keep in sync when you add new menu items.

Heads up

An expo station does not rescue an unrouted item. "Sees everything" means everything on an order that reached the kitchen in the first place — it isn't a safety net for routing you haven't done. With two or more stations, an item routed to no prep station at all will, on an order rung up on the till, stop the whole order reaching the kitchen — expo included, because that check happens before expo is considered. Keep the unrouted-items banner on Menu routing clear; don't rely on expo to cover the gap.

Tip

A common question: "Do I need to route items to my expo station?" No — an expo station receives all items with no routing at all. Routing only matters for prep stations.

Note

If you serve in courses, the pass gets the round split the same way the kitchen does — one ticket per course, and a course that's waiting stays waiting on the pass too. If your pass would rather see the whole order in one piece, turn Courses off on that station and it will (Set up kitchen stations).

Which to use

  • Prep — a cooking or making position that should see a defined slice of the menu (grill, fryer, cold prep, bar, pizza).
  • Expo — a final pass or checking position that needs to see the whole order (the pass, a checker, an expeditor).

Expo and multiple sites

An expo station belongs to one location like any other, and it only ever sees orders taken at that location. On Menu routing it appears under its own site once you pick one, labelled with that site — so a pass at Site A is never mistaken for the pass at Site B. You still don't route items to it: it sees everything sold at its own site.

Changing the kind

Switching a station between prep and expo takes effect immediately — a station flipped to expo starts seeing all items at once, and one flipped to prep drops back to only its routed items. No restart or re-routing needed (though a station newly switched to prep will only show items that are actually routed to it, so check its routing).

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