Routing to stations
Prep stations are the places food is made — grill, fry, cold, bar, expo. Routing decides which items reach which station.
How routing is decided
Each item is associated with a prep station. When an order is sent, each item is dispatched to its station's destination — a kitchen display, a printer, or both.
An item with no station has nowhere to go. It will sit on the check, appear on the guest's bill, and never reach the kitchen. Nothing errors.
The fastest way to discover an unrouted item is a guest asking where their food is. After adding items to the menu, ring one of each in on a test order and confirm it lands on the line.
Expo
An expo station typically receives everything, so one screen shows the whole order while individual stations see only their own part. Expo is what lets someone assemble a table's food in the right order.
Routing and order type
Routing can differ by order type — a delivery order might skip a station that a dine-in order uses. If an item reaches the kitchen for dine-in but not for takeout, this is where to look.
Changing routing
Routing changes take effect for new orders. Orders already in the kitchen keep the destinations they were sent with.