Kitchen Stations
Kitchen stations are the screens in your kitchen — the grill screen, the fry screen, the cold line, the bar, the expo pass. Each station shows only the items it's responsible for, so every cook sees their own work and nothing else.
A station is where routing "lands." You tag menu items with routing classes, then you tell each station which classes it cooks. From then on, the grill screen shows grill items, the bar screen shows drinks, and so on — automatically, on every order.
What Is a Kitchen Station?
A kitchen station is a display in your kitchen tied to a part of your prep line. Stations belong to a single location (unlike routing classes, which are shared across your business), because every restaurant's physical kitchen is different.
Each station subscribes to one or more routing classes. When an order comes in, each item is sent to the station(s) subscribed to that item's class.
The Default Station
Every location starts with one station already created for you, called "Main." It's the default station — the safety net.
- Any item that isn't routed anywhere else lands on the default station, so nothing is ever lost.
- You can rename it, and you can choose a different station to be the default — but there is always exactly one default.
If you never set up routing at all, every order simply shows on the default station — exactly like a single all-in-one kitchen screen. Routing is what lets you split it up.
Managing Kitchen Stations
You must first navigate to a specific restaurant location. If you signed up as a single restaurant, you'll land directly at your location. For restaurant groups/chains, select your location from the Group/Chain Dashboard first.
Navigation Path: [Your Location] → Kitchen → Stations tab
Required Permission: Manager with Manage Kitchen Stations
Step-by-Step Access
- Navigate to your restaurant location
- In the sidebar, click Kitchen (under Operations)
- Open the Stations tab
You'll see every station for this location, with the default station clearly badged.
Create a Station
- On the Stations tab, click + Add Station
- Enter a Station Name — e.g.,
Grill,Fryer,Cold Line,Bar,Expo - Leave Active on
- Click Create Station
Two stations at the same location can't share a name (and "grill" and "Grill" count as the same). Different locations can each have their own "Grill," though.
Subscribe a Station to Routing Classes
This is the key step — it's how a screen knows what to show.
- On a station's card, find Subscribed routing classes
- Open the dropdown and select every routing class this station should cook — e.g., the Grill screen subscribes to
GRILL - Your choice saves instantly
From that moment, any item tagged GRILL (directly, or through its category) appears on the Grill station.
A station subscribed to no classes only shows unrouted items — and only if it's the default station. If you see a station badged "Not subscribed to any classes," that's your reminder to pick the classes it should cook.
Prep or Expo: the station's role
Every station has a Role, chosen when you create it and changeable from the station's card:
| Role | What the screen does |
|---|---|
| Prep station — cooks the classes it subscribes to | Shows only its lines. Cooks claim and plate; there are no ticket-level controls. |
| Expo (the pass) — sees everything, releases courses | Shows every line of every ticket at the location, whatever the routing. Carries the ticket controls: Release course, Mark Ticket Ready, Complete Order, and the order status dropdown. |
Set one station per location to Expo — the one at the pass. An Expo station needs no routing-class subscriptions; it sees everything by role. On the KDS it is badged Expo in the station picker. See Screens and Views in the Kitchen documentation.
A routing class can be subscribed by more than one prep station, so two screens can share the grill during a rush. Re-subscribing takes effect immediately, even on tickets already in progress. For the pass itself, use the Expo role rather than subscribing a station to every class: only the Expo role carries the course and ticket controls.
Set the Default Station
- On the station you want as the new default, open the ⋮ menu
- Choose Set as default
The default badge moves to that station. Remember: untagged items land here, so make it a station someone is always watching (often "Main," Expo, or the pass).
You can't deactivate the default station — something always has to catch untagged items. To retire the current default, first designate a different station as the default, then deactivate the old one.
Activate / Deactivate a Station
Use the Active switch on a station to take it in and out of service without deleting it — handy for a station you only run on weekends. (The default station's switch is locked on, as above.)
Delete a Station
- Open the station's ⋮ menu and choose Delete
- SSP Manager checks two things before it lets you delete:
If you're deleting the default station, you'll be asked which active station becomes the new default — pick one, and the switch happens in the same step.
If this station is the only one cooking a class, you'll see a warning like "Routing class 'FRY' will have no station — its items will go to the default." Confirm if that's fine (those items simply fall back to the default station), or cancel and subscribe another station to FRY first.
Any items that were routing to a deleted station fall back to the default station. You never lose orders — you just change where they show.
KDS settings for the location
At the top of the Stations tab, the KDS settings card holds the rules every screen at this location follows. Stations with their own alarm settings on the Capacity tab keep those.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Two-stage bump | Off: a line reads Preparing the moment the waiter sends it. On: it reads Sent first and a cook must Claim it before it reads Preparing. The board then separates "on the ticket" from "on the grill", and the unstarted alarm can fire for waiter-submitted orders too. |
| Warn after (seconds) | How long a line may wait to be claimed, or wait for a runner once plated, before the KDS colours it orange. Empty = the default. |
| Overdue after (seconds) | The same wait before the line turns red and counts as overdue. Empty = the default. |
Whole seconds only, 0 to 65535. While a line is actually cooking, the countdown uses the station's prep time for that dish (from the Capacity tab), not these thresholds.
Example: A Grill-and-Bar Restaurant
Stations to create ([Location] → Kitchen → Stations):
| Station | Subscribed classes | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Main (default) | (none) | Catches anything untagged |
| Grill | GRILL | Burgers, steaks |
| Fry | FRY | Fries, wings |
| Cold Line | COLD | Salads, starters |
| Bar | BAR | Drinks |
| Expo | GRILL, FRY, COLD | Mirrors the food line for the pass |
With this setup, a table's order of a burger, fries, a salad, and two cocktails splits automatically: burger → Grill + Expo, fries → Fry + Expo, salad → Cold + Expo, cocktails → Bar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which station should be the Expo?
The one at the pass, where plates are checked and runners collect. It needs no routing subscriptions. If you have no pass, leave every station as a prep station and use All Stations · Every line on the KDS for an overview screen; it shows everything but carries no ticket controls.
What's the difference between a routing class and a station?
A routing class (GRILL, FRY…) is a shared label for a type of prep. A station is a physical screen at one location that subscribes to the classes it cooks. Classes are the vocabulary; stations are the screens that listen for it. See Kitchen Routing.
Do I have to create stations for every location?
Yes — stations are per-location because every kitchen is laid out differently. Your routing classes, though, are shared, so you only tag your menu once.
An item shows on the wrong screen. How do I fix it?
Either change the item's routing class (in Menus), or change which classes the station subscribes to (here, on the station card). Both update instantly.
Can a station print paper tickets too?
Yes — assign it one or more printers. See Kitchen Printing. A station with no printer is screen-only.
What is "Main"?
It's the default station created automatically for every location. Rename it to whatever fits your kitchen (many use "Expo" or "Pass"). It's just an ordinary station that happens to hold the default badge.
Related Features
- Kitchen Routing — routing classes and tagging your menu
- Kitchen Printing — printing chits from your stations
- Menu Management — where items get their routing class
Getting Help
- 💬 Live Chat: Click the chat icon in your dashboard
- 📧 Email: support@ssppos.com
- 📚 Help Center: docs.ssppos.com
One screen per station, each showing exactly what it needs to cook.