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How to route kitchen tickets by station

When every ticket prints in one place, cooks waste time sorting what is theirs. Routing sends each item to the station that makes it, so the grill, fryer, cold line and bar each see only their own work.

October 20, 2026·7 min read
  1. Map your stations List each station on the line (grill, fryer, saute, cold, pastry, bar) and which menu items each one makes.
  2. Decide printer or screen per station Choose a kitchen printer or a kitchen display for each station, and whether the expo needs a full copy of every order.
  3. Put printers on the network Connect each kitchen printer by Ethernet where you can and reserve a fixed IP address for it in the router.
  4. Align categories with stations Arrange menu categories so each category is made at one station, and note the exceptions that need routing by item.
  5. Create the routes In the POS, create one route per station and assign it a printer and the categories or items it should receive.
  6. Test every category Ring one item from every category in a single order and check that each ticket prints at the right station.
  7. Plan for a printer failure Decide which printer takes over if one fails, and show staff how to reprint a ticket.

Why route tickets at all

In a small kitchen one printer can be enough: the cook reads the whole ticket and makes everything. Once there are two or more stations, a single ticket means someone has to read it aloud, tear it or copy it, and items get missed. Routing prints each part of the order where it is made. The fryer sees two fries; the grill sees two burgers; the bar sees the drinks.

Routing also speeds up drinks. Sending drink tickets straight to the bar means drinks reach the table while the kitchen is still cooking, rather than after the server walks the ticket over.

Plan stations and the expo copy

Walk the line and write down every station and what it makes. Most menus route cleanly by category: Burgers to the grill, Sides to the fryer, Salads to the cold station, Desserts to pastry, Drinks to the bar. A few items need special handling, for example a salad with grilled chicken that needs both the grill and the cold station.

Decide whether the expo or pass needs a full copy of every order to call tables and check plates. Many kitchens print a full ticket at the pass in addition to the station tickets; others use a kitchen display at the pass.

Hardware that survives a kitchen

Kitchen printers live near heat, grease and steam. Mount them off the counter, away from fryers and dish machines, and use models built for kitchens. Thermal paper darkens near heat, which is why some kitchens use impact printers at hot stations.

Connect kitchen printers by Ethernet where you can and reserve a fixed IP address for each one in the router. A printer that changes address after a power cut is the most common reason tickets stop printing mid-service. Label each printer with its station name and IP address.

Test, and plan for failure

Ring a single order with one item from every category and check each station. Then try the edge cases: a modifier with a long note, an item added to an existing order (only the new item should print), and an item moved from one table to another. Finally, unplug a printer and see what happens, so staff know how to reprint and where to send tickets if a printer dies on a Friday night.

Doing it in SeroPOS

In SeroPOS routing is called KOT Mapping. It lives in the app's side drawer and in the back office under Settings, then KOT. It is hidden in Retail Mode.

  • Side drawer, then Add/Edit Printer: add each kitchen printer (Network is recommended, IP and port 9100), set the paper width, and press Test Printer. Auto-detect scans Bluetooth, USB and the Wi-Fi network.
  • Side drawer, then KOT Mapping, then ADD KOT: give the station a unique name and choose its printer.
  • Pick the categories, products or food types (Veg, Non Veg, Eggitarian, General) that should print there; use Select all or Clear to speed it up.
  • Settings: turn on Print KOT. Holding an order or pressing KOT prints the tickets.
  • To use a screen instead of paper, turn on KDS Mode on a tablet or PC at that station; station chips filter the board.
  • When a held order is resumed and changed, the new ticket carries only new or increased items. KOTs also print when the till is offline.

Frequently asked questions

Should kitchen printers be on Wi-Fi or Ethernet?

Ethernet wherever possible, with a fixed IP address reserved in the router. Wi-Fi works but is more likely to drop in a busy kitchen full of metal and microwaves. SeroPOS supports network, Bluetooth and USB printers, and recommends network printers for the kitchen.

Do I need a separate printer for every station?

Not always. Stations that sit side by side, such as the fryer and the grill, can share one printer if the cooks are happy to split tickets. Give the bar and any station on the far side of the kitchen their own printer. In SeroPOS each KOT mapping names one printer, so plan one mapping per printer.

What happens if a kitchen printer fails during service?

Edit the KOT mapping to point that station at another printer, or reprint the ticket from the held order. In SeroPOS a printer cannot be deleted while it is mapped to a KOT, so reassign the mapping first. Keep a spare printer configured if you can.

Do I need routing if I use a kitchen display?

You still need to decide which station sees which items. In SeroPOS the kitchen display uses the same KOT setup, and its station chips let each screen show only its own tickets. Print KDS checks that KOTs are enabled, configured and mapped first.

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