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How to Set Up and Manage Kitchen Stations and Dockets

Updated today

Who Is This For?

StoreHub merchants running an F&B business who need to route orders to the right kitchen or bar printers and customise how kitchen dockets are printed.

Overview

Kitchen stations let you send orders to different printers based on what was ordered. For example, food orders go to the kitchen printer and drink orders go to the bar printer.

This article covers everything you need to set up and manage your kitchen printing: creating kitchen stations, assigning them to products, connecting printers on your POS register, customising docket format and layout, setting up order summary printing, and printing multiple dockets per product (e.g. beer tokens).


Before You Begin

  • You must have access to your StoreHub BackOffice.

  • Your kitchen and bar printers must be physically connected and powered on. See this article for more details.

  • Your products must already be created in BackOffice. See this article for more details.

  • For multiple docket printing (tokens), your POS app must be version 1.43.0 or above.


Step-by-Step Guide

Add a Kitchen Station

1. In your BackOffice, go to 'Settings', then tap the 'F&B tab'.

2. Scroll down to the 'Kitchen Stations' section.

3. Enter the name of your printer station in the corresponding column.

4. In the 'Default Kitchen Station' section, select the station that should be automatically assigned to all your products.

5. Tap 'Save'.

F&B settings page showing the Kitchen Stations section with station name fields, Default Kitchen Station dropdown, and Save button

Notes:

  • Avoid using special characters in station names.

  • Do not name a kitchen station 'Receipt', as this will affect your receipt printer settings.

  • Use a name that matches the station's purpose, e.g. 'Kitchen', 'Bar', 'Drinks', 'Grill'.

  • To add a new station, type the station name in the field and press Enter.

  • To remove a station, click the 'x' next to the station name.

  • After removing a station, reassign any products that were using it to another station, then sync your POS.


Assign a Kitchen Station to a Product

If you have multiple kitchen stations (e.g. Kitchen and Bar), you can assign specific products to different stations so their orders print on the correct printer.

1. In your BackOffice, go to 'Products' and select the product you want to assign.

2. On the product page, scroll to the 'Kitchen Station' section.

3. Tap the current station name and select the correct station for this product.

Product edit page showing the Kitchen Station dropdown with available stations and the Save button.

4. Tap 'Save'.

5. Sync your POS to apply the changes.

Note:

  • If you set a default kitchen station, all products automatically use that station. You only need to change the station here for products that should go to a different printer.


Connect Kitchen Printers to Your POS Register

After setting up kitchen stations in BackOffice, you need to connect the printers on your POS register so orders print correctly.

1. On your POS register, sync your settings to pull the latest changes from BackOffice.

2. Go to 'Settings', then tap 'Printer'.

3. Tap 'Search Printers' to find available printers.

4. Tap on the printer you want to configure. Toggle on the kitchen station tasks you want this printer to handle.

5. Go back to the previous page and toggle on 'Always Print Receipt'.

GIF of POS register showing the process of syncing settings, searching for printers, toggling kitchen station tasks, and enabling Always Print Receipt.

Example:

  • Toggle on 'Receipt' and 'Kitchen' on your first printer to print receipts and food orders.

  • Toggle on 'Bar' on your second printer to print drink orders.

6. To test, create a new transaction by adding products that have kitchen stations assigned. The kitchen dockets should print on the correct printers.


Set Up Order Summary Printing

The order summary feature prints a consolidated list of all items in an order for kitchen preparation stations or receipt printers.

1. In your BackOffice, go to 'Settings', then tap the 'F&B tab'.

2. Scroll down to the 'Kitchen Stations' section.

3. Under 'Print Order Summary To', select the printer you want to send the order summary to (e.g. 'Receipt Printer', 'Kitchen', or 'Drinks'). To disable order summaries, select 'None'.

4. Tap 'Save'.

5. Sync your POS to apply the changes.

F&B settings showing the Print Order Summary To dropdown in the Kitchen Stations section and the Save button.


Customise Kitchen Docket Format

You can change how orders appear on your kitchen dockets to match how your kitchen works.

Choose the Kitchen Order Format

This controls whether all items print on one docket or each item prints on its own docket.

1. In your BackOffice, go to 'Settings', then tap the 'F&B tab'.

2. Scroll down to the 'Kitchen Stations' section. Under 'Kitchen Order Format', select one of the following:

Options

What it means

All items in one sheet

All items from the order are printed on a single docket.

One item per sheet

Each item prints on its own separate docket.

3. Tap 'Save'.

F&B settings showing the Kitchen Order Format setting with the two format options and Save button.

Note:

  • Printing one item per sheet is useful if your kitchen separates orders by cooking station or method, so each station gets only the items they need to prepare.

Set the Variant Layout

This controls how product variants (e.g. size, add-ons) appear on the kitchen docket.

1. On your POS register, go to 'Settings', then tap 'Printer'.

2. Tap 'Kitchen Docket Variant Layout' and select one of the following:

i. Single Line: variants appear on the same line as the item.

ii. Multiple Lines: each variant appears on its own line.

POS Printer settings showing the Kitchen Docket Variant Layout setting with Single Line and Multiple Lines options.

Note:

  • Multiple Lines is useful for complex menus with many variants, making it easier for kitchen staff to read each modifier clearly.

Group or Ungroup Multiple Items

This controls whether multiple orders of the same item are grouped on one line or printed separately.

1. In your BackOffice, go to 'Settings', then tap the 'General tab'.

2. Scroll down to the 'Group Multiples of The Same Item' section. Select one of the following:

Option

What it means

Group

Multiple orders of the same item are combined into one line (e.g. "3x Nasi Lemak").

Ungroup

Each order prints as a separate entry (e.g. "Nasi Lemak" appears three times).

3. Tap 'Save'.

General settings showing the Group Multiples of The Same Item setting with Group and Ungroup options and Save button.


Set Up Multiple Docket Printing (Tokens)

You can print multiple dockets for a single product. This is useful for items like beer sets, where each docket acts as a token for the customer to redeem one portion at a time.

Note:

  • This feature requires POS version 1.43.0 or above.

1. In your BackOffice, go to 'Products' and select the product you want to set up (or tap 'Add Product' to create a new one).

2. Scroll down to the 'Kitchen Printer' section. Select the printer that will print the dockets for this product.

3. Tick the 'Print Additional Kitchen Docket' checkbox.

4. Enter the number of dockets to print for this product. The minimum value is 1.

5. Select a 'Docket Expiry' option:

Option

What it means

No Expiry

The customer can redeem the docket at any time.

Same as printed date

The docket expires on the same day it was printed.

Customised period

The docket expires after a set number of days (e.g. if set to 10 days and printed on 1 June, it expires on 11 June).

6. Scroll to the bottom and tap 'Save'.

GIF of Product page showing the Kitchen Printer section with Print Additional Kitchen Docket enabled, number of dockets entered, Docket Expiry options, and Save button.

Note:

  • If you are using the XPrinter CP-Q3 receipt printer, do not print 40 or more dockets at one time. Print 20 dockets separately twice to avoid errors.

What the Dockets Look Like

When an order is placed, the kitchen receives the standard kitchen docket, and the additional dockets are printed for the customer. Each docket includes:

An example of what the printed docket looks like.

  • Table number

  • Docket number in sequence (e.g. 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5, 5/5)

  • Date and time of the order

  • Employee or waiter's name

  • Product name

Note:

  • If the customer orders via QR Order and Pay, a QR code will also be printed on the docket.


Print the Same Docket on Multiple Printers

You can print the same kitchen docket on more than one printer at the same time. This is useful if you want both the kitchen and bar to receive a copy of the same order.

1. On your POS register, go to 'Settings', then tap 'Printer'.

2. Tap on the first printer and toggle on the kitchen station you want it to print (e.g. 'Kitchen').

3. Tap on the second printer and toggle on the same kitchen station (e.g. 'Kitchen').

POS Printer settings showing two printers both with the Kitchen station toggle switched on.

4. When a kitchen order comes in, the same docket will print on both printers.


Troubleshooting

Issue

Solution

Order summary is not printing correctly

Check that 'Print Order Summary To' is assigned to the correct printer in BackOffice under 'Settings', 'F&B' tab, 'Kitchen Stations' section. Tap 'Save' and sync your POS.

Duplicate order summaries are printing

Go to 'Settings', tap the 'F&B' tab, scroll to the 'Kitchen Stations' section, and set 'Print Order Summary To' to a single designated printer or select 'None'. Tap 'Save' and sync your POS.

Some products are missing from kitchen dockets

The product may not be assigned to a kitchen station. In BackOffice, go to 'Products', edit the product, scroll to the 'Kitchen Station' section, and assign it to the correct station. Make sure 'Print Kitchen Docket' is enabled. Tap 'Save' and sync your POS.

Kitchen dockets are printing on the wrong printer

Check that the correct kitchen station is assigned to the product in BackOffice, and that the correct station is toggled on for the right printer in POS printer settings. Sync your POS after making changes.

Printer not found when searching on POS

Make sure the printer is powered on and connected to the same network as your POS device. See this article for more help.


FAQs

1. How many kitchen stations can I create?

You can create multiple kitchen stations in BackOffice. The number of stations you need depends on how many printer areas you have in your store (e.g. Kitchen, Bar, Grill).

2. Why are some products missing from my kitchen dockets?

This usually happens when a product is not assigned to a kitchen station. In BackOffice, go to 'Products', edit the product, and assign it to the correct kitchen station. Tap 'Save' and sync your POS.

3. How do I print a set menu across multiple kitchen and drink stations?

Create a new kitchen station (e.g. 'SET') in BackOffice under 'Settings', 'F&B' tab, 'Kitchen Stations'. Assign this station to the set menu products, tap 'Save', and sync your POS. Then on your POS, go to printer settings and toggle on the 'SET' station for both your Kitchen and Drinks printers.

4. What is the difference between "All items in one sheet" and "One item per sheet"?

"All items in one sheet" prints every item from the order on a single docket. "One item per sheet" prints each item on its own separate docket. Use one item per sheet if your kitchen separates orders by cooking station or method.

5. Can I group multiple orders of the same item on one docket?

Yes. In BackOffice, go to 'Settings', tap the 'General' tab, and set 'Group Multiples of The Same Item' to 'Group'. For example, 3 orders of Nasi Lemak will appear as "3x Nasi Lemak" on one line instead of three separate entries.

6. What is the multiple docket (token) feature used for?

It prints extra dockets for a single product, which act as tokens for customers. For example, if a customer orders a 5-mug beer set, 5 individual dockets are printed so they can redeem one mug at a time.

7. What POS version do I need for multiple docket printing?

You need POS version 1.43.0 or above.

8. Can I print the same kitchen docket on two printers at the same time?

Yes. On your POS register, go to printer settings and toggle on the same kitchen station for both printers. When an order comes in, the docket will print on both.


Need Help?

Contact StoreHub Support via live chat in your StoreHub app or email [email protected].


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