Can Square KDS Route Orders from Prep Stations to Expo Stations?

[mattrals]

The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Routing Order with Square KDS.

Hi Community,

Own a pizza shop, currently using Square POS but with a 3rd-party KDS system. Ideally would like to use Square for our KDS as well.

Would like to know if this is setup is possible:

Currently orders are placed and appear on the 1st KDS above the 'make bench' where pizzas are made and put into the oven. Once the pizza is in the conveyor belt oven, a staff member taps it on that 1st KDS and it disappears, moving to the 2nd KDS so the other staff member can see what orders are in the oven.

Once the pizza is taken out, cut and boxed, they tap it again on the 2nd KDS and it prints the docket to stick into the box ready for customer pickup

Is this possible with the Square KDS?

Thank you!

[ryanwanner]

Hello @mattrals ! Welcome to the Square Community!

This is almost completely possible the way you described it. The only thing would be how the pizza KDS displays. 

From what I can tell, you can't complete an order on one KDS and then have it appear on a second. However, you can have them appear on both screens at time of order.

If you set your make KDS as a Prep Station and the Pizza KDS as a Expiditer station, any order will display at both. When make clears the order, a grey checkbox will appear next to the item(s) on the pizza KDS. This way your pizza person knows that make has completed the order and it's up to them.

You can also configure a printer through the pizza KDS. One of the options when configuring it is to have the ticket print at time of order close. This is how I manage tickets for my coffee shop. Do note that for this to work, the printer needs to be either Ethernet or Wifi instead of directly connected to another POS device.

More info on configuring KDS stations can be found in this help file.

Hope this helps you!.

[Katie_SQ]

Hi @mattrals! 
 

@ryanwanner is spot on here. While Square KDS doesn't allow orders to physically "move" from one device to another (where they'd disappear from the first and only then appear on the second), it does offer a visual workflow system that accomplishes the same operational goal. Orders will appear on both devices, but when marked complete on your prep station, a clear visual indicator will appear on your finishing station to show which pizzas are now in the oven and ready for the next step.

Here's how it works:

Step 1: Set Up Two KDS Devices

First KDS - Prep Station (Make Bench)

On the Square Dashboard
1. Go to Settings > Device management.

2. Click Device codes > Create.

3. Enter the number of device codes you want to create (1) and click Next.

4. Select Kitchen display system and choose Prep.

5. Name your KDS device (e.g., Make Bench) and click Create.

On the KDS app

1. Download the Square KDS app from the Google Play Store and sign in with the device code you've just created. 

2. For completing orders and recalling tickets, select Complete only on this device and click Next.

3. Choose which orders should display on this device (all in-person and online orders), select Show orders when they're placed, and press Continue. 
4. Choose which categories should display and press Continue.
5. Choose how many tickets you want per page and press Continue.

Second KDS - Expo Station (Oven/Finishing Station)

On the Square Dashboard
1. Go to Settings > Device management.

2. Click Device codes > Create.

3. Enter the number of device codes you want to create (1) and click Next.

4. Select Kitchen display system and choose Expo.

5. Name your KDS device (e.g., Oven/Finishing) and click Create.

On the KDS app

1. Download the Square KDS app from the Google Play Store and sign in with the device code you've just created. 

2. For completing orders and recalling tickets, select Complete for all devices and click Next.

3. Choose which orders should display on this device (all in-person and online orders), select Show orders when they're placed, and press Continue. 
4. Choose which categories should display and press Continue.
5. Choose how many tickets you want per page and press Continue.

Step 2: Connect a Printer to the Second KDS

1. On your second KDS device, tap Settings > Printers.
2. Under 'Connect and manage', tap Printers.
3. Select Create a Printer Profile.
4. Name your printer and configure it for order tickets and/or receipts.

Note: Order tickets are not automatically printed for each order, and you’ll need to manually select the orders you want to print. To print an order from your KDS, locate the order you want to print and tap the printer icon.

Here's how your workflow will operate:

Make Bench Process:
- Orders appear on both KDS screens
- When a pizza goes into the oven, staff taps the item on the first KDS
- Since you selected "Complete only on this device," the item will be marked as complete only on the first KDS
- On the second KDS (Expo), a grey dot will appear next to the item indicating it's been completed by the prep station and is in the oven

Oven/Finishing Process:
- Staff at the second KDS can focus on items with grey dots (indicating they're in the oven)
- When a pizza is ready, staff taps the printer icon on the item
- An order ticket and/or receipt will print for the box
- Staff then taps the item to mark it as complete on the second KDS

While this setup doesn't hide orders from either screen (both stations will see all active orders simultaneously), the grey dot system provides a clear visual workflow that meets your needs - ensuring pizzas move through your production line in the correct sequence.

Many restaurants use this exact setup to manage multi-stage food preparation workflows, with staff trained to focus only on items relevant to their station (new orders for prep staff, grey-dotted items for finishing staff).

Hope this helps with your setup! Let me know if you have any other questions.

[ryanwanner]

Nice @Katie_SQ ! 

One bit of clarification for you regarding printing @mattrals : you can configure your KDS to automatically print order tickets when you clear the order from the expediter (oven) station. I’m not in front of my KDS right now, but there is an option to print once order is cleared on the printer setting page. 

As for receipts, I agree with Katie that there isn’t a way to automatically print those from the KDS, but you obviously can print receipts either manually or automatically from the main point of sale at time of order. 

[ryanwanner]

@mattrals @Katie_SQ  I found the automatic print setting. It's in the Printer Profiles section.

When you're on the KDS, Go to Settings -> All Settings -> Printers -> Profiles. Choose your profile for this printer (or make a new one specific for KDS printing, which I recommend). The tap Edit next to Profile Details. 

You can have online orders automatically print either at time of order or at KDS completion. Tap Receipts, enable, then choose your option. In store order receipts will still need to be handled at the point of sale.

You can have order tickets automatically print the same way. Choose Order Tickets, enable, then configure as you need.