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Routing matches order lines by item_type. If the product has no station category, the line misses the mapping and falls to the default station — burgers on the fryer, drinks on the grill. If the thumbnail does not match what the cook sees, they pick the wrong item. This page is KDS → Station categories. It is the account catalog of codes (BEVERAGE, FRIES) that routing mappings use. You do not create stations here.
The minimum you need to know
  • Create the code once. It cannot change. Routing mappings refer to that code.
  • On the category View page, Add product and attach a thumbnail so the kitchen card looks like the plate.
  • First match in Routing wins. A product without a category uses fallback, not a guess.

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The simple path

1

Open Station categories

Go to KDS → Station categories (/kds/admin/station-categories).
2

Create a code

Click Create category. Enter a Name (e.g. Beverages) and a Code (BEVERAGE). Letters, numbers and _ only. Click save.
3

Assign products

Open View. Click Add product, search by name or PLU, and tap each product. You can add several without closing the dialog.
Station categories list with codes used by product routing
If you only have one production station and empty mappings, categories still help later. You can stop after creating the codes you will map.

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List vs view

Station category view with assigned products and kitchen thumbnails
Edit name changes only the label operators see in the backoffice. The Code stays the routing id.

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How this feeds routing

  1. The product carries the category code as its item_type.
  2. The active routing strategy looks for a mapping of that code to production stations.
  3. First matching mapping wins. No mapping → fallback.
  4. Station rules can still reject the line after that.
Do not duplicate category CRUD on the Stations page. Stations consume these codes; they do not own them.

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Recipes

  1. Create BURGER and FRIES.
  2. On each View page, add the matching products.
  3. In Routing → Mappings, map BURGER → grill and FRIES → fryer.
  4. Leave drinks unmapped only if fallback is the right station.
  1. Put it in BEVERAGE (or create that code).
  2. Map BEVERAGE to the cold station, or exclude it in the grill station rules.
  3. Confirm a test order: the drink must not appear on the grill.
  1. Open View on the category.
  2. Find the product and replace the thumb.
  3. The next ticket shows the new image. A stale thumb is how cooks bump the wrong line.
  1. Confirm no mapping still points at that code.
  2. Delete. Products keep existing; they lose the category link (SET NULL).
  3. Those products now route by fallback until you assign another category.

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Worked example

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Errors that cost money

Product without a category. Routing cannot match item_type. The line hits fallback. In a multi-station kitchen that is the wrong cook.
Thumbnail that does not match the plate. The cook strikes the wrong parent line. Strike-before-bump then blocks the real item or bumps the ticket too early.
Renaming in your head after create. The Code is frozen. If you typed BEBIDA and mappings say BEVERAGE, nothing matches. Create the correct code and move the products.
Delete while mappings still use the code. Products lose the link. Lines that used to hit a mapping fall to fallback until you fix both sides.

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Glossary

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FAQ

No. Create a new category and move the products. Then update the routing mapping.
No. Products stay. They lose the category link and route by fallback.
In Routing, not on this page.
Replace the thumb on View. Cached tickets already on screen keep the image they loaded.

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What this page does not do

  • It does not create stations or screens.
  • It does not pick distribution (ALL, ROUND_ROBIN). That lives in routing.
  • It does not assign which monitor shows which station. See Screens.