Sail POS: Common KDS setup mistakes that affect other kitchen stations

Summary. Covers three Kitchen Display System (KDS) settings that are easy to misunderstand when you're new to the system - each one changes what happens on stations other than the one you're adjusting. Helps staff recognize the symptom and find the setting responsible.

Applies to. Sail POS - all current versions. (Older documentation may refer to this system as KVS - Kitchen Video System. KDS is the current term.)

Before you start

These settings are found in each station's Settings menu (or Quick Settings, for Merge Stations).
Know which physical station is showing the problem - the fix is usually a setting on that specific station, not a system-wide change.

Common issue: Tickets stopped printing on paper

What's happening: A station has Suppress Printing turned on. This setting stops the paper ticket at that station's printer - the order still shows on the KDS screen, but nothing prints.
Why this trips people up: It's easy to enable while exploring settings, thinking it just changes the screen. It actually stops printed output at that station entirely.
Check this: Open Settings on the affected station and look at Suppress Printing. Turn it off if you want both the screen and a paper ticket.

Common issue: Items are disappearing from other stations before they're done

What's happening: The Expo station has Finish on All Stations turned on. Bumping an item at Expo clears it from every other station it was routed to (Grill, Fry, Salad, etc.) - not just Expo.
Why this trips people up: A new Expo user may bump an item thinking it only clears their own screen, not realizing it also removes it from a station that hasn't finished cooking it yet.
Check this: Open Settings on the Expo station and look at Finish on All Stations. Only keep this on if Expo is genuinely the last step for every item that passes through it.

Common issue: A station is showing items that aren't its own

What's happening: Merge Stations is turned on for a Quick Station. This makes that station display every item across the kitchen, not just what's routed to it - items belonging to other stations show up with the station name in parentheses (e.g., "Cheeseburger (Grill)").
Why this trips people up: Someone may enable it hoping to "see more," not realizing it mixes in every other station's items too, which can be confusing for a cook trying to track just their own tickets.
Check this: Open Quick Settings on that station and look at Merge Stations. Turn it off to go back to seeing only that station's own routed items.

Verify it worked

Send a test order and confirm the ticket behaves as expected: it prints (or doesn't) at the right station, it clears from the right screens when bumped, and each station shows only what you expect it to show.

If it doesn't work

If a station still isn't behaving as expected after checking these settings, confirm the item's kitchen routing in Backoffice is correct - that's a separate setup step from the station settings above.
For a full breakdown of every KDS station setting, see the "KVS Station Settings" reference article.