Send to Prep

The POS Cafe Send to prep tile in Shopify POS sends the items in the current cart to your receipt printers and Fresh KDS screens before the customer pays. It’s designed for table service and open tabs: send the first round now, keep adding to the cart, and tap again to send only the new items.

What Send to prep sends

When you tap Send to prep, POS Cafe sends each item to the printers and Fresh KDS screens set up for its prep area at the current location, using the same prep areas as your other order tickets.

Item in the cart	Sent?
POS Cafe items added with the POS Cafe tile	Yes, to the printers and screens for the item’s prep area.
Shopify products set up with Native Product Routing	Yes, to the printers and screens for the product’s prep area.
POS Cafe items without a prep area	Not on the tap. They print on your usual printers when the order is saved or paid.
Other custom sales and Shopify products	No. They stay in the cart but aren’t sent.

Each ticket includes the table assigned to the cart (if any) and the cart note, so the preparation team knows where the order is going.

Before you start

Send to prep uses your existing printer and Fresh KDS setup:

Receipt printers: Epson Server Direct Print, Star CloudPRNT or a Shopify POS Printer.
Kitchen screens: Fresh KDS.

Send to prep is available at a location that has at least one of these:

an active Epson or Star printer that has connected to the POS Cafe print server in the last 3 days;
an active Shopify POS printer;
a Fresh KDS screen with a prep area selected for this location.

At any other location the tile shows Not set up at this location · tap to check again, and kitchen tickets print as usual when the order is saved or paid.

Add the Send to prep tile

Add the tile to the Shopify POS Home screen the same way as the other POS Cafe tiles:

Add a tile. In Shopify POS, tap Add tile on the Home screen.
Tap App, then choose POS Cafe.
Choose Send to prep and tap Add.
Tap Save.

See Using the App in Shopify POS for screenshots of each step.

Send items to prep

Build the cart. Add items with the POS Cafe tile as usual. If you use table service, assign the table and add any cart note first, because they’re included on the ticket.
Tap Send to prep. You’ll see Sent to prep straight away. There’s nothing to wait for: you can switch to another cart or check out at once.
Glance at the tile. Its subtitle shows the cart reference followed by Sending…, then Sent, for example Cart #1A2B3C · Sent.

POS Cafe keeps the send on the POS device and delivers it in the background, retrying automatically if the connection drops for a moment. Each ticket shows the table (if assigned), a short cart reference such as Cart #1A2B3C and a ticket number that goes up with each send from the same cart. On Fresh KDS, the ticket name appears as the order name and the cart note appears as the order’s special instructions.

If the location has a Shopify POS printer, this POS device prints its own copy on its connected printer, usually about a second after the tap. If the copy can’t print, the tile shows Sent · not printed on this device and the ticket is listed on the tile so you can print it (see Tickets waiting on the Send to prep tile).

Send more items later

Tap Send to prep again whenever you add to the cart. POS Cafe only sends what hasn’t been sent yet:

New items are sent.
Increased quantities send only the extra quantity. For example, if 2 flat whites were sent and the cart now has 3, one flat white is sent.
Changed items, for example an item whose modifiers changed after it was sent, are sent again in full.
Nothing new? You’ll still see Sent to prep, and nothing prints again.

This works well with open tabs: send each round as it’s ordered, then check out when the customer is ready to pay.

Removing items after they’ve been sent

Send to prep never cancels a ticket that has already been sent. If you remove or reduce an item, or change the cart note, after sending, the tile’s subtitle shows a short warning so you can tell the preparation team:

Tile shows	What happened
Removed item not cancelled – tell the kitchen	A sent item was removed from the cart.
Reduced qty not cancelled – tell the kitchen	A sent quantity was reduced.
Removals not cancelled – tell the kitchen	Items were removed and quantities reduced.
Note change not sent – tell the kitchen	The cart note changed. Earlier tickets keep the original note.

Paused printers

If you’ve paused a printer, Send to prep skips it and the rest of the cart still goes to your other printers and screens. Items that only the paused printer prints go out on a later tap after you resume it, or print at checkout.

If every item in the send is for a paused printer, nothing is sent. The tile shows Not sent · tap to send again, and the send is listed on the Send to prep screen with the reason “The printer for these items is paused, so nothing was sent. Resume it in POS Cafe to send them.”

If a send isn’t delivered

Sends are retried automatically in the background. If one still hasn’t been delivered, the tile tells you:

With the cart open: Not sent · tap to send again, or Sent · 1 station still busy · tap to send rest when one printer or screen hasn’t taken it yet.
With an empty cart: 1 send not delivered · tap to send.
When the POS device has no internet connection: Offline · 1 waiting. Waiting sends go out when the connection returns.

Tap the tile to open the Send to prep screen. Under Sends not delivered, each entry shows when it was tapped, how many items it has and why it wasn’t delivered. Tap Send now to send it, or, once you’ve checked the preparation team has the items, tap It’s with the prep team — dismiss and then Confirm: dismiss.

Carts that can’t be sent

Some carts can’t be sent with a tap. You’ll see Can’t send this cart – prints when paid, and the kitchen tickets print as usual when the order is saved or paid. This happens when the cart has a gift card or a bundle, or more than 50 lines.

If POS Cafe can’t find a cart’s earlier send history, it sends the whole cart again and shows Cart history lost – all items sent again. The preparation team may receive items they’ve already made.

What happens at checkout

You can check out straight after tapping Send to prep. When a cart that used Send to prep is checked out (or saved again as an open tab), POS Cafe prints only the items that haven’t already been sent. Items already sent aren’t printed again.

POS Cafe never holds a ticket back. If it can’t confirm what was already sent, for example because a send was still on its way when the order was paid, it prints those items anyway. A repeated ticket is better than a missed one, so in rare cases the preparation team may receive a duplicate. Orders that never used Send to prep print exactly as before.

If the tile shows Prints automatically when saved or paid, this cart has already been checked out or handed over to normal printing, and its remaining tickets print through your usual printers and Fresh KDS when the order is saved or paid.

At locations with a Shopify POS printer, staff can tap Done on the Order Complete screen straight away: the Send to prep tile prints the ticket after checkout. See Tap Done straight away.

Re-send a completed order

You can send a completed order to prep again from Shopify POS:

Where	Button	What it does
The order’s details in Shopify POS	Re-send to prep	Sends the whole order again to every printer and Fresh KDS screen at the location, including this device’s Shopify POS printer. You’ll see Re-sent to prep.
The Order Complete screen, at locations with a Shopify POS printer	Re-send all to prep	Sends every item again, for example if the automatic ticket after checkout is missing. You’ll see “Re-sent all items to 2 prep destinations.”

A re-send prints the whole order again, so the preparation team gets a repeat of anything already made. If a printer misses a re-send, you’ll see Re-sent – 1 printer(s) missed it; re-send repeats all. The order must belong to the POS device’s current location. Where Send to prep isn’t set up, the order’s details show a disabled button: Send to prep isn’t set up here.

Send to prep tile states

With items in the cart, the tile’s subtitle starts with the cart reference, for example Cart #1A2B3C · Sent.

Tile shows	What it means
Add items to the cart	The cart is empty and nothing is waiting.
Add items to the cart · tap for printer setup	The cart is empty and this location’s Shopify POS printer is paused. Tap to open the Send to prep screen and check printer setup.
Not set up at this location · tap to check again	This location has nothing Send to prep can send to (see Before you start). Tap to check again after you set up a printer or screen.
Unavailable at this location	Send to prep can’t be used at the current POS location.
Tap to send new items	Ready to send.
Sending… then Sent	The send is on its way, then delivered.
No items assigned to a prep area	None of the items in the cart has a prep area. Give them a prep area in POS Cafe, or set Shopify products up with Native Product Routing.
Not sent · tap to send again	The last send wasn’t delivered. Tap to send it again; items already sent aren’t sent twice.
Sent · not printed on this device	The send was delivered, but this device’s Shopify POS copy didn’t print. It’s listed on the tile so you can print it.
Sent · 1 station still busy · tap to send rest	One printer or screen hasn’t taken the send yet. Tap to send the rest.
Earlier ticket unconfirmed – prints again later	POS Cafe couldn’t confirm an earlier ticket, so those items will print again later rather than risk being missed.
POS reprint limit – check kitchen got ticket	This device’s copy reached its print limit. Check the preparation team has the ticket.
Removed item not cancelled – tell the kitchen (and the other warnings)	See Removing items after they’ve been sent.
Prints automatically when saved or paid	This cart was already checked out or handed over to normal printing. Its tickets print when the order is saved or paid.
Send to prep off – prints when saved or paid	Send to prep isn’t available on this device right now. Tickets print when the order is saved or paid.
1 send not delivered · tap to send	With an empty cart: a send from an earlier cart wasn’t delivered. Tap to review it.
Offline · 1 waiting	The POS device has no internet connection. Waiting sends and tickets go out when it reconnects.
1 ticket waiting for printer, 1 ticket not printed · tap to print	Shopify POS printer tickets waiting on the tile. See Tickets waiting on the Send to prep tile.

Check printer setup again

POS devices check the location’s printer setup regularly: within about an hour where Send to prep is already available, and within 4 hours where it isn’t set up yet. After you add a printer, add or resume a Shopify POS printer, or set up a Fresh KDS screen, you can update a device straight away:

Tap the tile when it shows Not set up at this location · tap to check again; or
Open the Send to prep screen and tap Check printer setup again. The screen opens when you tap the tile with an empty cart at a location without an active Shopify POS printer, or when something is listed on it; or
Fully close and reopen Shopify POS. POS Cafe checks the printer setup again when POS opens. At a location with an active Shopify POS printer and nothing waiting, this is the way to check again.

You’ll see Printer setup updated., Setup updated – still not set up here, No change – still not set up here or Couldn’t check printer setup – try again. Checking again never delays a send.

The Send to prep screen

A normal send is one tap. The Send to prep screen opens only when you tap the tile and something needs your review. Depending on the situation, it offers:

Button	What it does
Send now	Sends a send that wasn’t delivered (see If a send isn’t delivered). Items already sent aren’t sent twice.
Print now and Print all	Print Shopify POS printer tickets waiting on the tile. See Tickets waiting on the Send to prep tile.
Use [printer] and Refresh connected printers	Chooses which connected printer this POS device uses for Shopify POS printing. The device remembers the choice.
It’s with the prep team — dismiss, It printed — dismiss	Removes an entry once you’ve checked the preparation team has the items. Tap Confirm: dismiss to finish.
Check printer setup again	Checks this location’s printer setup now (see above).
Done	Closes the screen.

Troubleshooting Send to prep messages

When a send isn’t delivered, the Send to prep screen lists it with one of these reasons:

Reason	What to do
“The printer for these items is paused, so nothing was sent. Resume it in POS Cafe to send them.”	Resume the printer on the Receipt Printers Page, then tap Send now.
“A printer or KDS setting for this location needs fixing in POS Cafe before Send to prep can use it.”	Usually a printer at this location uses Print from specific POS devices only (advanced). Change its Device Source to Print from all POS devices (recommended). If no printer uses it, contact POS Cafe support to check the Fresh KDS setup.
“An item’s prep area has no printer or KDS. Assign one in POS Cafe.”	Add the prep area to a printer’s Prep Areas or a Fresh KDS screen.
“Product prep-area routing is not turned on, or is still updating, for this shop.”	The cart only has Shopify products that aren’t POS Cafe items. Add POS Cafe items, or set the products up with Native Product Routing.
“POS Cafe couldn’t read the printer or KDS setup for this location. Check the printers page in POS Cafe.”	Check the location has at least one printer or Fresh KDS screen, and that every printer has at least one prep area.
“This POS location is not active or does not belong to the current shop.”	Check the POS device is signed in to the right location, then try again.
“Not sent automatically: it wasn’t delivered within 30 minutes of the tap.”	Check with the preparation team, then tap Send now or dismiss it.

If you see Sends when online – 30+ min old needs a tap, the POS device is offline. Waiting sends go out when it reconnects; any older than 30 minutes need you to tap Send now.

Nothing is lost when a send isn’t delivered: tap Send now, and anything that still isn’t sent prints when the order is saved or paid.