# Prep stations & workflows

> Route items to stations and define the steps each kind of dish goes through.

Source: https://sofra.tablixai.com/docs/prep-workflows

Section: Run service

Prep workflows control **where** an item is made and **what steps** it goes through. They power station routing on the kitchen display and station-based print rules.

> **Available on Pro and above:** Prep stations, workflows and profiles are available from Pro.

## The three building blocks

| Block | What it is |
|---|---|
| Prep station | A place that prepares food: kitchen, bar, bakery, dessert, expo/pass or custom. |
| Prep workflow | An ordered list of steps (for example Ordered → Preparing → Oven → Quality Check → Ready), each optionally at a station with an estimated time. |
| Prep profile | A rule that assigns a workflow to a menu item, a category, a branch or the whole restaurant. |

## Prep stations

Go to **Settings → Prep Stations** and choose **Add Station**. Give it a name and type, a **KDS colour**, a sort order and whether the **kitchen display is enabled** for it. Leave the branch empty for a restaurant-wide station or pick a branch for a branch-only station.

_Screenshot: Prep stations with colours._

## Prep workflows

Go to **Settings → Prep Workflows**. Sofra ships with read-only **system workflows**:

| Workflow | Steps |
|---|---|
| Standard Kitchen (default) | Ordered → Preparing → Ready |
| Beverage | Ordered → Preparing → Ready |
| Pizza | Ordered → Preparing → Oven → Quality Check → Ready |
| Direct Serve | Ordered → Ready |
| Bakery | Ordered → Prep → Oven → Ready |
| Barista | Ordered → Barista Queue → Preparing → Ready |
| Delivery Pack | Ordered → Preparing → Ready → Packing → Packed |

Choose **New Workflow** to build your own. Give it a name, description and scope (whole restaurant or one branch), optionally make it the default for that scope, and add steps. Each step has a name, an optional station, an estimated time and a **step type**:

| Step type | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Standard | A normal step the cook advances. |
| Quality check | Shows Pass and Fail on the kitchen display. |
| Packing | A post-kitchen step for takeaway and delivery. |
| Hold | Waits for a manual fire. |

## Prep profiles

Go to **Settings → Prep Profiles** and choose **Assign Workflow**: pick a target type (menu item, category, branch or restaurant-wide), the workflow, the order types it applies to (dine-in, takeaway, delivery, or all), an optional **station override** and an optional branch scope.

### Which workflow wins

When an order item is created Sofra picks one workflow, from most to least specific:

- Item profile for this branch
- Item profile for the whole restaurant
- Category profile for this branch
- Category profile for the whole restaurant
- Branch default profile
- Restaurant-wide default profile
- System default (Standard Kitchen)

> **Snapshot at order time:** The workflow is copied onto the item when the order is created. Editing a workflow later does not change orders already in the queue.

## Modifiers that change prep

- A modifier can **inject steps** after a chosen step (a quality check, packing step or hold).
- A modifier can **override the station** for the whole item (for example “Add espresso shot” sends the drink to the bar).