Menu Items

Overview

Menu Items are the products customers can order. Each item has a name, description, price, image, and can have modifiers attached for customization.

Key Purpose: Define what products are available for customers to order.

Purpose

This page lets you create, edit, and manage the products customers can order, including their pricing, images, allergens, and modifier group assignments.

Key Concepts

Item: A single orderable product with a name, description, price, image, category, tax rate, and optional modifier groups.
Prep Time: Each item can have its own preparation time (in seconds internally); if not set, the location's average prep time is used automatically.
Allergens & Dietary Preferences: Arrays of values stored per item for EU-compliant allergen disclosure and dietary filtering (vegetarian, vegan, halal, etc.).
Alcohol Handling: Items flagged as containing alcohol automatically receive a minimum-age restriction based on the location's country code and the alcohol type (beer/wine vs spirits).
Modifier Group Sync: Items are linked to modifier groups through a sync operation; all attached modifier groups must share the same label as the item.

Actions

Create Item

Add a new menu item by providing a name, price, category, tax rate, and optional image, allergens, dietary preferences, and modifier groups. The item is saved and synced to external integrations (e.g., Square) if active.

Edit Item

Update any item field including name, description, price, image, allergens, or modifier group assignments. Changes trigger a menu reload event for all ordering channels.

Delete Item

Remove an item permanently. Deletion also triggers a menu reload and syncs the removal to connected integrations.

Export Items

Export the full item list for a location to a spreadsheet with columns for name, type, PLU, price, tax amounts, label, and status.

Location

Backoffice Route: /menus/items
Backend Controller: app/Http/Controllers/Api/ItemController.php
Vue Component: src/views/items/Items.vue
Item Form: src/components/forms/items/ItemForm.vue

Fields

Item Name

Property	Value
Field ID	`name`
Label	Item Name
Type	Text
Required	Yes
Validation	`required

Description: The name of the product shown to customers on menus.

Best Practices:

Keep names concise but descriptive
Include key ingredients for clarity
Avoid abbreviations customers won't understand

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Displayed in menu list and item detail
Kiosk: Large text on item cards
Receipt: Printed on order receipt

Examples:

"Margherita Pizza"
"Classic Cheeseburger"
"Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken"

Item Description

Property	Value
Field ID	`description`
Label	Description
Type	Textarea
Required	No
Validation	`nullable

Description: Detailed description of the item including ingredients, preparation method, or special notes.

Best Practices:

List main ingredients
Mention cooking style (grilled, fried, etc.)
Note if spicy, vegetarian, etc.
Keep under 150 characters for mobile readability

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Shown below item name in detail view
Kiosk: Displayed when item is selected

Examples:

"Fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, basil, extra virgin olive oil on hand-stretched dough"
"100% beef patty, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, special sauce on a brioche bun"

Price

Property	Value
Field ID	`price`
Label	Price
Type	Currency
Required	Yes
Validation	`required

Description: Base price of the item before any modifiers. This is the starting price shown to customers.

Business Logic:

Final price = Base price + Selected modifier prices
Price stored without tax (tax calculated separately)
Displayed with currency symbol based on location settings

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Price shown on menu and in cart
Kiosk: Large price display on item cards
Receipt: Base price + modifiers itemized

Examples:

Pizza: €12.50
Burger: €9.95
Drink: €2.50

Property	Value
Field ID	`category_id`
Label	Category
Type	Select
Required	Yes
Validation	Must be valid category ID

Image

Property	Value
Field ID	`content_id` / `cloudflare_image_id`
Label	Product Image
Type	Image Upload
Required	No (but highly recommended)
Validation	Image file, `max:10240` KB (~10MB); recommended 800x600px

Description: Product photo shown to customers. Internally stored as a content_id (legacy content system) and/or a cloudflare_image_id (Cloudflare Images). The system prefers the Cloudflare image ID when available. High-quality images significantly increase sales.

Best Practices:

Use professional food photography
Consistent lighting and background
Show the actual product (not stock photos)
Square or 4:3 aspect ratio works best
Minimum 800px width for quality display

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Thumbnail in menu, large in detail view
Kiosk: Large image on item cards (very important for kiosk UX)
No Image: Placeholder shown, reduces appeal

Technical:

Images are resized and optimized on upload
Multiple sizes generated for different displays
CDN delivery for fast loading

Status

Property	Value
Field ID	`status`
Label	Status
Type	Select (string enum: `Active`, `Inactive`, `Unavailable`, `Hidden`)
Default	`Active`
Required	No

Description: Whether the item is currently available for ordering. The backend uses a string status field (the ItemStatuses enum), not a boolean toggle.

Business Logic:

Status = Active → Item shown normally
Status = Unavailable → Item's stock is written to 0 so it shows as "Sold Out"
Status = Inactive / Hidden → Item removed/hidden from the menu
Can be changed manually or automatically by inventory

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Unavailable items hidden or grayed out
Kiosk: Same behavior
Existing Carts: Items may be removed if made unavailable

Use Cases:

Seasonal items
Out of stock
Discontinued items
Time-limited specials

Tax Rate

Property	Value
Field ID	`tax_rate_code`
Label	Tax Rate
Type	Select
Required	Yes
Validation	Must be valid tax rate code

Description: VAT/tax rate code applied to this item. Different items may have different tax rates (e.g., food vs drinks). The code is resolved against the location's country code to determine the actual rate.

Business Logic:

Tax calculated using the tax rate code, the location's country code, and the dining option (dine-in, takeout, delivery)
Tax shown separately on receipt
Different rates for dine-in vs takeaway in some countries

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Prices typically shown including tax
Receipt: Tax breakdown shown

Examples:

Food: 9% (reduced rate)
Drinks: 21% (standard rate)
Alcohol: 21% (standard rate)

Related: Tax Rates

Allergens

Property	Value
Field ID	`allergens`
Label	Allergens
Type	Multi-select
Required	No (but legally required in EU)
Options	Gluten, Crustaceans, Eggs, Fish, Peanuts, Soybeans, Milk, Nuts, Celery, Mustard, Sesame, Sulphites, Lupin, Molluscs

Description: Allergen information for the item. Required by law in EU for food businesses.

Business Logic:

14 major allergens defined by EU regulation
Displayed as icons or text
Searchable/filterable in some implementations

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Allergen icons shown on item
Kiosk: Allergen information displayed
Receipt: May be printed for reference

Legal Note: In the EU, businesses must inform customers about allergens. This is a legal requirement, not optional.

Dietary Preferences

Property	Value
Field ID	`dietary_preferences`
Label	Dietary Info
Type	Multi-select
Required	No
Options	Vegetarian, Vegan, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, etc.

Description: Dietary labels to help customers with specific dietary requirements find suitable items.

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Filter menu by dietary preference
Kiosk: Dietary icons displayed
Search: Can search for "vegetarian" items

Preparation Time

Property	Value
Field ID	`prep_time_seconds`
Label	Preparation Time
Type	Number
Unit	Seconds (stored internally)
Default	0
Required	No

Description: Time needed to prepare this specific item, stored in seconds internally. The getPrepTimeMinutes() method converts to minutes by dividing by 60. If the value is 0, the location's average prep time is used as a fallback.

Business Logic:

Stored in seconds internally, displayed in minutes to the user
If prep_time_seconds is 0, falls back to the location's average_prep_time
The maximum item prep time in an order is used (not the sum)
Affects earliest available time slot

Use Cases:

Slow-cooked items
Made-to-order specials
Complex dishes

Use Default Prep Time

Property	Value
Field ID	`use_default_prep_time`
Label	(server-managed, not a user toggle)
Type	Boolean
Default	`false`
Required	No

Description: A server-managed flag (not a form toggle). When the item is saved, the backend sets use_default_prep_time to false if an explicit prep time was supplied, or to true (and copies the location's average prep time into prep_time_seconds) when no prep time was entered.

Business Logic:

Flag is set in ItemService based on whether prep_time_seconds is present in the request
If no prep time is entered → flag becomes true and the location's average prep time is used
Maximum item prep time in an order is used (not the sum)

Example:

Order has: Burger (5 min), Pizza (15 min), Drink (1 min)
If all use item prep time: Order prep = max(5, 15, 1) = 15 min
Added to location's base prep time

PLU (Product Lookup Unit)

Property	Value
Field ID	`plu`
Label	PLU / Product Code
Type	Text
Required	No

Description: Product Lookup Unit - internal product code for POS integration, inventory, and reporting. Indexed in the database for search.

Use Cases:

POS integration
Inventory management
Reporting and exports
Third-party integrations

Modifiers

Property	Value
Field ID	`modifier_group_ids`
Label	Modifier Groups
Type	Array of Modifier Group IDs
Required	No

Description: Modifier groups attached to this item. Allows customers to customize the item.

Business Logic:

Item can have multiple modifier groups
Each group can be required or optional
Modifier prices added to base price

Customer Impact:

Online Ordering: Modifier selection shown when adding to cart
Kiosk: Modifier screens after item selection

Related: Modifiers

Business Logic

Price Calculation

Base Price (item.price)
    +
Modifier 1 Price Adjustment
    +
Modifier 2 Price Adjustment
    +
...
    =
Item Total

Item Total × Quantity = Line Total

Sum of all Line Totals = Subtotal
Subtotal + Delivery Fee = Order Total

Availability Logic

Is item available?
    │
    ├── item.status = Unavailable → Sold Out (stock forced to 0)
    │
    ├── item.status = Inactive / Hidden → Removed/hidden from menu
    │
    ├── item.category.visible = false → Hidden
    │
    ├── Inventory tracking enabled?
    │   └── Stock = 0 → Sold Out
    │
    └── Menu availability schedule?
        └── Outside schedule → Hidden

Items can be searched/filtered by:

Name (text search)
Category
Allergens (exclude items with allergen)
Dietary preferences (include items with preference)
Price range
Availability

Customer Impact

Online Ordering

Menu View: Items displayed in category sections
Item Card: Image, name, short description, price
Item Detail: Full description, allergens, modifiers
Add to Cart: Select modifiers, quantity, add

Kiosk

Category Selection: Large category buttons
Item Grid: Large images with name and price
Item Selection: Full-screen item with modifiers
Customization: Step through modifier groups

KDS (Kitchen Display)

Item name displayed
Selected modifiers shown
Special instructions included
Quantity highlighted

Receipt

Item name
Selected modifiers (indented)
Unit price
Quantity
Line total

Relations

Depends On

Categories: Items must belong to a category
Tax Rates: Items must have a tax rate
Modifier Groups: Optional customization

Affects

Order Capacity: Items counted for capacity limits
Inventory: Stock decremented on order
Reports: Sales tracked per item
Offers: Can be targeted by promotions

Business Rules

An item's modifier groups must all share the same label as the item itself; mismatched labels are rejected with a 400 error.
If prep_time_seconds is 0, the getPrepTimeMinutes() method automatically falls back to the location's average prep time. On save, ItemService sets use_default_prep_time to false when an explicit prep time is supplied, or to true (copying the location's average prep time into prep_time_seconds) when none is provided.
Items containing alcohol are automatically assigned a minimum purchase age based on the location's country code and alcohol type (e.g., 16 for beer/wine in Belgium, 21 for any alcohol in the US).
A category can be set to null on an item, but items without a category will not appear in any menu structure.
Deleting or updating an item triggers a ReloadMenu event so all active ordering channels (online ordering, kiosk) reflect the change immediately.

FAQs

Can an item belong to multiple categories? No. Each item has a single category_id and appears under only one category in the menu.
What happens if I do not upload an image? The item will display with a placeholder image on all channels. Items with images have significantly higher conversion rates.
How is the final price calculated? Final price = item base price + sum of all selected modifier price adjustments. Tax is calculated separately based on the item's tax_rate_code, the location's country code, and the dining option (dine-in, takeout, delivery).
Does changing an item's price update existing carts? Changes trigger a menu reload, but in-progress carts may still show the old price until the customer refreshes or proceeds to checkout.
Can I bulk-import items? There is no bulk import via the backoffice UI, but items can be synced from Square if the integration is active. You can also export items to a spreadsheet for review.
"What's the difference between the Active, Inactive, Unavailable, and Hidden statuses?" An item's Status (in the right-hand Status card) has four values: Active (shown and orderable), Inactive, Unavailable, and Hidden. Setting an item to Unavailable writes its stock to 0 so it shows as sold out; Hidden removes it from the menu. Both fire a menu reload so every channel updates immediately.
"Can I sell an item at a different price on different channels (e.g. Uber Eats vs in-store)?" Yes. In the Pricing card, open the custom-price modal and add per-channel prices on top of the base price. Each channel you pick (Kiosk, POS, Online Ordering, Table QR Ordering, Uber Eats, Takeaway, Shopify) gets its own price field; channels with no custom price use the base price.
"How do I control which sales channels an item appears on?" Use the Channels checkboxes in the right column of the item form. The available channels come from your location's configuration and include Kiosk, POS, Online Ordering, Table QR Ordering, Uber Eats, Takeaway, and Shopify.
"What is the 'Apply to all locations' switch when creating an item?" Toggling it on creates the item as a global item shared across all your locations. It is only available when creating a new item, not when editing.
"How do I limit how many of one item a customer can order?" Set the Max Item Order Limit field (in QTY) on the Product Specifications tab. If left blank, no per-item cap is enforced.
"Why can't I create or edit items in the back office for some locations?" When a location is connected to a POS provider (Square, MplusKassa, Kassanet, ShopCaisse, Lightspeed), new-item creation is blocked and certain fields are locked because they're owned by the POS — the menu syncs from the POS instead. The locked fields vary by provider.
"How does the 'Contains alcohol' setting work?" Turn on Contains Alcohol on the Product Specifications tab and choose Beer & Wine or Spirits. The system assigns a minimum purchase age automatically based on your location's country and the alcohol type (e.g. 16 for beer/wine and 18 for spirits in Belgium; 21 for any alcohol in the US).
"Do I have to enter a PLU, and where does the suggested one come from?" A PLU is required, but you don't have to type it — the form auto-generates one from the item name plus a timestamp, which you can overwrite. If left blank, the backend also generates one on save.
"How do prep times work and what unit do I enter?" Enter the preparation time in minutes on the Product Specifications tab; it defaults to your location's average prep time. For an order, the longest item prep time is used, not the sum.
"How do I add upsell suggestions to an item?" Open the Upsell Groups tab on the item form, search for and add existing upsell groups, then drag to set their order. Upsell groups are created under Marketing; this tab only assigns ones you've already built.
"What gets included when I export my items?" The export spreadsheet has columns for Name, Type, PLU, Price, Dine In / Take Out / Delivery Tax Amount, Label, and Status. Variant-group child items appear as indented rows under their group.
"What are the AI 'Suggested' chips I see when I type an item name?" As you type the name, the system looks up a reference database and suggests an image, description, calories, allergens, dietary preferences, supplements, prep time, and whether it contains alcohol. You can Accept All, Decline All, or approve/dismiss each one; nothing is applied until you accept it.

Troubleshooting

Causes:

Item status is not active
Category is hidden
Item not assigned to active menu
Menu not assigned to location

Solutions:

Enable item availability
Check category visibility
Verify menu contains item's category
Assign menu to location

Problem: Price showing incorrectly

Causes:

Wrong price entered
Tax display setting (incl/excl)
Modifier prices not configured

Solutions:

Update item price
Check tax display settings
Review modifier price adjustments

Problem: Image not displaying

Causes:

No image uploaded
Image too large (failed upload)
Unsupported format
CDN/caching issue

Solutions:

Upload an image
Resize image before upload
Convert to JPG/PNG/WebP
Clear cache or wait for CDN refresh

Problem: Item shows "Sold Out" unexpectedly

Causes:

Inventory tracking enabled with 0 stock
Item manually set to unavailable
Category disabled

Solutions:

Restock item in Inventory
Enable item availability
Enable category

Examples

Simple Item (No Modifiers)

json

{
  "name": "French Fries",
  "description": "Crispy golden fries with sea salt",
  "price": 3.50,
  "category_id": "sides",
  "cloudflare_image_id": "abc123",
  "status": "active",
  "tax_rate_code": "food-9",
  "allergens": [],
  "dietary_preferences": ["vegetarian", "vegan"],
  "modifier_group_ids": []
}

Item with Modifiers

json

{
  "name": "Build Your Own Burger",
  "description": "Start with our signature beef patty and customize to your taste",
  "price": 8.95,
  "category_id": "burgers",
  "cloudflare_image_id": "def456",
  "status": "active",
  "tax_rate_code": "food-9",
  "allergens": ["gluten", "eggs"],
  "dietary_preferences": [],
  "modifier_group_ids": [
    "burger-size-id",
    "burger-cheese-id",
    "burger-toppings-id",
    "burger-sauce-id"
  ]
}

Item with Long Prep Time

json

{
  "name": "Slow-Roasted Ribs",
  "description": "Fall-off-the-bone pork ribs, smoked for 6 hours, served with coleslaw and fries",
  "price": 18.95,
  "category_id": "mains",
  "cloudflare_image_id": "ghi789",
  "status": "active",
  "tax_rate_code": "food-9",
  "allergens": ["celery", "mustard"],
  "prep_time_seconds": 1800
}

Seasonal/Limited Item

json

{
  "name": "Pumpkin Spice Latte",
  "description": "Limited time! Espresso with pumpkin spice and steamed milk",
  "price": 4.95,
  "category_id": "drinks",
  "cloudflare_image_id": "jkl012",
  "status": "active",
  "tax_rate_code": "drinks-21",
  "allergens": ["milk"],
  "dietary_preferences": []
}

Menu Items ​

Overview ​

Purpose ​

Key Concepts ​

Actions ​

Create Item ​

Edit Item ​

Delete Item ​

Export Items ​

Location ​

Fields ​

Item Name ​

Item Description ​

Price ​

Category ​

Image ​

Status ​

Tax Rate ​

Allergens ​

Dietary Preferences ​

Preparation Time ​

Use Default Prep Time ​

PLU (Product Lookup Unit) ​

Modifiers ​

Business Logic ​

Price Calculation ​

Availability Logic ​

Search & Filter ​

Customer Impact ​

Online Ordering ​

Kiosk ​

KDS (Kitchen Display) ​

Receipt ​

Relations ​

Depends On ​

Affects ​

Related Features ​

Business Rules ​

FAQs ​

Troubleshooting ​

Problem: Item not showing on menu ​

Problem: Price showing incorrectly ​

Problem: Image not displaying ​

Problem: Item shows "Sold Out" unexpectedly ​

Examples ​

Simple Item (No Modifiers) ​

Item with Modifiers ​

Item with Long Prep Time ​

Seasonal/Limited Item ​

Overview

Purpose

Key Concepts

Actions

Create Item

Edit Item

Delete Item

Export Items

Location

Fields

Item Name

Item Description

Price

Category

Image

Status

Tax Rate

Allergens

Dietary Preferences

Preparation Time

Use Default Prep Time

PLU (Product Lookup Unit)

Modifiers

Business Logic

Price Calculation

Availability Logic

Search & Filter

Customer Impact

Online Ordering

Kiosk

KDS (Kitchen Display)

Receipt

Relations

Depends On

Affects

Related Features

Business Rules

FAQs

Troubleshooting

Problem: Item not showing on menu

Problem: Price showing incorrectly

Problem: Image not displaying

Problem: Item shows "Sold Out" unexpectedly

Examples

Simple Item (No Modifiers)

Item with Modifiers

Item with Long Prep Time

Seasonal/Limited Item