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Navigating the Menu Hierarchy
Navigating the Menu Hierarchy
Toast uses a hierarchical system to organize your menu offerings:
- Menus - Menus are the highest level of the hierarchy and typically map out the different categories of offerings that you serve (i.e Food, Drink, Lunch, Dinner)
- Groups - Groups are the second tier of the hierarchy and typically fall within menus. (Appetizers, Salads, Sandwiches, Desserts)
- Subgroups - Subgroups are groups within a menu group. Subgroups are useful to help break things down further. (i.e Wines by the Glass, Wines by the bottle).
- Items - Items fall into the groups and subgroups. (i.e Mozzarella Sticks may reside in the Appetizers group).
Modifiers
Toast also uses Modifiers to organize your menu. Modifiers are used to customize Items by providing additional options. These are typically organized by creating a Modifier Group and then creating Modifier Options within that group.
For example, a Modifier Group could be Salad Dressing Substitutes and the Modifier Options would be the different salad dressings to choose from such as Ranch.
Note: Modifier Groups do not appear on receipts or tickets, only the selected Modifier Option will. For example, "Salad Dressing Substitutes" would not appear on the ticket, but "Substitute Ranch Dressing" would.
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Building Menus, Groups and Items
Accessing the Menu Builder
If you are building your menu for the first time, navigate to the banner at the top of the homepage and select Get Started. From there, select the Menu tile.
Or, if you are editing an existing menu, navigate to the Menus section in www.toasttab.com and select Edit Menus.
Building Menus, Menu Groups and Items
1. From the menu builder, select +Add Menu.
2. Enter a name for the menu, then select Save.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for all menus your restaurant chooses to offer. This can include Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Drinks, Specials, Catering, Retail, and more.
4. Next, populate your menus with groups. Select a menu and choose +Add Group.
5. Enter a name for the group, then select Save. For a Lunch Menu, this can include Salads, Soups, Sandwiches, Burgers, and more.
6. Repeat steps 4-5 for all menus you've created.
7. Next, populate your groups with items. Select a group from the left side of the screen and select +Add Item.
8. Enter a name and price for the item. For example, an item within the Salad group could be "Shaved Brussel Sprouts Salad" for $9.50.
Note, the basic menu builder currently supports entering base prices for menu items. For more advanced pricing strategies, for example, size-specific prices, you must use the legacy menu details pages. If you use a more advanced pricing strategy, the menu item's tile in the basic menu builder displays $--.-- to indicate that the menu item is using a strategy other than base price. To see the advanced pricing configuration, use the Advanced Item Details link in the basic menu builder to quickly navigate to the menu item’s legacy details page. See Using Advanced Pricing Strategies for Menu Items for more information.
9. Optionally, you can also enter a description, number of calories and an image for your item. This can help guests familiarize themselves with your menu, any possible allergens, and entice them to try new dishes with with dynamic imagery. To include an image, simply drag and drop the image from your computer into the image field.
10. Then select a Visibility setting. The Visibility setting controls whether the menu item is shown to your guests in Toast online ordering. By default, it is set to Show. To hide this menu item from view, select Hide.
11. Select Save. A new tile is added to the right pane with the item you created.
12. Repeat steps 7-11 to enter menu items for each group created. Then, move on to the next section of this guide to create modifiers for your items if needed.
If you are ready for your guests to see these menu changes, select Publish, and then select Publish again in the Confirm Publish dialog box.
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Building Modifiers
To add modifier options to a menu item, you view the menu item's details in the basic menu builder, create a modifier group for that menu item, and then add individual modifier options to the modifier group you created. If you are creating a new menu item, you must save it before you can add modifier groups to it.
Once you have created a modifier group for one menu item, you can quickly add it to other menu items using the Use Existing Modifier Group option. If a modifier group is used by more than one menu item and you:
Edit it, the modifier group is edited for all the menu items that use it.
Remove it from one of the menu items, the other menu items continue to use it.
Building Modifier Groups and Modifier Options
1. Expand the menu and navigate to the menu item you want to add modifier options to.
2. Select the overflow menu (the ⋮ icon) to the right of the menu item's name and choose Edit.
3. In the Modifiers section, select Add Modifier Group.
4. Enter a name for the modifier group in the Modifier Group Name field. Consider a name that is guest-friendly like "Choice of Salad Dressing" instead of "Salad Mods."
5. In the What are the options section, enter the name, calories, and price for the first option in the group. If you don't want the modifier option to result in an upcharge on the menu item, set a price of $0.00. If you enter a minus sign before a modifier option's price or calorie amount, the value you enter is deducted from the menu item's price or calories. Consider using this method is a guest want to remove costly ingredients such as meat from a pizza or salad.
6. To add another option to the modifier group, select Add Option. A new row is added to the options table where you can specify the details of the next option.
7. To edit an option that you have already created, make your changes directly in the option's row. To remove an option from the options table, select the trash can icon.
8. Use the How many options can a guest select? settings to specify how many modifier options a guest can select from this modifier group. You can think of the Minimum a guest can select setting as "my guests have to pick at least this many modifier options from this modifier group" and the Maximum a guest can select setting as "my guests can pick up to this many modifier options from this modifier group." Use the No Minimum setting if guests are not required to pick a modifier option from this group. Use the No Maximum setting if guests can pick as many modifier options from this group as they want. The table below provides some examples to help you better understand how to use these settings:
| Requirements | Settings | Example |
|---|---|---|
Guests can make zero or one selection from this modifier group. | Minimum a guest can select: 0 Maximum a guest can select: 1 | A Protein modifier group that lets a guest optionally add chicken or salmon to a Salad entree. |
Guests must make one, and only one, selection from this modifier group. | Minimum a guest can select: 1 Maximum a guest can select: 1 | A Temperature modifier group that defines the cooking temperature for a Steak entree and has Rare, Medium, or Well Done modifier options. |
Guests must select a specified number of modifier options from this modifier group. | Minimum a guest can select: 2 Maximum a guest can select: 2 | A pick-two lunch entree where the guest can pick two offerings from among a group of lunch dishes, for example, soup and a sandwich, or soup and a salad, or salad and a sandwich. |
Guests can select as few or as many modifier options from this modifier group as they want. | No Minimum No Maximum | A Pizza Toppings modifier group for a make-your-own pizza where the guest can choose as few or as many toppings as they like. |
Guests must select at least one modifier option from this modifier group but they can also pick as many options from this group as they want. | Minimum a guest can select: 1 No Maximum | A Cheese Choice modifier group where the guest must specify at least one type of cheese to add to a sandwich but they can optionally add as many types of cheese as they want. |
Guests do not have to select any modifier options from this group but, if they do, they are limited to a specific number. | No Minimum Maximum a guest can select: [maximum number] | An Extra Sides modifier group where the guest does not have to pick a side dish but they can optionally add side dishes up to the maximum. |
9. When you are done specifying modifier options for this modifier group, select Add. You see the Edit Item dialog box again and the modifier group you created has been added to the Modifiers section.
10. Select Save to save the menu item and its new modifiers.
If you are ready for your guests to see these menu changes, select Publish, and then select Publish again in the Confirm Publish dialog box.
Use Existing Modifier Groups and Modifier Options
1. Expand the menu and navigate to the menu item you want to edit modifier options for.
2. Select the overflow menu (the ⋮ icon) to the right of the menu item's name and choose Edit.
3. In the Modifiers section, select Use Existing Modifier Group.
4. Start typing the name of the modifier group in the search field. As you type, a drop-down menu appears that matches the characters you have entered.
5. Select the modifier group from the drop-down menu, then select Add to add the modifier group to the menu item and return to the Edit Item dialog box.
6. If needed, repeat steps 4-6 to add more existing modifier groups.
7. Select Save to save the menu item.
If you are ready for your guests to see these menu changes, select Publish, and then select Publish again in the Confirm Publish dialog box.
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Menu FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How to set an inventory status or "count" on my menu items?
A: Select the overflow menu (the ⋮ icon) next to the menu item you wish to edit, select the Manage Item Inventory banner and choose a stock status for the item. See this article for more detail.
Q: How can I apply sales categories to my menu for reporting purposes?
A: Sales categories can be created in www.toasttab.com by navigating to the Other Setup section and selecting Sales Categories. Then, these categories can be applied to portions of your menu for more detailed reporting on your restaurant sales. See this article for more information.
Q: If I want to go back and make changes to my menu, how can I edit my existing menus, groups, items and modifiers?
A: To make changes to your existing menu, navigate back to the menu builder and select the overflow icon (the ⋮ icon) to edit a menu entity. Check out the following articles for more information:
Q: How can I use size pricing for my menu?
A: Size pricing will need to be set up using the menu item's Advanced Item Details page. Check out this article for more information.
Q: How can I rearrange my menus into a different order?
A: To rearrange the orders in which your menus are presented, contact our Customer Care team.