Menu Items

Owned by Rose Eliff (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Apr 04, 2022Version comment
7 min read

Summary

The menu items page displays all the menu items  - active and inactive - available for the selected concept. Filters and a search operation allow users to view and work with a subset of menu items. With show/hide column functionality, users can specify what information can be viewed on this page. 

Description 

To access the Menu Items page, go to Products > Menu Items.

A grid showing menu items and basic information about each menu item is shown. From the Menu Items page, a user can:

  • Launch the Add Menu Item window 

  • View information for all menu items

  • View menu items by site(s) or group(s)

  • Search for menu items by name, description or filtered by menu item category

  • Choose specific columns to hide from the view 

  • Import/export menu items to/from ECM via CSV file 

  • Launch the Edit Menu Item window for details about the menu item

  • Copy a menu item 

  • View pricing by site for a menu item 

  • Sort and filter items by column headers

  • View the Active status of a menu item 

 

Item 

Description 

Item 

Description 

Add Menu Item

Launches Add Menu Item wizard

Save/Cancel Changes

Saves or cancels changes made on the page. 

Select sites

This filter displays a drop-down list of sites that can be selected.
Menu items are filtered to display only the items available for the selected site(s). 

Sites can be removed from the filter by clicking the x next to the site name.

Select groups

This filter displays a drop-down list of site groups that can be selected; each site group name also shows how many sites are in the group.
Menu items are filtered to display only the items available for the selected group(s).

Site groups can be removed from the filter by clicking the x next to the site group name. 

Search name and description 

Search and find items by name or description; accepts alpha, numeric and special character entry.

Menu Item Category selector

Filter the search by selecting a menu item category from the dropdown list; only items from the selected category will be shown. 

Search

Execute search 

Clear

Clear search criteria

Select column(s) to hide 

Option to show/hide specific columns in grid as desired

Select All will display name, description and Active status 

Import/Export 

 

Account feature toggle required*

Allow import/export of Menu Items file

When the account feature toggle is enabled, Import and Export buttons are shown on the Menu Items grid page. 

See below for Import/Export process.

Edit menu item (pencil) 

All sites: 
When the edit icon is clicked for an item, the edit menu item page opens with comprehensive details of the item, including pricing, printing and site availability. 

 

Select one site: 
When one site is selected before editing the menu item, only site-specific information about the menu item is shown. 

 

Select site(s) and/or group(s): 
When more than one site or a group (or groups) is selected before editing the menu item, a Shared Properties page shows the properties of the menu item that are shared among the selected sites. These properties can be edited and saved to apply the changes to the sites and/or groups selected. 

The link Show site prices launches the site pricing pop-up displaying the menu item pricing by site. 

Copy menu item 

The copy function is a useful feature when creating a number of similar items. When the copy icon is clicked, the General tab of a menu item page opens with information already pre-populated based on the item being copied. 

Command buttons allow the user to: 

  • Save - Save the information and exit the page. 

  • Save and Edit - Save the information and refresh the page, displaying additional tabs (site, pricing, taxes, etc.) to complete the menu item configuration. 

  • Cancel - Cancel the operation and exit the page.

Menu item pricing by site 

When the pricing icon is clicked, a pop-up window opens showing the Base Price for the item across all sites followed by a list of all sites and the individual site-level price for the item. Site-level pricing allows each site to set the best price for their individual business. 

Sort/filter columns

Columns can be sorted and/or filtered based on the data in that column only 

Active 

Shows whether the item is currently active or inactive. Click to select or deselect Active setting for any menu item. 

External ID

Unique system-generated external ID (not editable) 

Other

Pagination controls, number to display per page and number of items shown on the page are shown at the bottom of the grid.

Multi-site Item Availability 

For speed and ease of use, multiple items can be made available (or not available) on one or more sites at once from the Menu Items page.

  •  Select sites for availability 

    • The Active column changes to Available. Items that are available for the selected sites show a blue checkmark 

 

  • To make multiple items on the menu items page available or not available for the selected sites, select or unselect the Available checkbox. Click Save Changes to apply. 

 

  • Items that not available for ALL the selected sites will show an unselected checkbox and an enabled question mark in a new column next to it.

  • Click the question mark to see at which sites the menu item is available. A pop-up window will display: 

  • To make the unselected item available for all selected sites, close the pop-up and select the Available checkbox. Save changes. 

 

Each menu item also has a Site Availability tab to select the sites that have the menu item available.

Import/Export Menu Items File

Pre-condition: Account feature toggle is enabled: Allow import/export of Menu Items file. Contact your NorthStar representative to have this feature enabled for your account. 

Import

  • Click Import on the grid page

  • On the import pop-up page, click Import 

  • Locate and select the menu items file to be imported/uploaded from the file manager 

  • A progress dialog will display as the file is imported

  • Click Close to close the window when the import is complete

  • Menu items will be updated with the new file information 

Note: 

  • Basic information (from the menu items General tab) can be imported using the Import function. 

  • To include information from the other tabs (Site availability, Pricing Overrides, Taxes, Components, Serving Options, etc.), the External ID of the menu item must be added to the CSV file before importing. 

    • The External ID of the menu item is on the Menu Items grid 

    • Add the External ID to the CSV file in the column labeled:

      Copy Properties from Menu Items

    • To copy the media as well, add the External ID and the word "true" separated by a comma as shown:

Export 

  • Click Export on the Menu Items grid page 

    • Note: If the Menu Items page is filtered to show a subset of records (e.g., all beverages), only the filtered record will be exported

  • The menu items will be exported to a CSV file and the file will open

  • Make changes as needed to the file

  • Save the file to the file manager

  • Use Import  to import the file to update the menu items with the changes 

Export template for new accounts with no menu items 

  • For new accounts with no menu items yet configured in ECM, the menu items import template can be exported, edited as needed to add the menu items and then imported to ECM. 

Missing information on import

  • If a required menu item element is missing on import, the system will display a message advising which element is missing. 

Related articles