Menu Management & Menu Item Creation

Overview

Menu Management is how you build what guests and staff can order in Katalyst. The menu is organized by revenue center (dining room, bar, takeout, etc.), grouped into categories and sections, and made up of menu items. Each item can have one or more sell units (sizes or price points), optional modifiers, taxes, and rules for when and where it appears.

A well-built menu ensures:

• Servers see the right buttons on the POS
• Kitchen tickets route to the correct printers and prep stations
• Prices, taxes, and reporting categories are accurate on every check
• Online, takeout, and catering channels show the correct offerings

How the menu is organized

Menu categories and items are linked to one or more revenue centers so the same restaurant can run different menus in different areas.

Menu item types

Most day-to-day menu work is regular items. Open items live in a dedicated "Open Items" category. Bundles are created through a separate bundle workflow but appear on the menu like other items.

What is included in a menu item

When you create or edit a menu item, you configure several layers of information.

Names (where the item appears)

Using distinct kitchen and receipt names keeps tickets readable without shortening what guests see on checks.

Placement and visibility

• Categories / sections — which menu folders contain the item (required)
• Revenue centers — which RCs can sell this item (required)
• Active — master on/off for the item
• POS active — visible on staff POS
• Search active — findable in menu search
• Preorder / takeout / catering active — channel-specific availability

An item can be active globally but turned off for POS only, which is useful for online-only or temporarily pulled items.

Sell units (pricing)

Each menu item has one or more sell units (also called sub-items). A sell unit is what actually gets a price on a check.

Typical sell unit fields:

Quantity on the menu item itself can cap how many can be sold. When limited, the POS shows quantity remaining and stops selling when depleted.

Taxes and reporting

Modifiers

Items can attach modifier groups (e.g. "Cooking temp", "Extra cheese"). Each group contains modifiers with optional prices. Groups control:

• Minimum / maximum selections
• Whether names and prices print on kitchen slips
• Diner-facing availability

Modifiers can be assigned to one item or batch-assigned to many items at once.

Kitchen and operations

Printer routing is set per revenue center on the item (or inherited from category). See Printing.md for how routing affects kitchen and receipt printers.

Appearance on POS

• Background, font, and border colors — button styling on the POS grid
• Comment — internal notes (not typically guest-facing)

Availability schedules

Items and categories can share scheduling rules:

Categories can have their own schedules; items inherit category timing unless overridden.

Creating a menu item (step by step)

These steps reflect the typical back-office workflow. Exact screen labels may vary slightly in your admin UI.

Before you start

1. Confirm tax categories and sales categories exist for the restaurant.
2. Know which revenue center(s) and menu section(s) the item belongs to.
3. If using kitchen display or routed printing, confirm prep stations and printers are set up (see Printing.md).

1. Create or select a menu section

• Open the menu for the target revenue center.
• Add a category (top-level section) or sub-section under an existing category.
• Set section name, POS name, receipt name, colors, and availability if the whole section is time-limited.

2. Create the menu item

• Choose New menu item (regular item).
• Enter name and POS/kitchen/receipt names as needed.
• Assign the item to its categories and revenue centers.
• Select tax category and sales category.
• Set item-level flags: active, POS active, channel flags (takeout, preorder, catering).

3. Add sell units

• Add at least one sell unit with title and price.
• For multiple sizes, add additional sell units (each gets its own price and optional SKU/barcode).
• Upload images if the item appears on guest-facing menus.
• Optionally link recipes or ingredients so cost and price can calculate from inventory markup.

4. Attach modifiers (optional)

• Select existing modifier groups or create new groups.
• Configure min/max selections per group.
• Use batch assign modifiers to apply the same groups to many items.

5. Configure kitchen and printing

• Set prep station per revenue center.
• Choose course and prep time if used.
• Enable print separate slips if this item must always print alone.
• Assign printer or printer group per revenue center (or rely on category defaults).

6. Set availability (optional)

• Restrict to days, times, or date ranges if the item is not all-day.
• Set quantity if the item is limited (e.g. daily special, 50 portions).

7. Save and verify on POS

• Save the item. The system refreshes the menu for affected revenue centers.
• On a POS device, sync or reload the menu (devices download the updated menu when it changes).
• Ring a test order: confirm price, tax, modifiers, and kitchen ticket routing.

Menu categories and sections

Categories structure the POS menu grid and control defaults for items inside them.

Category settings

Batch updates by section

Managers with menu edit access can batch update all items in a section — useful for turning a whole section on/off or applying a bulk change without editing each item individually.

Modifiers and modifier groups

Modifier group

A named collection of choices (e.g. "Sides", "Protein upgrade").

Modifier

An individual choice within a group, with optional price and nested child modifiers for multi-level options.

Modifiers can be reassigned across items in bulk. Changing a modifier triggers a menu refresh for POS devices.

Open items

Open items let staff sell something not on the standard menu by entering details at order time.

• Created and managed separately from regular items
• Usually tied to the Open Items category
• Often use auto-fill name behavior so the POS prompts for a description
• Still require tax category, sales category, and RC assignment
• Unlimited quantity by default

Use open items for custom charges, event fees, or ad hoc sales while keeping reporting categories consistent.

Bundles

A bundle packages multiple existing menu items at a bundle price.

• Bundle appears as one POS button
• Each component is an existing menu item
• Bundled components must be active and POS-active
• Modifiers on the bundle work like a regular item
• Created/edited via the menu bundle workflow in back office

If a bundled item is deactivated, the bundle may show components as out of stock until the menu is updated.

Corporate menu management

Some organizations use a corporate account that owns a master menu pushed to multiple locations.

Restaurants that belong to a corporation may be restricted from creating new items locally; updates to shared fields happen at corporate level. Child locations inherit corporate sell units and names.

How the menu reaches the POS

When you save a change to an item, category, or modifier, Katalyst sends a menu refresh to the POS and KDS apps for the affected revenue centers. Devices keep a local copy of the menu for fast ordering and download the update when the menu changes. If staff don't see a new item:

• Confirm the item is active and POS active
• Confirm the item is assigned to the correct revenue center
• Allow time for refresh or force a menu sync on the device

Permissions

Menu edit is required for creating items, open items, bundle changes, printer assignment, and sell unit price updates.

Related features

Troubleshooting common menu issues

New item does not appear on POS

Check:

• Item is active and POS active
• Item is assigned to the revenue center the device is using
• At least one sell unit is active and POS active
• Category is active and within availability window
• POS has synced the menu after save

Wrong price on check

Check:

• Correct sell unit was selected (multiple sizes)
• Sell unit price was saved (not just cost/markup draft)
• No conflicting promo or discount on the sell unit
• Bundle pricing vs. sum of components

Item shows "sold out" or limited quantity

Check:

• Item quantity cap and how many have been ordered today
• The remaining count resets when quantity is increased in back office

Modifiers missing on POS

Check:

• Modifier group is attached to the item
• Modifiers are active and POS active
• Menu refresh completed after modifier changes

Kitchen ticket goes to wrong printer

Check:

• Item printer or printer group for that revenue center
• Category-level printer defaults
• Modifier group printer overrides
• Print separate slips on item or bundle sub-item
• See Printing.md

Tax wrong or missing

Check:

• Tax category on the menu item
• Tax rules configured for that category in restaurant settings

Cannot create menu item at restaurant level

Check:

• Restaurant may be under corporate control — create or edit at corporate level, or adjust which restaurants receive the corporate item

Category visible but empty

Check:

• Items are assigned to this section
• Items are active for the current time/day schedule
• Sub-section vs. parent category assignment

Menu setup checklist (new item)

• Tax category and sales category selected
• Assigned to correct revenue center(s) and section(s)
• At least one sell unit with price
• POS, kitchen, and receipt names set if different from default
• Modifiers attached and tested
• Prep station / course / printer routing set
• Channel flags (takeout, catering) match intent
• Availability schedule set if not all-day
• Test order on POS: price, tax, kitchen ticket, receipt

New location / new revenue center checklist

• Revenue center created
• Menu categories and sub-sections built
• Tax and sales categories configured
• Items and sell units imported or created
• Modifiers and groups assigned
• Printer and prep station routing verified
• POS devices synced menu for that RC
• Sample service test (dine-in, takeout if applicable)

Glossary

This guide reflects product behavior in the Katalyst POS platform. Exact menu editor labels and navigation in your deployment may vary slightly. Contact your account team for corporate menu policies, CSV import, or inventory-linked pricing.