Adding an item creates a product in inventory. You can add individual items manually to the Back Office whenever needed, even during a business day.

To avoid having to move items to accounting groups one by one, we recommend creating accounting groups (categories) first and then selecting the appropriate accounting group when creating items.

Quick-creating items

If you want to save time when adding a single item to your menu, use the Quick create item option to open a window where you can quickly add an item with the essential info such as the item's Name, Accounting group, and Price. However, some detailed information, such as adding the item's Cost price, can only be added when creating a new item in detail. If you'd like to add additional info to your items, see Adding items in detail section.

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. From the navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
3. Click Quick create item.
4. Enter the mandatory item details on the Quick create item screen: Item name, Accounting group. See Quick create item settings for details about the settings you can enter.
5. (Optional) Add the menu to the Lightspeed Restaurant app by selecting a menu from the Menu drop-down and selecting a Main screen and Subscreen.
6. Click Create.
   

Quick create item settings

Adding items in detail

Adding items in detail allows you to add comprehensive information to items, such as defining modifiers and the menu on which the item should appear. In addition, you can also link items to stocks if you’ve created stocks from the Back Office in Configuration > Settings > Stock.

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. From the navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
3. Click Create > Single item.
   
4. Enter the required item settings and details using the tabs at the top of the screen (Details, Reporting, POS Settings, Appearance, Order instructions, and Inventory). See the tables below for descriptions of each setting.
5. Click Save to save the changes.

Details 

Reporting

POS Settings

Edit the POS Settings to customize how this item will appear as a button on the POS screen.

Setting name	Description
Button name and color	The name of the item that appears for the user throughout the POS and the color of its button. To change the color of the button, click the two-toned Color customizer   and select from the available colors.
Make this a sub-item that cannot be sold alone.	A sub-item refers to a modifier or add-on that is associated with a primary order item. Examples include toppings or condiments such as sauces, which typically accompany a dish rather than being ordered separately.
Create a stock quantity counter on the item's POS button	When enabled, a counter will appear on the item button on your POS, and you can add sales restrictions on an item from your device. If this setting is enabled, set a sales restriction using the following steps: Find the button for this item on the POS device. Tap and hold the button until Item details appear. Tap Sales restriction.  Enter the maximum item quantity available for sale. Tap Apply sales restriction to finish.
Item extends over multiple courses	This item will appear on production dockets for subsequent courses with a note to indicate its continuation. Enable this option if an item is served in one course and continues into the next course.
Item is part of a specific course	Using the drop-down menu, select which course this item will be added to. For instance, if an item is restricted to the 3rd course, it will always be in Course 3. If there is no Course 3, the POS will create one when you add this item to a sale.  If left unchecked (default), the item will be inserted into the active course.
Allow item to be split and sold in fractional amounts	When enabled, items can be split into fractions by entering a number on the keypad, such as 0.33. The price of the item will be adjusted accordingly.
Allow item to be renamed	When enabled, adding this item to a sale on the Restaurant POS will prompt the user to enter the name of the item manually.
Item can be discounted	When enabled, POS users can apply discounts to this item.
Item can be complimentary	When enabled, POS users can set this item’s price to zero, meaning it will be 'comped' or free of charge.
Item can be included in service charge	When enabled, POS users can include the price of this item in a service charge.
Create order sub-total before this item	When enabled, draft receipts and receipts show a sub-total before this item line.
Link item to cover counts	When enabled, item units match the number of covers at table.

Appearance

Attach an image and description to a POS item, accessible by tapping and holding the item button on the POS. This stores useful product details like ingredients, allergens, or cooking methods for customers who are seeking further information.

Order instructions

Inventory

When an item is sold on the POS, use the stock management details to define which unit of measurement is subtracted from which stock location. Stock Management is only relevant if a stock is enabled from the Back Office in Configuration > Settings > Stock. 

Setting name	Description
Cost price	The cost of ingredients for that item. Cost price will automatically update in Back Office based on your inventory purchasing activity.
Barcode	Create a barcode by entering any barcode standard that's associated with your items, such as UPC or EAN. This barcode can then be scanned using a supported barcode scanner, or tap the Scan icon  from the Register screen on the Lightspeed App to use your iPad's camera to scan and add this item to a sale.
QR Code	An auto-generated QR code corresponding to this item. Use the Download QR code drop-down to menu to download a PDF, PNG, or print the QR code. Scan this QR code using a supported barcode scanner or tap the Scan icon from the Register screen on the Lightspeed App to use your iPad's camera to scan and add this item to a sale.
Produced item	Indicate if this item is created at your location with multiple ingredients.
Item contains ingredients (Stock management only)	Indicate which items are ingredients for this product. To add more: Click Add ingredient. In the Item field, select the ingredient. In the Value field, use the drop-down menu to specify a dimension, such as volume, mass, or unit, and then enter the value as needed. (Optional) Select a Stock Location from the available drop-down. To learn how to add new stock locations, visit Understanding stock locations. Click Add ingredient to finish. (Optional) Click the trash can   icon to remove unwanted ingredients.
Item is an ingredient (Stock management only)	If this item has been incorporated as an ingredient in other items, a list of items containing this ingredient will be displayed here.
Stock movement (Stock management only)	For tracking purposes, you can indicate settings that help you keep track of inventory levels and values. Use the available drop-down menus to make changes. Dimension - Refers to the dimensions by which this item is measured, such as volume, mass, or units. Value - In the context of dimensions, the value represents the specific measurement within the selected dimension. For example, if the dimension is "Volume," the value can be liters (l), deciliters (dl), or centiliters (cl), depending on the desired level of granularity. Stock location - This refers to the designated area where the item is stored. To learn how to add new stock locations, visit Understanding stock locations. Don't record stock movement - When enabled, this option prevents the automatic update of stock levels when sales occur.

Adding multiple items

Add multiple items to Back Office at once through the Manual Import option. This method allows for the quick addition of items without the need for a spreadsheet. However, detailed information like defining the button color on the POS cannot be bulk-added. To do this:

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. From the navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
3. Click Create > Multiple items. Alternatively, you can reach the same screen via Import > Import and selecting the Manual import tab.
4. Enter item information such as Name, Price, Accounting group, Statistics group, and Screen. See Item details for descriptions of what these fields represent. Note: Name and Accounting group are mandatory fields.
5. Click +Add to create new fields and add more items.
6. (Optional) Toggle Create new accounting groups if you're assigning items to accounting groups that don't already exist.
7. Click Import to finish.
   

To import item information using a CSV file, refer to our Importing and Exporting items article.

Duplicating items

Making a copy of an item with minor changes is often faster than creating a new item from scratch. Duplicate items will be created with all of the same properties and settings of their original item. You can duplicate items from the Items menu or the Item details page.

When creating a duplicate item, the new item name must be different from the original item name.

Duplicate via the Items menu

1. Click the three dots (•••) in the row of the item you wish to duplicate.
   
2. Select Duplicate.
3. Name the newly duplicated item.
   
4. Click Duplicate.

Duplicate via Item details page

1. Click the Duplicate button.
   
2. Name the newly duplicated item.
3. Click Duplicate.

Editing item details

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. From the navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
3. Edit items in one of the following two ways:
   • Edit items directly in the table by clicking the relevant field or selecting the pencil icon   beside it. Note: If a field has a caret   beside it, clicking it shows a drop-down menu that can be used to update the item information.
     
   • Edit items from the Item details page by clicking the Name  of the item or by clicking the ellipsis  in an item's row and selecting Edit from the drop-down menu.
     
4. Make the required changes. See Understanding item details for information on what can be edited.
5. Click the Save button to save the changes.

Understanding item details

The options outlined in the table below are available only when editing existing items after clicking Edit. To learn more about the other item details you can change, visit our Adding items article.

Editing multiple items

If you need to archive or update the sharing status of multiple items, these actions can be performed on multiple items all at once:

1. From the Items page, click on the checkbox located in the leftmost column of the items table for the items that you want to edit. Note: Clicking the checkboxes beside the Name column will select all items on the page.
2. Click Actions.
3. Select the bulk action you'd like to apply from the drop-down menu.
   • Archive: Archive the items.
   • Assign statistic categories: Assign the items to statistic categories.
   • Assign production instructions: Assign production instructions to items.
   • Assign accounting groups:  Assign items to accounting groups.
   • Assign course: Assign items to course.
   • Convert into item: Convert a sub-item into an item.
   • Convert to sub-item: Convert an item into a sub-item.
   • Add to menu: Add items to menu.
   
4. Finalize your decision on the screen that follows.

If the items are attached to a menu, group, or combo, archiving it will also remove them from these groupings across all business locations.

Disabling and reenabling items

Once items are created in Lightspeed Restaurant, they can’t be deleted but can be disabled from the Back Office. When disabling an item, its status changes from active to inactive. The item's information will be hidden but not permanently deleted from the Back Office. If needed, disabled items can be reactivated and displayed again on the Items page. Disabling items is helpful in various cases, such as when an item is only offered seasonally, or you are waiting for supplies from a vendor.

Streamline your menu by disabling seasonal, discontinued, or limited-time-offer items to keep your menu organized and easier to manage for your staff. Seasonal items can be easily reactivated when needed, while discontinued items can be kept for reference purposes without cluttering your active menu.

Disabling items

To disable an item and make it unavailable for sale on Lightspeed Restaurant, you will need to Archive it. To do this:

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. From the main navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
3. (Optional) Apply filters to see only Active items by clicking Filters > Status > select Active and click Apply.
4. On the right side of the item's row, click the ellipsis .
5. From the drop-down menu, select Archive.
6. In the window that pops up, click Archive to finish. Note: If the item is attached to a menu, group, or combo, archiving it will also remove it from these groupings across all business locations.

Enabling items

Once an item has been archived, it can be reactivated and made available for sale again.

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. From the main navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
3. (Optional) Apply filters to see only Archived items by clicking Filters > Status > select Archived, and click Apply.
4. On the right side of the item's row, click the ellipsis .
5. From the drop-down menu, select Activate. 

What's next?