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Creating and editing items

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.
    k-series-quick-create-items-2.0.png

Quick create item settings

Setting name Description
Item name The name of the item as it appears in the Back Office.
Accounting group Accounting groups sort and apply shared settings to items that share similar qualities and assign items to a specific tax profile. All accounting groups created from the Back Office in Menu management > Accounting groups are available for selection. See About accounting groups (categories) for further information.

Price (Optional)

 The price charged when selling the item to the customer. If an item does not have a defined price in the Back Office, it becomes an open item, and the price is requested at the POS.
Menu (Optional) Determines where items are available. To learn more about menus, visit our article About menus.
Main screen The buttons on the center of the POS Register screen. Selecting buttons on the main screen will open order item buttons or additional sub-screens representing item categories. This option appears if you've chosen to add the item to a Menu.
Subscreen A sub-category of the main menu screens containing additional item buttons. This option appears if you've chosen to add the item to a main screen.

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.
    create-single-item.png
  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.restaurant-creating-detailed-item.png
  5. Click Save to save the changes.

Details 

Setting name Description
Item name The name of the item as it appears in the Back Office.
SKU (Optional) SKUs, or Stock Keeping Units, are unique alphanumeric codes assigned to each product or item in a store. This code helps in tracking and managing the inventory. Click Add custom SKU to make the SKU field visible.
Price

The price charged when selling the item to the customer. If an item does not have a defined price in the Back Office, it becomes an open item, and the price is requested at the POS. By clicking Edit price type, you can change the price structure of the item and select from the options below.

  • Single price (default):
    This item has a single, fixed price.
  • Manually-entered price:
    The user manually enters the price of this item on the POS, and this amount is recorded as profit. This is useful for items where the price varies based on weight or quantity.
  • Manually-entered negative price:
    The user manually enters the price of this item on the POS, and this amount is recorded as a loss. This is useful for items where the value varies but needs to be recorded as a loss, such as a discount or reimbursement to the customer.
  • No price (zero price):
    This item has no price and will be set to 0.
  • Multiple prices:
    This item has a default price plus alternative prices that are tied to specific account profiles. When Multiple prices is selected, a "Multiple prices" section appears on the Details screen. Enter each alternate price and account profile in the Additional prices fields. For example, set a lower price to be triggered at the POS when an account profile called Happy hour is used on an order. Multi-pricing is also compatible with Order Anywhere—see the Order Anywhere and Multi-pricing tab below to learn more.
      1. Click Edit price type, select Multiple prices from the list, and then click Confirm.

        restaurant-edit-pricing.png

      2. In the Multiple prices field that appears, enter a Default price.
      3. Add more prices by clicking Add price.
      4. From the drop-down menu, choose the account profile associated with the alternative price.
      5. Enter the desired price in the available text field.

        restaurant-multiple-pricing.png

      6. (Optional) Add more prices by clicking Add price, and then repeat steps 2 - 5.

    • By default, Order Anywhere users will have two additional account profiles created automatically: On premises (code: OAOP) and Take-Away (code: OATA).account-profiles-OA.png
      When adding an item with Multiple prices, selecting either of the account profiles mentioned above and changing the prices will affect the prices that customers see when placing an order through Order Anywhere. This allows restaurants to lower or increase an item's price based on whether a customer uses Order Anywhere to dine in or take their food to go.

      For example, Restaurants that want to recoup the costs of packaging (such as takeout boxes, cutlery, and sauce cups) can increase the price of Take-Away items to offset the additional costs. Alternatively, a restaurant may prefer to lower the price of Take-Away items since ordering to-go doesn't incur the additional labor costs of full-service.

      restaurant-multi-price-take-away.png

      As another example, Restaurants may lower the price of items ordered On premises to encourage customers to dine in, thereby creating more opportunities to upsell customers on drinks or desserts.

      restaurant-on-premises-multi-pricing.png

  • Price as a percentage:
    The price for this item will be based on a percentage of the order’s value.
Accounting group Accounting groups sort and apply shared settings to items that share similar qualities and assign items to a specific tax profile. All accounting groups created from the Back Office in Menu management > Accounting groups are available for selection. See About accounting groups (categories) for more information.
POS Menus Add and manage item buttons in your POS menus. Click Add item to menu and then select the menu and sub-screen where this button will appear on your POS. After making your selection, click Add to menu to finish.
Archive (available when editing an existing item) Click Archive item > Archive to remove an item from the item library as well as menus, combos, and item groups.

Reporting

Setting name Description

Statistic categories

(optional)

Statistics categories offer a flexible method for sorting and reporting on items. They can be used to create customized reports by classifying items and/or accounting groups themselves, without being tied to taxes. To add a Statistics Category:

  1. Click Add Statistics Category.
  2. Select a Category and Tag from the drop-down menu, or type a new word in the available field to create a new category or tag.
  3. (Optional) Add more categories and tag by clicking Add row and repeating step 2.
  4. Click Save to finish.

To learn more about statistics categories, see our article about Understanding Statistics Groups.

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 color-customizer-icon.png  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.

item-counter.png

If this setting is enabled, set a sales restriction using the following steps:

  1. Find the button for this item on the POS device.
  2. Tap and hold the button until Item details appear.
  3. Tap Sales restriction. 
  4. Enter the maximum item quantity available for sale.
  5. Tap Apply sales restriction to finish.

Screen_Shot_2022-09-22_at_3.49.21_PM.png

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.

number-of-courses-for-this-item.png
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.
Cooking time Add a cooking time to display on your QSR automation and/or KDS screens.
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 this option is enabled, adding this item to a sale on the Restaurant POS will prompt the user to enter the name of the item manually.

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.

restaurant-onion-rings-item-description.png

Setting name Description
Auto-generate with AI

Click to automatically generate an Item description, options for an Item image, and a list of Food allergies using artificial intelligence (AI). Results are based on the item’s name as entered in the Details tab.

Important: Always verify auto-generated content as Lightspeed is not responsible for errors made by AI. Use this feature to help save time, not to replace human review.

Note: This feature is available upon request. If you don’t see it in your Back Office and want access, contact us for assistance.
Item description

Details of the item that will display on the POS and in Order Anywhere.

The Name corresponds to the item name, and the Description field provides room for detailed information. The description can be written in different languages if multiple languages are activated in the Back Office.
Item image

A customized image of the item that will display on the POS and in Order Anywhere.

Drag an image from your computer to the designated space, or click the dashed square to browse the folders on your computer and select the image. To remove an uploaded image, click Delete image.
Food allergies Use the available drop-down and choose potential ingredients that this product might contain from a list of common allergens. This information will display on the POS and in Order Anywhere.

Order instructions

Setting name Description
Item name on tickets Sets the name that will appear on production dockets that are sent to the kitchen or bar.
Instructions Click Add instructions to select from existing production instructions. If you need to create new production instructions, go click Add instructions > Go to order instructions. 
Group instructions under a single line Production instructions will be grouped together when the same item is ordered multiple times.
Update prices in realtime

The price of this item is retrieved through an external weight scale. However, you can manually enter the weight of the item on the POS to get the associated price even without a scale.

Note: Scale integrations are a legacy feature, and our Support teams cannot currently assist with this.
Update weights in realtime

The quantity of this item is retrieved through an external weight scale. 

Note: Scale integrations are a legacy feature, and our Support teams cannot currently assist with this.

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 Scan.png 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 Scan.png 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:

  1. Click Add ingredient.
  2. In the Item field, select the ingredient.
  3. 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.
  4. (Optional) Select a Stock Location from the available drop-down. To learn how to add new stock locations, visit Understanding stock locations.
  5. Click Add ingredient to finish.
  6. (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.
    manual-import-multiple-items.png

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

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.
      hospo-edit-in-table.png
    • 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.
      Screenshot_2023-04-12_at_2.50.26_PM.png
  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.
Depending on your account permissions, some actions may not be available or require additional steps.

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.

After changing these settings, remember to Save your changes and reload your POS device.
Item detail Description
Enable a counter on this item to restrict the available quantity

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.

item-counter.png

If this setting is enabled, use the following steps to set a sales restriction.

  1. Find the button for this item on the POS device.
  2. Tap and hold the button until Item details appear.
  3. Tap Sales restriction. 
  4. Enter the maximum item quantity available for sale.
  5. Tap Apply sales restriction to finish.

Screen_Shot_2022-09-22_at_3.49.21_PM.png
This item's quantity can be split 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.
Group production instructions on dockets Production instructions will be grouped together when the same item is ordered multiple times.
Get the price of this item at runtime from an external device

The price of this item is retrieved through an external weight scale. However, you can manually enter the weight of the item on the POS to get the associated price even without a scale.

Note: Scale integrations are a legacy feature and our Support teams cannot currently assist with this.
Get the quantity of this item at runtime from an external device

The quantity of this item is retrieved through an external weight scale. 

Note: Scale integrations are a legacy feature and our Support teams cannot currently assist with this.
Item name entered by user When this option is enabled, adding this item to a sale on the Restaurant POS will prompt the user to enter the name of the item manually.

Production center

 Select the production centers at which this item will print. When an order is placed for this item, it automatically prints at the specified production centers.
Secondary production center Select secondary production centers at which this item will print. When an order is placed for this item, it automatically prints at the specified production centers.
Bar code If you've added labels to your item, you can include the barcode number here.
Item to be inserted in course

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 set to 'Free' (default), the item will be inserted into the active course.

Number of courses for this item

 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.

number-of-courses-for-this-item.png

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 checkboxes  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 Archive or Assign sharing status from the drop-down menu. restaurant-edit-multiple-items.png
  4. Finalize your decision on the screen that follows. Note: 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. restaurant-archiving-items.png
  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. 

restaurant-activate-items.png

What's next?

Assigning barcodes to items

Barcodes can be assigned to specific items for scanning.

Learn more

Importing and exporting items

Import items to add multiple items at once or export items for backup outside the Back Office.

Learn more

 

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