Menu management in Lightspeed Restaurant Back Office is the hub where you manage your items, accounting groups, production instructions, menus, and price lists. Most importantly, from Menu management, you can add new items, edit existing ones, and delete outdated or unnecessary items.

Articles about Menu management

This section contains a list of articles about the categories in Menu management. Each one has a category description, but click the links to read more in-depth information.

• Accounting groups: Accounting groups are mandatory categories that are used to organize items with shared settings: tax profile, accounting ID, statistic category, and production centers. For example, an Alcohol accounting group would allow a restaurant to assign incoming alcoholic beverages to always print at the bar and have the same tax attributes (VAT).
• Items: Items commonly refer to standard food and beverage products that can be added to an order. There are four Types of items: individual items, combos, groups, and sub-items. For precise descriptions about these types, visit our About items article.
• Combos: Combos allow you to group items together for a fixed price. Customers can choose from a preset group of items or a list of applicable items. For example, you can create a combo that contains a drink and a sandwich, with a choice of which drink and which sandwich. You can also create a combo that has only certain items, for example a burger and milkshake, but that allows customers to choose their preferred size.
• Modifiers: Lightspeed offers two types of modifiers: Production instructions and Sub-items. Production instructions provide preparation information for menu items. For example, you might create a production instruction to specify cooking levels for a main dish, like steak: rare, medium rare, well-done, etc. Sub-items, like dressings for a salad, can be created the same way. Production instructions and sub-items can be added through instruction buttons on menus or assigned directly to items from the Back Office.
• Menus: Menus determine the items that are available to order on the POS. By having multiple menus, you can assign specific menus to particular POS devices (such as a Drinks menu for the bar device) or set up separate menus for different meal times or locations, which can then be shared across your multiple locations.
• Price lists: Price lists allow you to create preset pricing schemes, which you can then apply to menu items based on restaurant location and order profile. For example, if you have 10 locations across five cities with different prices in each city, you can set up five price lists to apply the proper pricing in each location. As another example, for your daily drink specials, you can link an order profile called Happy hour to an additional price list to automatically apply that pricing at a scheduled time. Note: Price lists are an optional feature and are not suitable for all restaurants.

Menu management FAQ

We've compiled a list of frequently asked questions about Menu management, so you can quickly find the answers you need.

• How do I add, edit, or delete an Accounting group?

  To add, edit, or delete an Accounting group, log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials and select Menu management > Accounting groups. For more information, refer to the articles Adding accounting groups and Editing and deleting Accounting groups.

• Do Accounting groups apply to all items?

  The settings for each Accounting group apply to all items in the group, unless you change the settings on the item itself. To do this, log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials and select Menu management > Items. Click the item you wish to edit. For more information, refer to the article Editing items.

• What's the difference between Accounting groups and Statistic groups?

  The main difference between Accounting groups and Statistic groups is that Statistic groups are not connected to taxes. This allows you more flexibility when grouping items together. For more information, refer to the article Understanding Statistic groups.

• Can I customize the Items table?

  Yes, you can customize the Items table to suit your business's needs. To do this, log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials and select Menu management > Items. Click Edit table. For more information, refer to the article Using the Items table.

• Can I add multiple items at once?

  Yes, you can add multiple items at once. To do this, log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials and select Menu management > Items. Click Create > Multiple items. For more information, refer to the article Creating and editing items.

• Are price lists necessary?

  No, price lists are an optional feature. We recommend using price lists only if your business has multiple locations, shares items between those locations, and requires a complex price structure. For more information, refer to the article About price lists.